Also known as. The Wynne-Penkovsky coalition kickstarted one of the most covert operations in Cold War history. The unlikely British spy was freed in 1964 in exchange forSoviet spy Konon Molody. a divorce from his wife and estrangement from his son, Wynne initially played along with . They made an odd contrastthe short, energetic, and thinly mustachioed Wynne alongside the military bearing of Penkovskybut there seemed to be genuine affection between the two, and this friendship is a central focus of The Courier. In the late 1960s, after he had been imprisoned for his spycraft and could no longer assist MI6 nor the CIA, the amateur spy authored a pair of books: The Man From Moscow: The Story of Wynne and Penkovsky and The Man From Odessa, that were riddled with falsehoods. But their relationship later collapsed. 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It was said he had been shot by a firing squad. Something went wrong, please try again later. It was on this day that Wynne was captured by the Soviets and flown over to Moscow for sentencing. Penkovsky, who was tried with him, was sentenced to death for treason. Andrew and Sheila lived in Britain whilst Greville served his prison sentence in Moscow. Wynne would later relate that as he walked down the steps of an exhibition pavilion, four men suddenly appeared as a car pulled up and Wynne was pushed inside. Both Wynne and Penkovsky were convicted of espionage. This marriage didnt last either and the couple separated several years before Greville Wynnes death in 1990. Despite having no previous experience in intelligence work, Wynne was being recruited to serve as an MI6 agent. In declining health, he was released roughly two years later on April 22, 1964 in exchange for Soviet spy Konon Molody, who had called himself Gordon Lonsdale while operating in Britain. As weve established, Greville Wynne spent the majority of his professional life as an engineer and a businessman, so how did he actually become a spy? Hes such a nice character. The article also reveals other information about what happened on the day of sentencing and is well worth a read. His wife Sheila divorced him and he became estranged from his only son Andrew. In 1950, engineer Greville Wynne set up his own business as an exporter of industrial engineering products. With the foundations laid, Wynne was asked to arrange a meeting with a state committee in Moscow and report back on the conversations he had. A stand-off between US President John F Kennedy and Russias Nikita Khrushchev ended with the Soviet president backing down at the 11th hour and removing the threatening missiles. Learn more. He said he was motivated by patriotism and a dislike of the Soviet system. Wynne was a middle-class British businessman whose frequent travel to Eastern Europe attracted recruitment by MI-6 to serve as a liaison to high-ranking Soviet official Penkovsky. What did Greville Wynne do after he was released from the Soviet prison? If you have any questions for our team about our spy histories articles, the spy industry in general, or any of the spy equipment that is available through our website, please contact us today. [9] Penkovsky was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad, though Wynne believed he died by suicide in prison. At the time of Wynnes death, Labour Party MP Ted Leadbitter was quoted as saying: How many secrets has this man taken to his grave?, Celeb obsessed? Mild-mannered salesman Greville Wynne was recruited by MI6 to work with a Soviet double agent on secret missions across the Iron Curtain and now his story is being told in new movie The Courier. The way they put it, I felt there was no possibility and then I suddenly found myself in an aeroplane and I arrived at East Berlin.. But that would all change dramatically in November 1960 on the day he met an old acquaintance who had invited him to lunch at a London restaurant. While its standard for Hollywood films to take liberties with the facts, insert composite characters, devise imagined conversations, and smooth-out timelines to ensure a brisk pace, its less common for a based-on-a-true-story movie to have to be more truthful than the source material. By This time it's a true story:Wynne served as an unassuming go-between for British intelligence MI-6 and Russian spyOleg Penkovsky atthe height of the Cold War. 1. He was put on trial in Moscow on May 1963 for spying and sentenced to eight years imprisonment. In Greville Wynne's 1981 book The Man from Odessa, Wynne claims that Penkovsky committed suicide in a Soviet labor camp. Wynne served 18 months in Moscows Lubianka Prison. Penkovskys dynamism and enthusiasm, his wide-ranging and passionate denunciations of the Soviet system and its leaders illustrated with anecdotes, fascinated and captivated the American and British teams, write Schecter and Deriabin. In one of his biggest whoppers, Wynne explains that he and Penkovsky took a trip together in a private military jet from the U.K. to Washington, D.C. 'The Courier' is currently lived by his son, Andrew, as he died in 1990 at the age of 70. You, in your own mind, have developed this sense of self-importance, says West. Despite Greville Wynne being in the spotlight for large parts of his life, Andrew Wynne and Sheila Wynne were seemingly not in the public eye too often. Oleg Penkovsky also provided documents that revealed that the Soviet Union was ill-equipped to fight a war in the area.In addition, Colonel Penkovsky provided Wynne with the names and photographs of roughly 300 East bloc intelligence agents, as well as information about Soviet weapons production and military manpower. The emaciated Wynne's returntohis middle-class Londonhomewherehis wife and child waited made for a jarring scene in newsreels at the time. Greville Wynne's former in laws: Greville Wynne's former father in law was Gordon Beaton Greville Wynne's former mother in law was Elsie Beaton. The engineer-turned-business man Greville Wynne was, in fact, recruited by the MI6 in November of 1960. After that divorce, Wynne took another wife, Herma van Buren. Starring Benedict Cumberbach as Greville Wynne and Merab Ninidze as Oleg Penkovsky, the film explores the Cold War spy story in its entirety and focuses a lot on the relationship held between British spy Wynne and Soviet militant Penkovsky. Greville passed away on February 28 1990, at age 70. Wynne was a middle-classBritish businessman whose frequenttravelto Eastern Europe attracted recruitmentby MI-6 to serve as a liaison to high-ranking Soviet official Penkovsky. Welcome to another edition of spy histories. Watch an interview with British spy Greville Wynne upon his release from the Soviet prison. He just couldnt tell the truth. Our complete range of spy cameras. Among the explanations are a desire for money or fame, a ruinous case of alcoholism, or perhaps even psychological scars left by his time in Soviet prison or the shame he felt for publicly turning against British intelligence during the trial. Penkovsky was executed the following year and Wynne was sentenced to eight years imprisonment. "And Greville played a big part in that.". Sentenced toeight years in a labor camp, Wynne spent 18 months in Moscow'sLubyanka Prison, where he was subjected to beatings and torture. Benedict Cumberbatch delivers an appealing, technically tricky performance in "The Courier," in which he plays Greville Wynne, a British salesman who in the 1960s became an improbable player . They were all short and thickset and wore trilby hats at the same angle. In 1961 and 1962, at the height of the Cold War, disgruntled colonel Oleg Penkovsky (portrayed by Merab Ninidze) became the highest-ranking Soviet military official to spy for the United Kingdom up until that time. Click to reveal The information that Penkovsky was able to obtain and the position of Wynne enabled the British and Americans to receive crucial information about the Soviet Union. He was 71. The KGB waited to arrest Penkovsky so that they could build up a case against him that didn't expose their moles who had provided information about him. An on this day article from the BBC reveals that Wynne joked to his wife after the sentencing, stating that he didnt expect his time in prison to be a Butlins holiday camp. [7], Wynne's and Penkovsky's espionage activities were discovered by the KGB. Alex Palmer is a travel and culture writer who lives in Brooklyn. The MI6 specialist experienced post-arrest sadness and torment. Did an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 Years Ago? Oleg Penkovsky had his sights set on moving to the West and building a better life with his family and, therefore, he was keen to expose some of the Soviets most valuable military secrets. Find out about the best deals and the latest Spy Gear first In real life, Wynne's wife Sheila divorced him after he was released from the Moscow prison and returned to Britain. Keirs twin Lewis, who is also an actor, was originally lined up for role, but their mother Marie OGrady-Hills had better ideas. It quoted unidentified close friends. Theres a fair amount of source material from all different kinds of authors, so by reading everybodynot just Wynnes books, but other historians, and the official history put out by the American side and the Soviet side I was able to try and work out what made the most sense and what seemed liked disinformation, says OConnor. He and his wife Sheila divorced not long after his release. Ameeting between theRussian prisoners, in which Wynne tellsPenkovsky of the import of his information, asdepicted in the film, is drama. Performance & security by Cloudflare. So we got along a lot.. Greville Maynard Wynne (19 March 1919[2] 28 February 1990) was a British engineer and businessman recruited by MI6 because of his frequent travel to Eastern Europe. Penkovsky either was shot or killed himself in prisonthere are disputing accounts. Then after your service, when you havent even told your family or friends about this, youre told, thank you very much, indeed. Unaware of Penkovskys arrest, Wynne travelled to Budapest under his cover name of Mr Veen against the advice of his MI6 bosses. He gave me lots of good advice. The Courier fact-check reveals that, like his father, Penkovsky had become disillusioned with the Soviet system. The wealthy businessman, who wrote The Man From Moscow and The Man From Odessa, worked for Britains MI6 Secret Intelligence Service. Wynne left The Ivy restaurant in Seven Dials that day probably wondering what hed let himself in for. After the initial meeting in December 1960, Penkovsky provided Wynne with film of Soviet military documents and later promised more information if an arrangement with British or American intelligence could be made. 0.06 2. Wynne agreed, and during his visit to Moscow the following month he wound up connecting with Oleg Penkovsky, a lieutenant colonel in the GRU (the Soviet Unions foreign-intelligence agency) who was eager to leak high-level military information to Western powers. They were convicted of espionage. Budding actor Keir Hills might have a twin, but theres someone else someone rather famous whos the spitting image of him. His name was Konon Molody, but was known in the West as Gordon Lonsdale. Meanwhile, 43-year-old Oleg Penkovsky was sentenced to death for his role in the spy activity. His dining companion, Dickie Franks, revealed himself to be an officer of the British Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6, and asked Wynne for his help. He battled depression and alcoholism. In honour of the Queen's eldest son, our new king, we have put together this collection of highlights from Charles' earlier years. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Wynne was a well known character on the island in the 1980s and at one stage . Important information Editorial Use Only. This was because he took regular business trips to Eastern Europe. Penkovsky was arrested first, and after his interrogation, Wynne was apprehended. In February 1990, it was announced Wynne had died of throat cancer at the age of 70 at the Cromwell Hospital, London. Wynne married his second wife, Herma van Buren, in 1970. Many Animals, Including the Platypus, Lost Their Stomachs. He described Penkovsky as possibly the Wests most valuable agent. [15], Later in life, Wynne wrote two books about his work for British intelligence: The Man from Moscow (1967) and The Man from Odessa (1981). See FameChain's massive Trump family tree. A broken man, he turned to alcohol on his release and told. We hope you have enjoyed our insight into the story of British spy Greville Wynne and that you have learned about this Cold War story. Me and him have a really good relationship were really lucky, Keir said. This version is supported by Alexander Zagvozdin, who was the KGB's chief interrogator during the investigation. He said the double agent also told him Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev had allowed important guidance equipment to be sent with Soviet missiles being installed in Cuba. While this was truly harrowing punishment, his Russian colleague Penkovsky paid the ultimate price with his life. Spy Greville Wynne with his son Andrew and wife Sheila outside of their London home after being released from the Soviet prison in April 1964. 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