Oreste Pinto
Oreste Pinto (9 October 1889 – 18 September 1961) was a Dutch counterintelligence officer and Lieutenant-Colonel. His activities during the Second World War, in which he worked with MI5 interrogating refugees to England, resulted in the capture of eight spies.
Career[edit]
During the Second World War, Pinto was an MI5 interrogator.[1] He interviewed over 30,000 immigrants to the UK at the euphemistically named "London Reception Centre" in the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building in Wandsworth.[2][3]
In 1952, Pinto published two books, Spy-catcher and Friend or Foe? These formed the basis of the 1959-1961 BBC television series Spycatcher, and also an earlier BBC Radio series, in both of which he was portrayed by Bernard Archard. A further book, Spycatcher 2, based on the series, was published in 1960. The 1962 Dutch programme De Fuik, in which Pinto was portrayed by Frits Butzelaar,[4] was also derived from them.
Dwight Eisenhower once described Pinto as "the greatest living authority on security".[5] The Daily Telegraph referred to him as a "human bloodhound".[6] Conversely, Guy Liddell stated in 1942 that he had been told by Leonard Burt that Pinto had "a thoroughly bad record".[7]
Pinto's career in intelligence began in 1913, when he was recruited by the Deuxième Bureau.[8]
He characterized himself as basically a generalist, with a knack for learning languages, skill in boxing and shooting ("I managed to reach amateur international standard,"[9]), and being an excellent bridge player and a "local" zoologist.
Works[edit]
- Spycatcher. Werner Laurie, 1952
- Friend or Foe? Werner Laurie, 1953
- Spycatcher 2. Four Square, 1963
- Spycatcher 3. Four Square, 1967[10]
References[edit]
- ^ Pinto, Lt. Col. Oreste (1952). "Spycatcher". Werner Laurie.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Tobia, Simona (January 2014). "'A brutally tough place for brutally tough people'". History Today. 64.
- ^ "History of the Royal Victoria Patriotic School". Royal Victoria Patriotic School. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
- ^ De Fuik, at Beeld en Geluid; retrieved May 23, 2012
- ^ "- TIME". September 29, 1961. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
- ^ Pinto, Oreste (1889-1961), by B.G.J. de Graaff, in Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland (archived at Utrecht University; published 05-09-2003; retrieved 23-05-2012
- ^ The Guy Liddell Diaries: MI5’s Director of Counter-Espionagein World War II (volume 1, 1939-1942), by Guy Liddell (edited by Nigel West); published 2005 by Taylor & Francis
- ^ Spycatcher, by Robert Barr, in the Radio Times, published August 28, 1959; archived at Toobworld; posted May 8, 2008; retrieved January 31, 2016
- ^ Spy-catcher, at the beginning of the chapter "Like Father, Like Son"
- ^ Four Square Books (Four Square Books; New English Library) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Full bibliographic details and photograph. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
External links[edit]
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