Chapter 3 Chapter One

Everything had to start in 1949, a spring that turned from warm to cold.Our laboratory is based in Great Barda, Essex.It was raining that day, and the raindrops rattled on the tin roof of the laboratory prefab.I'm a Naval Science Technician in this lab, directly under the Marconi Corporation.The ripples on the oscilloscope in front of me throbbed and gave me a headache.Spread out on the trestle table were some scribbled calculation formulas.I'm designing a radar system that will be able to spot a submarine's periscope in rough seas.But easier said than done, I have been working on this research project for several years.Now the phone rang, and it was my father, Maurice Wright.He is the chief engineer of Marconi Corporation.

"Fred Brundritt wants to see us," he said. This is nothing new.Brundritt was the head of the Royal Navy's science and technology department and is now the chief scientist of the Ministry of Defence.He is very concerned about the later progress of my project.Whether to invest in the production of samples of such a system must be decided quickly.If it is to be produced, the funds consumed are staggering.Postwar defense research was a never-ending struggle against fiscal austerity.I'm ready to get another blush over this. I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak directly with Brundett.He is a frequent visitor to our house.My father and I both worked for his Admiralty Institute during the war.I thought, maybe I have the opportunity to change to a new job.

The next day we drove to London in a constant, hazy drizzle.We parked near Brundett's office at Story's Gate.Whitehall looked dilapidated and gray.Colonnades and statues seemed out of proportion to this changing world.Clement Attlee has been promising "teeth and glasses," but it's been a tough winter.Rational rationing was implemented for residents, and people appeared restless.The exhilarating victory of 1945 has long been forgotten by the gloomy discontent. We introduced ourselves to the dapper secretary in Brundritt's outer office.There was a commotion on the way to the Whitehall extension, and it seemed we weren't the first to get here.I greeted several acquaintances who were scientists in various departments' laboratories.There might be a routine meeting here, I think.At this moment, two people came out from the crowd.

"Are you sure you are the Wrights?" the short man asked me unexpectedly.He spoke with a thick military accent. "I'm Colonel Malcolm Cumming from the Operations Office. This is my colleague Hugh Winterborn." At this moment, another stranger came over. "This is John Henry, a friend of ours, working in the External Office." Cumming used a strange code name.This is the code name Whitehall uses to identify the staff of its secret services.No matter what aspect of the problem this may involve, I think it must have nothing to do with anti-submarine warfare, at least not with the current MI5 and MI6 squads.Brundritt showed up at the door of his office, and he invited us in.

His office was as large as he was known for, with wide sash windows and high ceilings that dwarfed his desk.He invites us to sit down at a conference table neatly arranged with blotters and decanters.Brundritt was short in stature, but full of energy.In order to promote the development of science and technology that World War II desperately needed, several people were selected to take charge of it, and Brundett was one of them.In addition, there are Lindemann, Dizard and Cockcraft et al.Brundritt served as the deputy director of the Naval Institute of Science.Later, he became the deputy director of the Royal Naval Research Institute, and was fully responsible for recruiting scientific and technological backbones for British government departments during the war.He himself is a layman in science and technology, but he is well aware of the pivotal role that science and molecules have played throughout history.His policy was to promote as many young people as possible.The leaders of the government department trusted him so much that he was able to obtain the necessary financial and material resources to enable these young people to fully display their talents.

At the end of the 1940s, post-war Britain had to recover from its negativity and sinking, preparing for a new war—the Cold War.Hiring Brundrett to revitalize the science and technology community was undoubtedly a good idea. He was appointed as the acting science and technology adviser to the Ministry of Defense, and he became the science adviser after Cockcraft.In 1954, he became chairman of the Defense Policy Research Committee. "Gentlemen," he began as soon as we sat down, "we are all well aware that since last year's events in Berlin we have been at war." He was referring to the Russian blockade of Berlin, and the ensuing Western air corridor, which had given Britain's defensive vision a powerful blow.

"This war is fought with spies, not soldiers, at least in the short term," he went on, "and I have discussed with the head of the Security Service, Mr. Rancy Sillitoe, what we should do. Frankly," he said at last, "it's not a good situation!" Brundett laid out the problem succinctly.In fact, it was impossible to successfully plant spies behind Stalin's Iron Curtain, because the intentions of the Soviet Union and its accomplices had to be ascertained first, and we lacked intelligence in this regard, and only continuous innovation in science and technology could fill this gap .

"I have spoken briefly to some of you, such as Colonel Cumming of the Security Service and Peter Dixon of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). I recommend that Mr. Percy use a young scientist as a research assistant. I nominate Peter Wright for a try. Some of you know him, he works in the Electronics Research Laboratory, he You can still work there part-time until we figure it out." Brundett looked at me. "You'd do it for us, wouldn't you?" Before I could answer, he turned to my father: "Jim, it's clear we need Marconi's help urgently, so I've put you on the committee." (Inside the Navy, anyone who knows past Jim's , all know my father. Marconi used to be called Jim for short.)

This is typical Brundett style, he invited you as if he was giving you an order, and he could even make the Ministry of Whitehall change their minds and listen to him. We spent the rest of the afternoon discussing some scenarios.Those sent to the meeting by MI5 and MI6 were silent.I think, as a secret agent, it is an instinct to keep a sense of proportion in front of so many outsiders.Every scientist present made an impromptu speech one by one on whether the research topics in their laboratories could be applied to the intelligence industry.Obviously, it would take a long time to conduct a comprehensive technical survey of the requirements of all aspects of intelligence work, but it is clear that the most urgent thing at present is to come up with a new type of wiretapping device, which can prevent agents from You can get information when you enter the room.Due to the blockade of the Soviet Union, it is extremely unlikely to enter the area under the jurisdiction of the Soviets for intelligence unless the shared wall is opened or the embassy building is rebuilt.During the break, we made twenty possible suggestions for a productive research project.Brundritt directed me to draft an assessment report, and the meeting adjourned.

As I was leaving, a man named John Taylor came up to me and introduced himself.He worked in the technical department of the Post and Telecommunications Bureau, and gave a detailed speech on the listening design of the Post and Telecommunications Bureau at the meeting."We're going to work together on this," he told me. We exchanged phone numbers. "I'll be in touch with you next week." As we drove back to Grand Badda, my father and I talked animatedly about this afternoon's meeting.It's an honor that things came out so unexpectedly.During the war, Whitehall often engaged in such unpredictability.Since the end of the war, Whitehall has seldom followed the rules, doing such unavoidable things.My blood boiled at the thought of getting rid of the anti-submarine job this time.My father was as excited as I was that it would keep us connected to covert intelligence work again.The connection with this business has been in my family for forty-five years.