The Cambridge Spy Ring: 75 Years since the first defections | The National Archives
Conferences
Join Gordon Corera in discussion with Gill Bennett as they investigate the legacy of the Cambridge Spies, 75 years on.
How did the public revelations about the Cambridge Spies unfold, and how did they change British society?
In May 1951, two British diplomats, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, seemingly disappeared from the country, sparking a media frenzy and a worldwide hunt to locate them. Soon after, as new allegations about their past emerged, they became the face of a wider espionage operation that was now understood to have compromised Britain for decades, prompting ongoing debate about the extent of the ring, how it had ever occurred, and how their motives should be understood.
Seventy-five years later, join Gordon Corera (author and journalist) in discussion with Gill Bennett (historian) as they investigate the legacy of these spies.
What were their motivations? What was the impact on government and the intelligence services? And how did they change perceptions of loyalty, security, and espionage across modern British society and culture?
Image:
Burgess and Maclean, photographs from post disappearance papers 1951-1953,
(FCO158-6)
HOW TO JOIN US
Join us in person at The National Archives, Kew and online via Zoom Webinar.
In person attendance:
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The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU
.
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The Afterlife of the Cambridge Spies
This event is part of a programme of activities associated with the AHRC funded project,
The Afterlife of the Cambridge Spies
.
With 2026 marking seventy-five years since the first public revelation of the spies, this AHRC Curiosity project will therefore instigate a multidisciplinary analysis of the complicated legacies of the Cambridge spies across this full and entwined political, social, and cultural landscape. Engaging participants including academics, archivists, cultural producers, educators, and government stakeholders, the project’s aim is to address a series of interlocked research areas.
Project Leads:
Professor James Smith, University of Durham
Professor Michael S Goodman, King’s College London
Project Partner:
The National Archives
Information Source: The National Archives: for academic and research communities | eventbrite
