Spies

We were constantly accused of being infilltrated by KGB spies, and of being traitors. Our very existence was supposedly enough to weaken national security and it was believed we could be infilltrated by soviet sabateurs carrying suitcase nuclear weapons.

We were certainly visited by enough undercover police to give an occasional welcome boost to numbers. The police read our newsletters to keep abreast of our activities and of course we read theirs.

It didn't require any special spying skills to spot a cruise convoy. Even at night, which they may have thought was a cunning concealment ploy, it would be difficult to keep a low profile in a convoy of about 20 vehicles some of which were over 50 foot long each. If soviet spies wanted to monitor the convoys they would hardly have needed to join the peace camp (joining cruisewatch would have been better - more technical).

The whole idea of keeping the dispersals secret was a joke. On Salisbury Plain, a flat expanse of grass, our soviet - trained spying skills told us the convoy would be hiding in the trees.

We had a theory about the convoys that they were a form of ovulation envy - they came out from the silos about once a month, trundled down the fallopian tube (the A343) to the womb of Salisbury Plain, and then, in spite of all their preparations, nothing happened, and after a few days, the convoy broke up and returned in dribs and drabs. It's not known whether the KGB adopted our theory or not.

by Kay for this site - add links to places with more info: Sals Plain, convoy, etc.

Top