Tag Archives: Spies

The Spy Who Lied: Another look at the Kim Philby story

Posted on January 28, 2024 by historyatkingston

A recent television drama series about the life of Kim Philby, the British Intelligence officer who engaged in treachery, attracted good reviews and enthusiastic viewers when it was screened, but contained few surprises for historians of the secret state. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, British history, European History, Historiography, Public History, Research, Russian History, Secret State, The National Archives, Uncategorized, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fifth Column Fears in Kingston-on-Thames, 1939-1940: A Brief Survey

Posted on September 3, 2022 by historyatkingston

Eighty-two years ago this summer, some of the first signs of serious fear about a possible German invasion of the country began to grip the British public. Although such concern had been building for a few months beforehand, the news … Continue reading →

Posted in British Empire, British history, European History, Fascism, History of war, Kingston, Local History, London history, Media history, Public History, Research, Surbiton, Surrey, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fifth Column Fears in Kingston-on-Thames, 1939-1940: A Brief Survey

Posted on May 31, 2021 by historyatkingston

Eighty-two years ago, in May-June, 1940, parts of south-west London experienced the same degree of paranoia that gripped other parts of the capital and elsewhere across England. This was fear of possible sabotage or other similar acts, as a prelude … Continue reading →

Posted in Anti-fascism, British history, European History, Fascism, History of war, Kingston, Local History, London history, Media history, Public History, Research, Surbiton, Surrey, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Five facts about Kingston’s ‘hidden’ history

Posted on December 29, 2020 by historyatkingston

Spies, lies and secret lives. The secret side to history can be fascinating to explore, and is an exciting part of studying history at Kingston University, Surrey. The market town of Kingston-on-Thames itself has a ‘hidden’ side, and here we … Continue reading →

Posted in American history, British history, European History, Kingston, Kingston University, Local History, London history, Public History, Research, Richmond history, Surrey, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rewriting history: Russia’s invention of an alternative Chernobyl story

Posted on August 4, 2020 by historyatkingston

It was a real pleasure to see the TV drama Chernobyl pick up a number of BAFTA 2020 TV awards last Friday, including one for Jared Harris, one of the lead actors in the series. The drama was arguably one … Continue reading →

Posted in Conspiracy theory, European History, History skills, London history, Media history, Public History, Russian History, Teaching, Uncategorized, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Spies and Lies: Another look at the Kim Philby story

Posted on July 15, 2020 by historyatkingston

The news that a major new television drama will be produced about the life of Kim Philby, the British Intelligence officer who engaged in treachery, will come as no surprise to historians of the secret state. The new production, A … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, British history, European History, Public History, Research, Russian History, Secret State, The National Archives, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Important new contribution to interpreting The Troubles: Review of Thomas Leahy’s ‘The Intelligence War Against the IRA’

Posted on July 1, 2020 by historyatkingston

Thomas Leahy’s The Intelligence War Against the IRA is an important new contribution to the growing, and changing, interpretations of The Troubles. As the title suggests, the main thrust of Leahy’s book is an analysis of the intelligence war that … Continue reading →

Posted in British Empire, British history, European History, Historiography, Irish History, Public History, Research, Secret State, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fifth Column Fears in Kingston, 1939-1940: A Brief Survey

Posted on May 28, 2020 by historyatkingston

Eighty years ago this month, some of the first signs of serious fear about a possible German invasion of the country began to grip the British public. Although such concern had been building for a few months beforehand, the news … Continue reading →

Posted in British Empire, British history, European History, Fascism, Kingston, Local History, London history, Media history, Public History, Research, Surbiton, Surrey, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Subverting the Subversives: Did MI5 infiltrate the British entertainment industry?

Posted on May 20, 2020 by historyatkingston

In 2018 some revealing new claims were put forward that the British domestic Security Service, MI5, was not just involved with monitoring and collecting intelligence on political movements and individuals deemed as potential threats to the state in the post-war … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, British history, Gender History, History skills, London history, Media history, Public History, Research, Secret State, The National Archives, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Secrets and Spies: Latchmere House in Wartime

Posted on March 29, 2020 by historyatkingston

A blog post I penned recently included some brief coverage of ‘Camp 020’, the secret MI5 interrogation centre at Latchmere House. I have received a number of enquiries about this, so here is a more detailed blog I wrote on … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, European History, Fascism, German History, Kingston, Local History, London history, Public History, Richmond history, Surrey, The National Archives | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments