Aileen Furse & Kim Philby. There he settled in Moscow and eventually reached the rank of colonel in the KGB, the Soviet intelligence service. And he kept his word to the end." While working as a senior member of British intelligence, he spied on behalf of the Soviet KGB and NKVD from the early… While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. A memorial to him stands in the Kuntsevo Cemetery, in the Russian capital. He was born in 1915 in Danville, Indiana, where his father, an attorney, died ten months after … They met each other socially but soon fell out. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Kim said to me, 'I came here totally fully of information, I wanted to give everything I had but no one was interested," explained Pukhova. In contrast to Blake, Philby and Burgess – and to a less extent Maclean – suffered from nostalgia for Britain. "It was winter and we were going out for a walk and I found one of my boots had disappeared. He was 76. Philby, Burgess and MacLean – Spy Scandal of the Century, a BBC drama produced for TV in 1977, covers the period of the late 1940s, when British intelligence investigated Kim Philby's colleague Donald Maclean until 1955 when the British government cleared Philby because it did … Born in Ambala, Punjab, India, Philby was the son of Harry St. John Philby, a British Army officer, diplomat, explorer, author, and Orientalist who converted to Islam[2] and was advisor to King Ibn Sa'ud of Saudi Arabia. It was the day that Neville Chamberlain declared war on Nazi Germany. Clare Hollingworth celebrates her 105th birthday at … H. A. R. (Kim) Philby, the double agent whose betrayal of his country and his social class indelibly marked British politics, has died in Moscow, officials … Updates? British intelligence officer and Soviet spy. He died in Moscow in 1988. "Once, a big group of us were on a trip on the Volga: Kim and I and, of course, his KGB escort, and the escort's daughter. Philby's work led to the deaths of dozens of British agents, making him a reviled traitor once he was exposed in Britain. Donald Maclean, although arrogant and someone who liked a drink too, was regarded as more convivial. Philby, Burgess and MacLean – Spy Scandal of the Century, a BBC drama produced for TV in 1977, covers the period of the late 1940s, when British intelligence investigated Kim Philby's colleague Donald Maclean until 1955 when the British government cleared Philby because it did … Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 1912 – 11 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1949 he was sent to Washington to serve as chief MI-6 officer there and as the top liaison officer between the British and U.S. intelligence services. It was a miracle. By the end of World War II, Philby had become head of counterespionage operations for MI-6, in which post he was responsible for combating Soviet subversion in western Europe. Philby had other less damaging routines: a cup of Russian tea at 7am and English tea with milk at 5pm, drunk from a fine porcelain cup. He and Pukhova married in 1971, when he was 59 and she was 38. "Kim believed in a just society and devoted his whole life to communism. He was 65. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. You should have seen his face.". A plaque in his honour was unveiled by the head of the foreign intelligence service at its headquarters in Moscow in December. Born in 1946, Dudley ‘Tommy’ Philby is the third of Kim’s five children with his second of four wives, Aileen Furse Philby. Omissions? He was apparently responsible for the deaths of many Western agents whose activities he betrayed to the Soviets during the 1940s and early ’50s. Kim Philby died in 1988. "I said something to the escort and he just stayed silent, sitting, leafing through his magazine. Kim was 76 years old at the time of death. Of the five, Philby is believed to have been most successful in providing secret information to the Soviets. In the Cold War some sons of privilege betrayed Britain in the service of tyranny. Likewise, the Philby–Burgess–Maclean spy ring, which penetrated the highest circles of Britain’s MI-6 intelligence agency, provided the Soviets with a tremendous amount of information on British and Allied military and counterintelligence operations during and after World War II. Read the essential details about Kim Philby that includes images, quotations and the main facts of his life. It was a bit too late as all the damage was already done, for starters. "He once even said that it was the easiest way to bring life to an end. Milne knew most of the players in the Philby story and his is a valuable, judicious insider’s account. While holding this highly sensitive post, he revealed to the U.S.S.R. an Allied plan to send armed anticommunist bands into Albania in 1950, thereby assuring their defeat; warned two Soviet double agents in the British diplomatic service, Burgess and Donald MacLean, that they were under suspicion (the two men consequently escaped to the Soviet Union in 1951); and transmitted detailed information about MI-6 and the Central Intelligence Agency to the Soviets. "Philby's father nicknamed his son Kim after the … Philby died in the city in 1988, 25 years after defecting to the Soviet Union, where he was employed as an occasional consultant to the KGB helping to prepare spies for missions to the west. While a student at the University of Cambridge, Philby became a communist and in 1933 a Soviet agent.He worked as a journalist until 1940, when … In the United States, the Walker family sold the…. Kim Philby was born on January 1, 1912 and died on May 11, 1988. "If he continued drinking, he got inebriated quickly and changed in front of your eyes," she said. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. ", Pukhova, now 78, said she was irritated by stories about Philby's drink problem, but admitted he wasn't always able to stick to his two-glass rule. John Philby, the eldest son of Soviet spy Kim Philby, who was a double agent and the notorious Third Man in the Cambridge spy ring of the 1930s, has died in England. It seems that after WWII secret services refrained from killing each other’s personnel. "I tried everything to save him; after all, he was killing himself. Kim Philby was born on 1 January 1912 in the Punjab region of India. The most notorious, Kim Philby, defected to the Soviet Union in 1963 and wrote his memoirs a few years later. But I do have a strong sense of being in Moscow with him and my family,” she said. Kim died when I was five, so I had a limited amount of direct interaction. Harold ‘Kim’ Philby was a member of the ‘Cambridge Five’ spy ring. He was the only survivor of … He went on to serve the KGB for 54 years. Rufina Pukhova, his Russian-Polish wife, said Philby struggled to control his drinking by downing only two glasses of cognac a night and then handing her the bottle to hide. Kim Philby, byname of Harold Adrian Russell Philby, (born January 1, 1912, Ambala, India—died May 11, 1988, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.), British intelligence officer until 1951 and the most successful Soviet double agent of the Cold War period.. He had got afraid that I would leave, and hidden the boot.". Kim Philby, the most successful of the Cambridge spies, tried to drink himself to death in Moscow because he was disillusioned with communism and tortured by his own failings, his last wife has said in an interview. George Blake, who is still alive, got on well with him than with Philby. Aileen died in 1957, when Tommy was just 11 years old; his contact with his father was cut off as soon as the double spy defected to the USSR in January 1963. "There was one funny incident," she remembered. The footage sheds long-awaited new light on Philby: Despite making headlines around the world and inspiring books and films about his exploits, the … Harold "Kim" Philby was a senior officer in Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, who began his work for the Soviet Union as a spy in 1934. • Wife claims defector tried to drink himself to death, Kim Philby in Russia in 1968, five years after defecting. Kim Philby was born on January 1, 1912 and died on May 11, 1988. "But he never got aggressive, and just went to bed. Kim Philby was probably the most successful double spy in history. Kim Philby, byname of Harold Adrian Russell Philby, (born January 1, 1912, Ambala, India—died May 11, 1988, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.), British intelligence officer until 1951 and the most successful Soviet double agent of the Cold War period. The Hick From Indiana Who Nailed Master Spy Kim Philby. We got together in our cabin to discuss our plans. Mr Roberts, 73, died last year on Jersey and the Philby photos are being sold at auction by his estate. Harold (Kim) Philby, the son of the diplomat, Harry St John Bridger Philby, was born in Ambala, India, in 1911. Philby later recalled: "So it was a date well remembered, because it … Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. He was apparently responsible for the deaths of many Western agents whose activities he betrayed to the Soviets during the 1940s and early ’50s. Solomon was a good friend of Kim Philby and she introduced him to Aileen at her home on 3rd September 1939. He was nicknamed after the protagonist in Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim about a young Irish Indian boy who spies for the British in India during the 19th century. Harold "Kim" Philby. Born in India in 1912, Philby became a communist sympathiser after leaving Cambridge and began working as a KGB informer in the mid 1930s in London. He was known for passing more than 900 British documents over to the KGB. media caption During the 1950s and early 1960s Kim Philby denied being a Soviet agent while working for MI6. Philby was later awarded the Order of Lenin and made a KGB general. He said, 'Why do old people live so badly here? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Philby published a book, My Silent War (1968), detailing his exploits. Long after the Soviet Union they spied for collapsed in 1991, Philby remains a hero in Russia. While a student at the University of Cambridge, Philby became a communist and in 1933 a Soviet agent. We searched every corner until Kim suddenly struck himself on the head with his hand, went to a cupboard and brought back the boot. The gang of British spies who ended up in Moscow in the 1950s and 1960s were employed in KGB training schools and international research institutes. Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 1912 – 11 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. ", His habit was fuelled by his sorrow over what he saw around him, she added. Philby's less attractive personal qualities were matched by a charm to which many of his MI6 colleagues succumbed. According to an account which Philby later filed for The Times, the car was hit by an artillery shell in the small village of Caude. He worked as a journalist until 1940, when Guy Burgess, a British secret agent who was himself a Soviet double agent, recruited Philby into the MI-6 section of the British intelligence service. Philby did officially leave MI6 but remarkably was soon taken back. During the early years of the Cold War, Philby handed intelligence to the USSR. Philby died in Moscow in 1988 at the age of 76, receiving the funeral of a hero of the Soviet Union. In the later years of his life a senior KGB officer who bumped into him described Philby as an “alcoholic wreck”. Kim Philby. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Donald Maclean, although arrogant and someone who liked a drink too, regarded... 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