Olga Gray

Female, Person

1906 –

94

Who is Olga Gray?

Olga Gray was a British secretary and typist recruited as an Mi5 infiltration agent by Maxwell Knight of B5 section in 1931. She was born in Manchester. Under the instructions of Knight, Gray moved to London and became a member of the Friends of the Soviet Union in 1932. Knight's reasoning behind Gray becoming a member of a soviet friendly organisation but not actually offering to spy on Great Britiain for the Soviet Union, was that the most successful counter-espionage agents were those who were approached by the enemy organisation.

This plan met with success when in 1934 after a period working for the Anti War Movement she was approached by Harry Pollitt and asked to undertake a 'special mission' on behalf of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Having accepted this request Gray was sent to Paris on June 6, 1934 where she was to rendezvous with Percy Glading.

Following this meeting Gray was instructed by Glading to go to India to deliver money and messages to insurgent elements therein. However the cover-story provided to Gray by the CPGB was so flimsy for a woman travelling alone during the monsoon season to India that she would not fail to rouse the suspicion of the authorities. Knight's B5 section therefore stepped in and concocted a passable cover-story to enable her to continue to gain evidence of CPGB espionage. On her return from India Gray worked as Pollitt's personal secretary, till dropping all work with the communists in 1935 due to the strain of maintaining a double life.

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Born
1906
Manchester

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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