Ethel Elizabeth Gee (1914-????), also known as "Bunty", was a spy who was a member of the Portland Spy Ring. The Portland Spy Ring operated in Britain from the late 1950s till 1961 when the hard core of the network was arrested by British security. ...

Early life

Ethel Gee was the daughter of a blacksmith and lived in Portland, England. She left school at 15 and took on a variety of jobs. In October 1950 she became a filing clerk at the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment at Portland. Some of the documents she got to handle included top secret material concerning Britain's underwater warfare work and HMS Dreadnought, the Royal Navy's first nuclear submarine. Two RIBs at Castletown, Portland Harbour Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, off Dorset, on the south coast of England. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The fourth HMS Dreadnought (S101) was Britains first nuclear-powered submarine, built by Vickers of Barrow-in-Furness. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ...

She was by now a spinster approaching middle-age. She had very little of a social life since much of her spare time was spent looking after her ageing relatives, including her mother, aunt and uncle.

But in 1954, in a neighbouring office at the base, she became acquainted with Harry Houghton, a former sailor and now a civil servant. Houghton was a heavy drinker and his marriage close to collapse. He and Gee began an affair and she would pose as his wife while booking into hotels. However her commitment to her relatives meant that they could not marry for the time being. 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Harry Houghton (1906-????), known as Harry, was a spy for the Poles and the Russians during the Cold War. ...

Leaking Secrets

Houghton had already been supplying secrets to spies from Poland and the USSR for some time. Now, through Gee, he could get access to even better material.

In July 1960, Houghton introduced Gee to a man who she claims she only knew as Alex Johnson a commander from the United States Navy. "Johnson" wanted to know how the British were handling the information provided to them by the Americans. Look up July in Wiktionary, the free dictionary July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations around the globe. ...

By now Houghton and Gee were under surveillance by the British security service MI5. A Russian Mole had warned Western intelligence about secrets being leaked from Portland, and Houghton's expenses, which went far beyond his salary, made him an obvious suspect. Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior. ... Current MI5 headquarters in Thames House, London MI5, officially called the Security Service, is a British counter-intelligence and security agency. ... A mole is a spy who works for an enemy nation and works within his nations government. ...

MI5 identified "Johnson" as Gordon Lonsdale, a Canadian businessman. Konon Trofimovich Molody (1922-1970) was a Russian spy, better known in the West as Gordon Lonsdale. ...

Gee provided material to Houghton which he would photograph and deliver to Lonsdale in London. On the 6th January 1961 Gee left the base with pamphlets which included details of ASDIC, a sonar device used for detecting submarines. The Houses of Parliament and the clock tower containing Big Ben Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London (see Wiktionary:London for the name in other languages) is the capital of the United Kingdom and England. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The F70 type frigates (here, Motte-Picquet) are fitted with VDS (Variable Depth Sonar) type DUBV43 or DUBV43C tugged sonars Sonar (sound navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation under water to navigate or to detect other watercraft. ...

Arrest and Trial

The following day Houghton and Gee were five persons who were arrested in London by Special Branch detectives. The others were Lonsdale (alias Konon Trofimovich Molody) and Peter and Helen Kroger (alias Morris and Lona Cohen), all professional spies working for the Russians. These five were the hard core members of the Portland Spy Ring. Special Branch is the arm of the British, Irish and many Commonwealth police forces that deals with national security matters. ... Konon Trofimovich Molody (1922-1970) was a Russian spy, better known in the West as Gordon Lonsdale. ... Morris Cohen Illegal London Rezident 1950 - 1954 Morris Cohen a. ... Lona Cohen, was an American citizen and member of the Communist Party of the United States of America CPUSA. She was recruited into Soviet espionage by her husband Morris Cohen. ... The Portland Spy Ring operated in Britain from the late 1950s till 1961 when the hard core of the network was arrested by British security. ...

At first Gee protested her innocence. But during the trial, under questioning from the prosecution, she finally admitted that "In the light of what transpires now, I have done something terribly wrong, but at that time I did not think I had done anything criminal."

Later life

Houghton and Gee were both sentenced to 15 years in prison. They married soon after their release in 1970 and changed their names.

References

Soviet Spy Ring, by Arthur Tietjen, published by Pan Books, (1961)