Portland spy ring

Once upon a time, in a place called Portland in England, there was a secret group. They were like spies in a movie! This group, called the Portland spy ring, was busy for many years.

They got super secret papers from a place that studied underwater things. Then, they sent these secrets all the way to another country called the Soviet Union. It was like a secret mission happening right under everyone's noses!

There were five people in this spy ring. Two of them, Harry and Ethel, worked at the secret place where the papers were kept. They were like the inside helpers!

They gave the secrets to a man named Gordon Lonsdale, who was a spy from the Soviet Union. He was very clever and used a fake Canadian name. He then passed the secrets to two other people, Lona and Morris Cohen, who were like a spy team living in England.

It’s like a detective story! Someone who was also a spy told the police about a secret person working in the secret place. This helped the police find Harry. Then, the police watched Harry and saw him with Ethel. They also saw Ethel meeting Gordon Lonsdale. Finally, they found out about Lona and Morris too! It was like putting together a puzzle, and all five spies were caught in 1961.

When the spies were caught, they had to go to court. They were given long sentences, which means they had to stay in prison for many years. Gordon Lonsdale got the longest, 25 years!

But sometimes, in spy stories, there are special exchanges. Gordon Lonsdale was let go in a swap for a British businessman. Later, the Cohen couple was also swapped.

Harry and Ethel were the last to be let out of prison.