The Enigma Spy: The story of the man who changed the course of World War Two

by John Cairncross

The Cambridge Five – the most infamous spy ring in British history. Kim Philby, Anthony Blunt, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean were the four. But who was the fifth man? John Cairncross, born 1913 in Scotland, was the brilliant scholarship boy who made it to Cambridge University. It was here that he met Blunt and was introduced into Communist circles.He worked right at the heart of the British Establishment – and was thus the perfect target for the KGB. During the war he was among the elite group recruited to Bletchley Park, the ultra-secret British code breaking unit, where he had access to the communications of the German military. In 1944, he joined M16.John Cairncross was under suspicion for a large part of his life but was never directly accused by the British state of spying. In this riveting memoir, first published in 1997, he tells his story.He was trapped by Cambridge contemporary James Kluggman into helping the KGB – but he was determined to pass to the Russians only such information as he judged vital to help them defeat the Nazis. At Bletchley, he found a way to hand intelligence to his KGB handler, which enabled the Russians to defeat Hitler at the battle of Kursk.John Cairncross expresses no liking for the Cambridge spies, who all belonged to a social class above his own. Nonetheless he is commonly assumed to be the fifth man of their ring. Readers can judge for themselves. What is in no doubt is the brilliance of his mind, and Enigma Spy is a fascinating, firsthand account of double dealing and espionage during the Second World War.This 2021 edition includes a foreword from Cairncross’ widow Gayle Cairncross Gow, who helped him to write and edit this memoir.Praise for The Enigma ‘John's memoirs document the prolonged and tortuous self-examination which led him in 1943, while at Bletchley Park, to pass to the Russians crucial information derived from Enigma decrypts about the strength and location of the Luftwaffe. These enabled the Red Army to win the battle of Kursk, which proved a turning point in the war’ - Gayle Cairncross Gow - The Guardian‘Fascinating and enjoyable. A must-read for spy story lovers’ – GoodreadsJohn Cairncross - 1913 – 1995 - was a British Civil Servant. He was also a gifted linguist and published translations of French poetry, as well as writing his own book on Moliere, and a study of polygamy in medieval Europe, When Polygamy became a Sin. He spent his last years in the south of France with his wife, American opera singer Gayle Brinkerhoff, where he was a close neighbour of his friend and supporter novelist Graham Green. He was portrayed in 2014 film The Imitation Game and appears as the fifth of the Cambridge Spies in Frederick Forsyth’s novel The Deceiver.

Genres: Nonfiction

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 27, 2021

About the author

John Cairncross (1913 – 1995) was a Scottish-born British civil servant who became an intelligence officer and spy during the Second World War. As a Soviet double agent, he passed to the Soviet Union the raw Tunny decryptions that influenced the Battle of Kursk. He was alleged to be the fifth member of the Cambridge Five. He is also notable as a translator and writer of non-fiction.

Reviews

[Iain · Rating 3 out of 5]

The opening statement of the defence team for John Cairncross states, ‘he is innocent and did all he did in an effort to help defeat Nazi Germany’. Their key witness is his wife, so just now the defence might be on ice that is a little thin.

Twenty-Twenty-Hindsight will allow you to believe the Allies would have won the day, with or without the help of Stalin. I doubt it was that black-and-white when the marauding wolf-packs were decimating Atlantic convoys and the bombs were raining down on the cities of Britain.

There is suggestion, from other quarters, that British Intelligence knew what was afoot and allowed the passage of information to continue unobstructed.

John Cairncross denies being one of ‘the Philby et alia’.

This is his explanation, and most candid it is, of why he did what he did. I’m of the mind to believe the defence, but I’m also inclined to believe the jury remains hung.

In part, you will find a heap of facts and dates that you may see as trivia and being used to cast doubt on any tales told by the prosecution. A good defence team will often try that trick when their arguments are a mite weak in places.

It’s well worth the time and puts good information up for debate.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really smart guy but I did not like his writing style - so utterly dry. Clearly defensive, maybe rightfully so - he says he wasn’t a traitor because he was helping an ally? And just wanted to oppose hitler any way possible so I can’t fault him for that…