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midnight Bhe case-book m teat @ivelopment in me of the greabest diplomatic mysteries of 1 time read something lke this ; Guy Burgess’s letter wes vddregsed to tis mother, Mrs. J. %, Bassett, wife of Lieut-Colonel | « | R. Bassett, at Arlington House, | UHE POSTMARK | in dock area Its stmark—S.E.l—shows it ould have béen posted. by some- iné attiving et Waterloo Air station or by anyone off 6 ahip sing the wharves near Londen 4rnidge or the close-by Surrey There W known to be a large raffic in smuggled letters brought nw by seamen in ships trading to -outtrjes behind the Tron Ourlain ~particularly Poland, In the. Thames orf Monday were three Russian ships—the “Lakhta and the Gribojedey. from Leningrad, and’ the Ler- montov, from the Black Sea, All but-the Lekhta have now lef. The only British ship in, the _ GUY BURGESS | The man who had little to los riger on Monday which had. re-| Page TWO ently called a Bo Iron Cuter | oe — port was. the .2,000-ton freighte ~~ _ : Baltrova. She docked at Hays There is no possible “do Wharf with a cargo of bacon and # whatsoever that the letter “am from Gdynia. from him. It contained intimate But none of her érew was; “rms familier only 6. his mother and himself. “He said he wasin good health, and he wished his mother & Happy Christinas and New Year.” Christma:| And from ancther source came. rush. the envelope bore no time |confirmation that -the letter was stamp—and, again because of te) genuine, Mr. Nigel Burgess, an Christmas rush, its exact. post ladvertising executive and brother ing spot cannot be identified, THE CONTENTS — Date—but no address — The oniy date on the letter is: ishare until the next morning— ind the last collection from ‘pest voxes in the-SE.l ares was at. £ gam om Monday. ‘ : EYy.. SEER ave Gee2hact, Begause of ‘the “The letter was signed with a variant of Guy's name which he used when trtting te mH mother. Tite phraseology such that tt could not have been “ ” | @ forgery. t was @ healthy, absence of the copious supply of fo we been written under facts and gossip which Was . : typical of Burgess s writing siyie Per Pel be letter did ask that be) LE NOTEPAPEL . ae remembered “affectionately |i None behind Curtain * -- . The ne Colonel, Bassett. told the Forel Office. Security officers arrive and noted that: . ao Tio of the pages envelope bore the Bond" brand r third poge wea a different t paper—possibly af ic en ' ‘THE SIGNATURE, we friends GE. ‘@. frien He did not mame but merely wrote “-.> «you ‘Rem.- xgow.* longl Bassett. said: . Last night his stepfa “| ioha tf 1 of the missing diplomat, said. in the Rue du Louvre xt clue is the notepaper |&2¥ itself. Shortly after it arrived eu a 'aud“the la * Basildon watermark, The, é | 4 & 7 Harold Bing, nreansper ot | stationery arimenenntry THE POSTMARK Tickingon, Ltd. manufac- turers of “Basildon Bond.” aaid last night; ; “None of it oes behind ‘the! Iron Curtain. We export & Little ; to Sweden, Belgium, France, and to troop canteens and institutions in the British zone of Germany. So there is another apuzele ? How could Burgess have got any of thig notepaper tet Prag urn to Page 6, Col. Continued from Page 1 be Hving? Of course, he may have taken some with him when he left Britain in May 1951, That, then, Is tae report_on the firs, communication from Burgess since a telegram was sent to his mother in his name from a post in Paris soon after he vanished. It establishes almost certainly that he is alive and well But it still leaves many questions un- answered FERST : Who posted the letter? ii Burgess ig not back, it. may): have been brought in by @ friend or agent—or could have even come through in the diplomatic bag of 3 Communist nation. ~ SECOND 3 ‘ living ? The letter did not. give int, or mention any country passed. through since he left Southampton by ¢rosshannel baat on the night of May 35. THIRD: Where are Maclean nd his family? The letter did Inet mention. them, FOUATH + What are both men 2? Again no clue in the letter.” The Foreign Office haa re aioe 1 | A gener so we: wheré he hog been ie "BURGESS RIDDL () 1S HE BACK? Where is Burgess|’ [Patent Ee Pe ry T= poe to believe, however, that both men have since ‘worked under Com- munist Government sponsorship. and in circumstances of compara- tive influence and afiuence. | FIFTH: Who are Burgess's | two friends mentioned. thouga not named, in the letter? . One may be Mr, Jack Hewit, plump, bespectacled ex-actor with whom Burgess shared a fat in Old Bond-street, W, They had known each other for 1¢ years, MORE PAGES To a mystery The other friend may be a young American student with whom Burgess had originally planned to ¢ross from Southamp- ton in May 1951. ‘ But Burgess failed to keep an appointment with the student and crossed the ‘Channel with Maciean Instead. $iXTH: Why has Maclean not written? Again. only he can answer that question. His mother, Lady Maclean, said last night that neither she nor her family had received any com- munication. ; So the Burgess-Maclean mys sa few more pages te its ee Beale Ward book, but still remains largely &— Sit gy ite” ow eng mi 1 ayy aye Le Th tpt ey one ir tagiall ON at We ale ae Ee Ceara OT Pea gett nn tly. Papin a see Bre ob am iy ee tn eR A tea ae Bg a ee Fe aia or” se Pee tt SR eee es we