Frank Bossard
Encyclopedia
Frank Clifton Bossard was a British Secret Intelligence Service
agent who provided classified documents to the Soviet Union
in the 1960s. MI6 recruited Bossard in 1945, stationing him in Bonn, Germany, with a large entertainment budget. When Bossard returned to London
in 1961, he found his lifestyle unsustainable without the budget, and fell heavily into debt. After profiling him, the Soviet Union sent an agent to him, offering money in exchange for pictures of interest to the KGB
and the Kremlin
. A Soviet double agent
known as "Top Hat" in actuality Dmitri Polyakov
, revealed Bossard's actions to MI5, who arrested Bossard on March 12, 1965. Bossard was convicted and sentenced to 21 years imprisonment. He was freed from prison in 1975 and returned to Yorkshire.
Shortly after his release he changed his name by Deed from Frank Clifton Bossard to Frank Russell Clifton. He worked as the Practice Manager for a firm of soliciors in Hull.
His mother worked as a housekeeper and general store
manager in Gedney, Lincolnshire
until 1923, when she married a farmer and moved to the country. Bossard dropped out of school when his stepfather could no longer afford it, instead becoming a store clerk. Despite his lack of education, Bossard became interested in radio
s, building his first one at sixteen. In the 1930s, Bossard joined the British Union of Fascists
, but found himself out of place among many of the organizations socialite
s. Eventually, Bossard saved enough money to attend radio technology courses at Norwich Technical College. When Bossard ran out of the money necessary to attend he was arrested for attempting to cash a forged cheque in 1934. Bossard served six months hard labour, a fact which did not turn up throughout most of his career. Bossard married his first wife Ethel Isobel Brash on 26 February 1941 at St. Simon's Parish Church, Southsea.
, Bossard joined in the Royal Air Force
and fought in the Middle East Theatre
. He gained an officer's commission with a false résumé
. Eventually, Bossard was transferred to a radar unit, where he had become a Flight Lieutenant
by 1946. Bossard taught briefly at the Air Service College before the Ministry of Aviation
offered him a post as an assistant signals officer. He was eventually promoted to the position of staff telecommunications officer.
. Five years later, the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) recruited Bossard, stationing him at the embassy in Bonn, West Germany
. In Bonn, Bossard had the duty of interviewing scientists, engineers, and technicians who had fled the Soviet Union. MI6 provided Bossard with a large entertainment allowance, which he used to take his interviewees to strip clubs and prostitutes. At this time, he also took up heavy drinking.
Soon after returning to London, Bossard was approached by a man who called himself Gordon. After a few nights in a local bar, Gordon revealed that he was a Soviet agent working at the embassy, and offered Bossard a £250 advance for his agreement to deliver documents to Soviet agents. Bossard was given nine dead drop
s around the city. He was instructed to listen to Radio Moscow at 7:45 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of each month. One of five popular Russian songs would play, and Bossard was to proceed differently according to which one was broadcast—The Volga Boat Song indicated abortion of the operation. Bossard would routinely take classified documents, mostly involving missile systems and radars, from his office, photograph them in his hotel room during his lunch break using equipment he left in a briefcase in the left luggage office at London Waterloo station, and return them the next day. For every packet of photographs delivered, he received £2,000. Bossard later told authorities that he had received £5,000 in total.
When Bossard went on spending binges, he caught the attention of MI5
. Suspicions were confirmed when the Soviet double agent Dmitri Polyakov
(known as TOPHAT) provided information regarding Bossard's activities. Another agent known as NICNAC also provided the Central Intelligence Agency
with information regarding Bossard. After weeks of surveillance and an investigation into his finances, Bossard was arrested on March 12, 1965 in the Ivanhoe Hotel in Bloomsbury
, where he had been photographing documents. Though suppressed at the time, Bossard was the first spy caught with the use of an electronic transmitter
. These transmitters were placed on the clips of classified documents, which were then followed to Bossard's desk, and eventually to the hotel he was using. Bossard was charged with violating the Official Secrets Act
and received a quick trial at the Old Bailey
on May 10, 1965, where he confessed and was sentenced to 21 years in prison. Lord Chief Justice Hubert Parker
informed Bossard: "It would be longer and I emphasize this but for the fact that you are now 52 years of age, and that you have shown a degree of remorse by making a full confession extending far beyond the matters in respect of which you are charged". At the time, Bossard's sentence was the third longest resulting from a postwar spy trial. Following Bossard's case, officials began reforming the qualifications of those who handled classified documents and how espionage cases were handled if they occurred. While in prison, Bossard was divorced by his wife, Ethel.
(Quakers). He soon met and married Marianne Johanna Konrad (née Fried) a widow of Jewish ancestry who was also a Quaker. They were married on 6 November 1976 at The Friends Meeting House, Percy Street, Hull.
Frank Clifton died on 19 June 2001 in Hull of natural causes.
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
agent who provided classified documents to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in the 1960s. MI6 recruited Bossard in 1945, stationing him in Bonn, Germany, with a large entertainment budget. When Bossard returned to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1961, he found his lifestyle unsustainable without the budget, and fell heavily into debt. After profiling him, the Soviet Union sent an agent to him, offering money in exchange for pictures of interest to the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
and the Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
. A Soviet double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
known as "Top Hat" in actuality Dmitri Polyakov
Dmitri Polyakov
Dmitri Fyodorovich Polyakov was a Soviet Major General, a high-ranking GRU officer, and a prominent Cold War spy who revealed Soviet secrets to the Central Intelligence Agency...
, revealed Bossard's actions to MI5, who arrested Bossard on March 12, 1965. Bossard was convicted and sentenced to 21 years imprisonment. He was freed from prison in 1975 and returned to Yorkshire.
Shortly after his release he changed his name by Deed from Frank Clifton Bossard to Frank Russell Clifton. He worked as the Practice Manager for a firm of soliciors in Hull.
Early life
Bossard was born in 1912 to a poor single mother, Ethel Bossard (née Clifton); his father Frank Bossard (Journeyman Joiner) died before he was born.His mother worked as a housekeeper and general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
manager in Gedney, Lincolnshire
Gedney, Lincolnshire
Gedney is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies just to the south off the A17 Boston to King's Lynn road, east from Holbeach and north-east from Long Sutton...
until 1923, when she married a farmer and moved to the country. Bossard dropped out of school when his stepfather could no longer afford it, instead becoming a store clerk. Despite his lack of education, Bossard became interested in radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
s, building his first one at sixteen. In the 1930s, Bossard joined the British Union of Fascists
British Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
, but found himself out of place among many of the organizations socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
s. Eventually, Bossard saved enough money to attend radio technology courses at Norwich Technical College. When Bossard ran out of the money necessary to attend he was arrested for attempting to cash a forged cheque in 1934. Bossard served six months hard labour, a fact which did not turn up throughout most of his career. Bossard married his first wife Ethel Isobel Brash on 26 February 1941 at St. Simon's Parish Church, Southsea.
RAF and Ministry of Civil Aviation
When Britain entered World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Bossard joined in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and fought in the Middle East Theatre
Middle East Theatre of World War II
The Middle East Theatre of World War II is defined largely by reference to the British Middle East Command, which controlled Allied forces in both Southwest Asia and eastern North Africa...
. He gained an officer's commission with a false résumé
Résumé
A résumé is a document used by individuals to present their background and skillsets. Résumés can be used for a variety of reasons but most often to secure new employment. A typical résumé contains a summary of relevant job experience and education...
. Eventually, Bossard was transferred to a radar unit, where he had become a Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
by 1946. Bossard taught briefly at the Air Service College before the Ministry of Aviation
Ministry of Aviation
Ministry of Aviation was a department of the United Kingdom government, established in 1959. Its responsibilities included the regulation of civil aviation and the supply of military aircraft, which it took on from the Ministry of Supply....
offered him a post as an assistant signals officer. He was eventually promoted to the position of staff telecommunications officer.
MI6
In 1951 Bossard accepted a position as senior officer with the Ministry's Scientific and Technical Intelligence Branch in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Five years later, the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) recruited Bossard, stationing him at the embassy in Bonn, West Germany
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
. In Bonn, Bossard had the duty of interviewing scientists, engineers, and technicians who had fled the Soviet Union. MI6 provided Bossard with a large entertainment allowance, which he used to take his interviewees to strip clubs and prostitutes. At this time, he also took up heavy drinking.
Espionage
In 1961 Bossard returned to London to again work with the Ministry of Aviation. Though he no longer possessed his entertainment allowance, Bossard maintained his habits. The Soviet Union began to profile Bossard at this time, finding he had favorable traits to be recruited for Soviet espionage activities. Agents concluded that he maintained access to secret documents on guided missiles, had financial issues, possessed multiple weaknesses of character.Soon after returning to London, Bossard was approached by a man who called himself Gordon. After a few nights in a local bar, Gordon revealed that he was a Soviet agent working at the embassy, and offered Bossard a £250 advance for his agreement to deliver documents to Soviet agents. Bossard was given nine dead drop
Dead drop
A dead drop or dead letter box is a method of espionage tradecraft used to pass items between two individuals by using a secret location and thus does not require them to meet directly. Using a dead drop permits a Case Officer and his Agent to exchange objects and information while maintaining...
s around the city. He was instructed to listen to Radio Moscow at 7:45 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of each month. One of five popular Russian songs would play, and Bossard was to proceed differently according to which one was broadcast—The Volga Boat Song indicated abortion of the operation. Bossard would routinely take classified documents, mostly involving missile systems and radars, from his office, photograph them in his hotel room during his lunch break using equipment he left in a briefcase in the left luggage office at London Waterloo station, and return them the next day. For every packet of photographs delivered, he received £2,000. Bossard later told authorities that he had received £5,000 in total.
When Bossard went on spending binges, he caught the attention of MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
. Suspicions were confirmed when the Soviet double agent Dmitri Polyakov
Dmitri Polyakov
Dmitri Fyodorovich Polyakov was a Soviet Major General, a high-ranking GRU officer, and a prominent Cold War spy who revealed Soviet secrets to the Central Intelligence Agency...
(known as TOPHAT) provided information regarding Bossard's activities. Another agent known as NICNAC also provided the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
with information regarding Bossard. After weeks of surveillance and an investigation into his finances, Bossard was arrested on March 12, 1965 in the Ivanhoe Hotel in Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
, where he had been photographing documents. Though suppressed at the time, Bossard was the first spy caught with the use of an electronic transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
. These transmitters were placed on the clips of classified documents, which were then followed to Bossard's desk, and eventually to the hotel he was using. Bossard was charged with violating the Official Secrets Act
Official Secrets Act
The Official Secrets Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and Malaysia and formerly in New Zealand for legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security.-United Kingdom:*The Official Secrets...
and received a quick trial at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
on May 10, 1965, where he confessed and was sentenced to 21 years in prison. Lord Chief Justice Hubert Parker
Hubert Parker, Baron Parker of Waddington
Hubert Lister Parker, Baron Parker of Waddington PC was a British Judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1958 to 1971...
informed Bossard: "It would be longer and I emphasize this but for the fact that you are now 52 years of age, and that you have shown a degree of remorse by making a full confession extending far beyond the matters in respect of which you are charged". At the time, Bossard's sentence was the third longest resulting from a postwar spy trial. Following Bossard's case, officials began reforming the qualifications of those who handled classified documents and how espionage cases were handled if they occurred. While in prison, Bossard was divorced by his wife, Ethel.
Later life
Released in 1975, Bossard changed his name to Frank Russell Clifton in the same year. He found employment with the Hull solicitors Bird and Clarke, led by Leonard Bird, a member of the Religious Society of FriendsReligious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
(Quakers). He soon met and married Marianne Johanna Konrad (née Fried) a widow of Jewish ancestry who was also a Quaker. They were married on 6 November 1976 at The Friends Meeting House, Percy Street, Hull.
Frank Clifton died on 19 June 2001 in Hull of natural causes.