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Melita Norwood

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Spy

The Resume

    (March 25, 1912-June 2, 2005)
    Born in Pokesdown, England, United Kingdom
    Birth name was Melita Sirnis
    Secretary in the British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association
    Served as an intelligence source for the KGB (1937-72)
    Spy status revealed to British intelligence after KGB archivist Vasili Mitrokhin defected (1992)
    Activities revealed publicly when Mitrokhin published his memoirs (1999)

Why she might be annoying:

    She was allowed access to sensitive documents despite never masking her Communist sympathies.
    She provided information on the British atomic bomb project to the Soviet Union.
    One author claimed she sped up the Soviet atomic bomb project by five years by providing information on how to produce enriched uranium.
    She said her husband disapproved of her spying, but he 'never tried to stop me.'
    She was never prosecuted for espionage.
    She said, 'I never considered myself a spy, but it's for others to judge.'

Why she might not be annoying:

    She was married to teacher Hillary Norwood for 50 years until his death.
    She declined payment for the information she provided.
    One biographer claimed, 'Melita was not a hardline Stalinist. She was an emotional Communist and quite naive.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 94 Votes: 53.19% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 12 Votes: 91.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 90.91% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 22 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 293 Votes: 70.65% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 22 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 62 Votes: 80.65% Annoying