EPISODE · Jan 30, 2025 · 53 MIN
The spy who kept secrets for the self-made man
from Conversations · host Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Belinda Probert knew her father as an English war hero named Bill. What she didn't know, was that he was born Roy and that his spying did not end when the war did.Belinda Probert knew her father to be a decorated English war hero and successful businessman, whose family had all died long ago. But a few months after Bill Probert died as an old man in France, a letter arrived at her mother’s house from a man claiming to be her father’s nephew.Slowly, the much more complicated story of Bill's life unfurled — a story of forgotten family, new identities, spying, and a man who simply decided to make himself anew.Belinda decided to track down the truth of her father’s origins and in doing so she also learned that his work with the British intelligence didn’t end when the war was over.This episode of Conversations explores family secrets, family dynamics, spying, MI6, MI5, ancestry, origin stories, epic adventures, love, Wales, coal mining, classism, class warfare, World War Two, France, Normandy, Nazis, Germany, emigration, brotherhood, parenting, fathers and daughters.To binge even more great episodes of the ‘Conversations podcast’ with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
What this episode covers
Belinda Probert knew her father as an English war hero named Bill. What she didn't know, was that he was born Roy and that his spying did not end when the war did. Belinda Probert knew her father to be a decorated English war hero and successful businessman, whose family had all died long ago. But a few months after Bill Probert died as an old man in France, a letter arrived at her mother’s house from a man claiming to be her father’s nephew. Slowly, the much more complicated story of Bill's life unfurled — a story of forgotten family, new identities, spying, and a man who simply decided to make himself anew. Belinda decided to track down the truth of her father’s origins and in doing so she also learned that his work with the British intelligence didn’t end when the war was over. This episode of Conversations explores family secrets, family dynamics, spying, MI6, MI5, ancestry, origin stories, epic adventures, love, Wales, coal mining, classism, class warfare, World War Two, France, Normandy, Nazis, Germany, emigration, brotherhood, parenting, fathers and daughters. To binge even more great episodes of the ‘Conversations podcast’ with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
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The spy who kept secrets for the self-made man
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