Page 26 • The HERALD • 29th January 2026 v SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE HERALD v Next Level Scaffolding Ash 07702 082961 Next Level Scaffolding Josh 07896 883508 ashcarroll@nextlevel-ltd.co.uk Your Local Professional Electrician • Complete Rewires • Periodic Inspection Reports • Fault Finding & Repair • New Consumer Units • New Circuits • Central Heating Wiring • Extra Sockets/Lights • PAT Testing • No Job Too Small • Part P Registered • Fast & Efficient Service • Free Estimates Telephone Gary on 07788 865081 forestelectrical@gmail.com MR SWEEP THE CHIMNEY SWEEP keep it clean - keep it safer Open fires, wood burners, stoves etc. Both private and commercial properties Member of the Guild of Master Sweeps Tel: 07971 280906 www.mrsweeplymington.com email: mrsweeplymington@gmail.com 38 Bath Road, Lymington SO41 3SB The Soviet Mole Who Taught Deception in Beaulieu by Marc Heighway its instructors had already been deceiving Britain’s own system. Philby was not merely a man with questionable politics. He was a long-term Soviet agent, recruited in the 1930s and steadily rising inside British intelligence while passing information to Moscow. Beaulieu’s entire method depended on trust: trainees trusted instructors; instructors trusted trainees; and the SOE trusted the system to select, train, and deploy the right people. Beaulieu estate’s SOE story includes names of men and women who went on missions of near-impossible odds. Noor Inayat Khan trained for her nal stage in the New Forest before operating as an underground wireless operator in Paris. Violette Szabo also passed through SOE training before working with Resistance networks. eir war ended in betrayal, capture, and execution for both women. Set beside them, Philby’s later life can feel almost banal: meetings, les, status, in uence. Yet the same training ground in Beaulieu that helped prepare people for extraordinary bravery also, brie y, provided a platform for extraordinary betrayal. e SOE training school in Beaulieu was a place where secrecy was so normalised, that the wrong person such as Philby, could hide in plain sight. A er the war, Philby’s career advanced. However, suspicion gathered a er two other members of the Cambridge spy ring he was part of, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, ed to Moscow. Philby came under suspicion too. In the early 1960s, MI6 decided to confront him directly. Before he could be brought to justice he too escaped to Moscow. e Moscow years were not the triumph Philby might have expected. Accounts suggest he arrived to a cooler welcome than he expected: restrictions, surveillance, caution. But he remained in the USSR until his death in 1988. Visiting Beaulieu today, it is hard to picture the secret world that once occupied the estate. Yet for a few concentrated wartime years, houses there brie y hosted one of the most intriguing double lives (and traitors) in British history. Marc is available as a guest speaker to deliver local history talks. Find out more at nfhwa.org/speakers Harold “Kim” Philby was an instructor in deception. He taught young men and women how to lie convincingly, how to place ideas in the right heads, and how to pass for someone else as if their lives depended on it. He was good at his job. Perhaps too good. Because as he was helping to train covert agents in Beaulieu, Philby had already been a Soviet agent for years. During the Second World War, houses on the Montagu estate were used as part of a key training centre for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a “ nishing school” for agents heading into occupied Europe. More than 3,000 trainees passed through Beaulieu before going on to dangerous work behind enemy lines. Philby’s role at Beaulieu was linked to clandestine propaganda: teaching how to spread rumours, plant narratives, and weaken an enemy’s morale without ring a shot. A forged lea et, a planted story, a carefully timed rumour that made the wrong people suspicious of each other, could waste time, tie down resources, and fray con dence. For agents who had to talk their way through checkpoints, convince strangers, and maintain cover stories under stress, understanding psychology and social cues was imperative. e irony of Philby’s role is chilling. Beaulieu was training agents to deceive the Nazis while one of Panto Star Joins Heartbeat For Annual Christmas Draw e big annual Christmas draw in aid of local charity Heartbeat took place at the May ower eatre in December a er the matinee performance of e Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan. Ventriloquist and comedian, Max Fulham, who starred in the show as Smee, sprinkled some festive fairy dust as he lead the draw on Tuesday 16th December, selecting the winning tickets on stage, assisted by Tina Richardson, Head of Operations at Heartbeat and Tina Tolley, Head of Business and Donor Development. With £6,853 raised, the ra e supports Heartbeat’s vital work to improve the lives of individuals and families a ected by heart conditions across the region. Prizes up for grabs included £500 cash for 1st prize £150 John Lewis voucher for 2nd and £50 John Lewis voucher for 3rd prize. Prizes went to Heather from Christchurch, who took home the 1st prize, with Margaret from Gosport taking 2nd prize and Alison from Southampton taking 3rd. e Christmas draw has become a much-loved tradition for Heartbeat and raises thousands every year for the cause. Tanya Harder, Community Fundraising and Marketing Manager at Heartbeat, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled over the moon to be partnering once Ventriloquist and comedian, Max Fulham, sprinkled some festive fairy dust as he lead the Heartbeat draw a huge source of funding for us. Last year the event raised more than £7,000 for Heartbeat, adding to a further £6,853 this year – and it is all thanks to the incredible generosity of supporters. The funds raised will go towards support for people who are affected by a heart-related illness.” again with Mayflower Theatre. We’re so grateful they choose us and it’s
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