Oreste Pinto

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Oreste Pinto (9 October 1889 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands – 18 September 1961 in London, England) 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[]

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 , in which Pinto was portrayed by ,[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 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[]

  • Spycatcher. Werner Laurie, 1952
  • Friend or Foe? Werner Laurie, 1953
  • Spycatcher 2. Four Square, 1963

References[]

  1. ^ Pinto, Lt. Col. Oreste (1952). "Spycatcher". Werner Laurie. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. ^ Tobia, Simona (January 2014). "'A brutally tough place for brutally tough people'". History Today. 64.
  3. ^ "History of the Royal Victoria Patriotic School". Royal Victoria Patriotic School. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  4. ^ De Fuik, at Beeld en Geluid; retrieved May 23, 2012
  5. ^ "- TIME". September 29, 1961. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Spycatcher, by Robert Barr, in the Radio Times, published August 28, 1959; archived at Toobworld; posted May 8, 2008; retrieved January 31, 2016
  9. ^ Spy-catcher, at the beginning of the chapter "Like Father, Like Son"

External links[]

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