However, while working together, something unexpected happens: The two men become friends. He was convicted of spying on 11 May 1963 and sentenced to eight years in prison; Penkovsky was sentenced to death and executed (although Wynne himself in his book "The man from Odessa' claimed that Penkovsky committed suicide in prison). Explore how the celebrity world connects. He was arrested during a business trip to Budapest, Hungary, in November 1962 and taken to the Soviet Union. "The Courier" serves up a fascinating chapter of spy history but it may not be the film to send you rushing back to the cinema. His nation would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba. Penkovsky is believed to have been executed later that year. In 1960, the nuclear arms race between the USSR and the United States was coming to a head. And we also witness him in a particularly vulnerable situation when he is forced to remove his clothes and have his bodily cavities examined. Space-X continues to reach for the stars. After his release from prison, he prospered as a property developer. Benedict Cumberbatch as Greville Wynne; Merab Ninidze as Oleg Penkovsky; Rachel Brosnahan as Emily Donovan; Angus Wright as Dickie Franks; Jessie Buckley as Sheila Wynne; Keir Hills as Andrew Wynne. ", This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Courier' fact check: Benedict Cumberbatch's spy Greville Wynne, Battled mystery flu, fake crew cut facing Jodie Foster in 'The Mauritanian', 'The Courier' fact check: Benedict Cumberbatch's spy Greville Wynne, Travis Scott being sought by NYPD after alleged nightclub assault, Zachary Levi talks Shazam! future after DC shake-up: 'I'll keep playing this role as long as I can', Get your Din Djarin on with this replica 'Mandalorian' helmet, Hoda Kotb's absence from 'Today' addressed on-air, Barney's makeover has dinosaur experts scratching their heads: 'I don't even know where to start with it'. Sheila Margaret Wynne Age. Wynne said he was subjected to severe beatings and psychological pressure by the Soviet KGM. Wynne was chosen as Penkovsky's British contact. Released in the same week as The Suns revelations about an alleged spy known as David Smith who worked in Britains embassy in Berlin, The Courier tells how the married 41-year-old sales consultant was persuaded by MI6 to deliver secrets from Russian spy Oleg Penkovsky. As the film alludes, life never returned to normal for Wynne, who battled depression and the psychological after-effects of his incarceration. The Soviet Union had two double agents, William Whalen and Jack Dunlap, working in Washington. Penkovsky either was shot or killed himself in prison there are disputing accounts. The film sees him arrested on a plane leaving Moscow and does not delve into his show trial for spying alongside Penkovsky in May 1963. They were on hand for a party when Penkovsky visited Paris in September 1961 using a Soviet trade fair as a cover. Greville Wynne's former in laws: Greville Wynne's former father in law was Gordon Beaton Greville Wynne's former mother in law was Elsie Beaton. Greville Maynard Wynne was a British spy famous for his involvement with, and imprisonment as a result of, the espionage activities of Oleg Penkovsky. It is believed to be correct at the time of inputting and is presented here in good faith. Greville Wynne wrote an autobiography which was first published in 1967. I cover arts and culture, from Comic-Con to opera, from pop entertainment to fine art, from zombies to Shakespeare. See FameChain's massive Trump family tree. Sentenced to eight years in a labor camp, Wynne spent 18 months in Moscow's Lubyanka Prison, where he was subjected to beatings and torture. Khrushchev later backed off and ordered the Soviet missiles returned to the Soviet Union after President John F. Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine of Cuba. Sheila Wynne's son is Andrew Wynne. But when they put politics aside, they realized they werent actually all that different. Penkovsky, in particular, fancied himself as a communist Casanova. During the crisis, the US could have launched missiles from Turkey and destroyed the USSR before it had the chance to react. But his leaked information on Soviet missile capabilities and played a key role in President Kennedy's strong, successful stance during the Cuban Missile Crisis. A hotline was put in place between the Kremlin and the White House, and the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed on July 25, 1963. On 20th October, 1962, Russian intelligence officers raided Penkovsky's apartment and discovered a Minnox camera that had been used to photograph secret documents. WebGreville Maynard Wynne Age 70 Born Wednesday 19 Mar 1919 Died 28 Feb 1990 Start a FameChain Other Partners Divorced married about 31 Jul 1970 divorce circa 1986 Herma In his memoir The Man From Moscow, Wynne recalls finding a Soviet siren in his hotel room, clearly intended as a honey trap, forcing him to complain to reception that there had been a mistake. Wynne was a middle-class British businessman whose frequent travel to Eastern Europe attracted recruitment by MI-6 to serve as a liaison to high-ranking Soviet official Penkovsky. The Cuban missile crisis began after the crew of an American U-2 spy plane photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on Cuba. Penkovsky, who was tried with him, was sentenced to death for treason. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser. WebSpy Greville Wynne with his son Andrew and wife Sheila outside of their London home after being released from the Soviet prison in April 1964. "The Courier" has compressed the real-life story and changed some facts. In April 1964, the British were concerned that Wynnes health was deteriorating rapidly so they arranged a prisoner swap for the Soviet spy Gordon Lonsdale at a Berlin checkpoint. A year of cat and mouse would ensue before the British salesman won over the Russian. There were signs in 1963 of a lessening of tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. The KGB swiftly drew the conclusion that there was a mole in their ranks and set about uncovering him. British sources continue to deny Wynne was involved in spying. "He started as a nave amateur. Wynne and Penkovsky engage in bland business banter while Wynnes wife (Jessie Buckley) assumes his new secretiveness is to cover up an affair. After being convicted Wynne was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment and Oleg Penkovsky was sentenced to death and was executed on 16th May 1963. Both fathers teach their children that two people from very different backgrounds and lifestyles working together towards a common goal can make a difference in the world. But he said his training with the MI6 was even worse. We also see people drinking heavily to handle stressful situations. Despite working together, the CIA and MI6 dont get along, frequently mocking each other and sometimes purposely making tasks more difficult for the other agency. We see another man in similarly bad shape later on and learn he was also executed. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. The interactions between the two men were designed to take place in plain sight and not involve any danger, and for the bulk of the film thats true, which, as you might suspect, is not exactly riveting cinema. Penkovsky and Wynnes motivation to steal top-secret intel from the USSR is driven by their desire to protect their loved ones from a nuclear holocaust. Greville Wynne was born in 1919. THE world held its breath for 13 days in October 1962 when it was on the brink of nuclear war. In November 1960, Wynne was recruited by MI6 and asked to make a sales trip to Moscow, where he made contact with Oleg Penkovsky, a high-ranking GRU officer. On paper, Oleg and Greville shouldnt have worked as friends. See FameChain's massive Trump family tree. 80. [Spoiler Warning] Their efforts are well rewarded, since the information they transported helped stop the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. In 1990, he died of throat And their actions were directly responsible for the hotline that now exists between the White House and the Kremlin to prevent nuclear war between Russia and the U.S. And while this inspiring true story teaches us a lot about bravery and what it means to lay down your life for others, it also teaches us about the value of friendship. Theres also some foul language, a reference to a mans extramarital affair and lots of belligerent alcohol consumption. He acted as a courier to transport top-secret information to London from Soviet agent Oleg Penkovsky. Wynne was flown from Hungary to Moscow, where he was brutally tortured before being sentenced to eight years in a Soviet labour camp. There were loud cheers when his sentence was read out. Died. Gordon Beaton{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Gordon Beaton", "gender": "Male" }, Elsie Beaton{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Elsie Beaton", "gender": "Female" }, Andrew Wynne{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrew Wynne", "gender": "Male" }, born 1952, age 69 (approx.) The information he provided on the Soviets relatively weak. Greville Wynne was released in exchange for Gordon Lonsdale in April 1964. Wynne was an electrical engineer, trained at the University of Nottingham, and a businessman. Current appointments. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. This included evidence that Nikita Khrushchev had been making false claims about the number of nuclear missiles in the Soviet Union. But in September 1989, Wynne was present in the High Court when he won substantial libel damages from Allasons publisher Weidenfeld. His wife Sheila divorced him and he became estranged from his only son Andrew. He was born in 1919 and passed away on 29th February 1990. WebWynne, a British businessman, he offered his services to British intelligence. Daniel's 5th outing as Bond gets bums back on seats in the cinema. Sending an American would be a certain death sentence, since the last man the CIA worked with was caught and executed. Benedict says: This guy goes on an extraordinary journey from being an ordinary businessman, one who is quite severely dyslexic, almost to the point of illiteracy, to being a conduit for the West to get the most important bit of secret information during the Cold War and the Cuban missile crisis.. A broken man, he turned to alcohol on his release and told increasingly wild tales. But do note that it is not possible to be certain of a person's genealogy without a family's cooperation (and/or DNA testing). He said the double agent also told him Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had allowed important guidance equipment to be sent with Soviet missiles being installed in Cuba. A man with multiple bruises and lacerations on his face and body gets shot in the head (we see some blood splatter). What did Greville Wynne do The moonlighting spy was arrested on a business trip to Budapest in November 1962 and taken to the Soviet Union. Penkovsky's visits to an adjacent building identified him as a likely source of the leaks. In 1959 he played an important role in helping a Russian intelligence officer, Major Kuznov, to defect to the West. Continue with Recommended Cookies. But with a wife and young daughter at home, Penkovsky worried that the bragging would soon lead to nuclear warand the subsequent death of himself, his family and his countrymen. AT THE AIRPORT MRS WYNNE TOLD REPORTERS "ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I AM GLAD In a TV address, Kennedy called for a strategy of peace that would make the world safe and urged Americans to re-examine Cold War myths. But his loyalty is not merely to those holding power; it is to something bigger. WebGreville Wynne was born in 1919. A family is not allowed to say goodbye before the husband is carted off to prison for the remainder of his days. Wynne wrote about his time as a spy in a book entitled The Man from Odessa, first published in 1981. Make way for his amateur, everyman spy Greville Wynne in "The Courier," now on premium VOD6. Most of the evidence based on confessions given by the two men. The release was bittersweet for Wynne, who was largely left to fend for himself. He preceded this book with The Man from Moscow: The Story Of Wynne and Penkovsky (1967) and published in the USA as Contact on Gorky Street: a British Agent's Own First-Hand Account of His Mission to Moscow (1968). Penkovsky was immediately arrested and it was not long before he gave the name of Wynne as his British contact. "This true story is a very interesting, skewed way to telling a ticking time-bomb, spy-thriller.". And when she isnt being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their nerdoms, which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings. You are being followed. Wynne initially dislikes the CIA and MI6, because they use fear tactics to manipulate him. Wynne returned to his life as a businessman. I am interested in going behind the scenes to explore the creative process; seeing how pop culture reflects social issues; and providing a context for art and entertainment. "The Courier" is based on the true story of how British businessman Greville Wynne was recruited by MI6 to help transport crucial intelligence from a Soviet man named Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze). All relationship and family history information shown on FameChain has been compiled from data in the public domain. Wynne ended up living in Marbella, cultivating roses and looking for a big break with a series of business ventures. We also hear four uses of h, two of the British expletive bloody and one of ahole. Gods name is also misused five times. After the war he became a businessman selling electrical equipment. Strange" to Sherlock Holmes. The film is worth seeing, though, so that we can pay tribute to a pair of rather ordinary men who showed extraordinary courage because they had a genuine sense of human decency and desire to keep the world safe for their children and future generations. He was an intermediary for the important Soviet spy Oleg Penkovsky, who was engaged in selling arms and weapons secrets to British intelligence. Reports suggest Prince Charles will live "in a flat above the shop" when he becomes king. It was entitled The Man From Moscow: The Story of Wynne and Penkovsky. He said he was motivated by patriotism and a dislike of the Soviet system. He said Penkovsky provided him the names and photographs of about 300 East bloc intelligence agents details of Soviet missile sites, and an analysis of Soviet military manpower and weapon production. Greville Wynne's former partners: Greville Wynne's sister is Nada Wynne. After his release, Wynne struggled with depression and alcoholism. Someone tells Wynne that if Russia attacks the UK, his entire family will be destroyed before he has a chance to say goodbye. Wynne died of throat cancer at Cromwell Hospital in London on 28 February 1990, aged 70.[2]. It may not seem as if two people would be enough to change the outcome of a global standoff. It's not over for Domynique and Mackinley at least not yet. The back door of the front car was opened and I was hurled inside. Ill be there., Wynne wrote: As I came out of the alley I saw two men. Threats of annihilation were made, bomb shelters were created, and people on both sides were terrified. What the film delivers is something that is both fascinating and utterly mundane. 'The Courier' is currently lived by his son, Andrew as he had already passed away in 1990 at the age of 70. Director Dominic Cooke is a serviceable director. "(Chisholm) played a very important role in the story that we couldn't get into, because it's a whole other movie," Cooke says. All relationship and family history information shown on FameChain has been compiled from data in the public domain. The Russian told him: Tell my friends that I must come out, soon, very soon. He was 71. LONDON (AP) _ Greville Wynne, who spied on the Soviet Union for Britain during the Cold War and who Copyright 2023 British Path Ltd. Company number: 02222005. "He did make a life for himself, but Greville Wynne did pay a big price for his service. He was recruited by MI5 during the Second World War. Sheila was born between October 1921 and December 1921, in Wandsworth RD, Surrey, England. Wynne recalls Penkovsky saying: I need girls, I really do. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. WebWife of British spy Greville Wynne. "He came from a very humble background, but was always trying to better himself," says Cumberbatch. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. His task was to make contact with Penkovsky, who worked for The Red Armys spy unit the GRU and was MI6 believed ready to cut a deal. "Think about going back to life after that intense drama," Cooke says. NEWSLETTERS: Sign up to keep up with all the latest news, arts and culture, and TV highlights from KPBS. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Wynne is removed from a plane by KGB officers before getting punched in the stomach and thrown in the back of a van. But do note that it is not possible to be certain of a person's genealogy without a family's cooperation (and/or DNA testing). But what he did want was to protect his wife and son. Cumberbatch says: They tried everything, from the worst kind of deprivation to beatings, to psychological torture, to turning on the warm showers, turning them off again. 2.Spy Histories The unlikely British spy was freed in 1964 in exchange for Soviet spy Konon Molody. Reports suggest Prince Charles will live "in a flat above the shop" when he becomes king. Copyright FameChain 2023, All rights reserved. The film also creates a female American spy (played by "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel's" Rachel Brosnahan) to bring the film some gender equity, but the role feels very much like a plot device. Nikita Khrushchev (then president of the USSR) liked to brag about Russias scientific and militaristic advancements. Both men were patriots (albeit from warring countries) who simply didnt want to see their families and friends, and millions of their countrymen perish because of a few angry political leaders. He was recruited by MI5 during the Second World War. instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser. But they come to realize that the bad blood between their homelands isnt so much about hatred towards foreigners as it is about politicians screaming about which country is better. Wynne died from throat cancer in 1990 at the age of 70 bedevilled by questions around the authenticity of his accounts. Greville married Herma Wynne (born van Buren) in 1970, at age 51 at marriage place. The most controversial claim in the book was that he and Penkovsky were smuggled into the White House and lauded by President Kennedy. It is not known where he will spend the rest of his sentence. Five months later, Wynne would be dead and his extraordinary story of how he was a major player in one of the most productive covert operations ever conducted by MI6 and the CIA against the USSR would be buried with him. Greville Wynne is a legend in the history books and his family has also benefited from it. I had been trained that, if and when this thing happened, I must at any cost let someone know. For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Ryan Wynne, United Kingdom. In his memoirs A Man From Moscow published in 1967 and in a later book, The Man From Odessa, Wynne revealed further details of his spying activities. 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