Donald Maclean
Double agents and the Cold War
The disappearance of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean
1951
When two British diplomats, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, disappeared in May 1951, the news made national headlines. The whereabouts of Burgess and Maclean became a topic of conversation, with many members of the public contacting the Foreign Office with sightings and explanations as to their possible location. This particular letter is from a clairvoyant who offered her services in tracking down the diplomats.
Unbeknownst to the public at the time, Maclean had been suspected of passing information to the Soviet Union. He had been unmasked by the discovery that Foreign Office telegrams had been sent to Moscow from its embassy in 1945. The investigation relied on material uncovered by a secret US project called Venona, which had managed to break a number of Soviet ciphers because of a Russian blunder: the normally impregnable code was broken as a result of a Soviet cipher clerk reusing a one-time pad to transmit intelligence traffic.
Details of the investigation were shared with the British, and as a result Maclean – who was working at the Foreign Office in London – was placed under observation. One of those privy to the investigation was Kim Philby, the head of MI6’s operations in America, who also happened to be a Soviet agent recruited in Cambridge in the 1930s. In order to warn Maclean, Philby ordered Burgess, his fellow conspirator who was staying at his house in Washington, to return home. On his return to London, Burgess made contact with Maclean. Alarm bells began to ring when both Burgess and Maclean failed to return to work following a ferry trip to St Malo in France. It soon became clear that Maclean had been tipped off, and due to his close relationship with Burgess, Philby quickly became the prime suspect. Although no conclusive proof could be found, Philby was eventually dismissed by MI6. The fact that Burgess and Maclean had defected to Moscow was not made public until 1956, when the two appeared at a press conference there. In 1962, Philby also defected to Moscow.
Ilford
Essex
11.6.51
Dear Sir,
I think perhaps I could help you, in the mystery of the two diplomats. If you can let me have the telegrams and cables, handed in, I can in the quiet of my own room, rest with the writing under my head, read the thoughts of the writer; and sometimes, the features will also rise before me. The telegrams also cables, may have passed through too many hands, and the personality of the writer, faded. In that case, of course I shall fail to catch up his thoughts; but there is the chance that enough of his personality, still lingers in it. If you care to accept my offer, send them to me, by a bearer; to hand to me personally. Do not post. The woman living on the ground floor, is not to be trusted, where I am concerned, she is a Communist also her husband. I rent two rooms, upper floor. If the bearer calls at seven in the evening, I will look for him, through my window. I will return the telegrams and cables to the Foreign Office, the next day. Calling personally. I am British; and offering to help you, as a daughter of Britannia. Just number the telegrams and cables, in the corners; and on a sheet of writing paper, state where each telegram and cable, came from. This is if you care for me, to try it out.
Yours faithfully
(Mrs)
