WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Undetected: Sidney Reilly

Episode Date: September 27, 2024

This week, Megan and Alessia recount the exploits of the one and only, Sidney Reilly, the man who supposedly inspired Ian Fleming's James Bond.

Welcome to Undetected on Radio Free Hillsdale. Go undercover with your hosts, Alessia Sandala and Megan Lee, as they uncover the stories of spies from every country and time. The most thrilling, yet the most secret of lives in history. Welcome back on this week's Undetected. I'm Megan, and this week's featured spy is one who lives on as a fictional character. Alessia, you do the honors. Introducing Sidney Riley, nicknamed the Ace of Spies,

the strongest candidate for the real-life figure that inspired the actress. iconic James Bond character written by Ian Fleming. Born as either Sigmund or Salomon Rosenblum on March 24, 1874 in Odessa, Ukraine, Riley studied chemistry in Vienna before jumping aboard a ship heading for Brazil. Riley's Bond-esque exploits began in Brazil when he supposedly saved the lives of British Army officers when they were attacked by hostiles. In gratitude, they offered him passage to England, which Riley accepted. Another less heroic version told by Andrew Cook, author of Ace of Spies, the true story of Sidney Riley, claims that Riley entered England from France where he had robbed a large sum of money in 1895. He then opened a factory selling quack medicine with the stolen money.

Oh my. This guy seems to have some questionable morality. Right, but that was exactly how he caught the attention of the British intelligence service. While working for Britain, Riley reported on Russian oil development at Baku and naval fortifications in Manchuria, Dutch help to the South African Boers, the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and more. Amidst all of that, in 1897, Riley even got married to the 24-year-old Margaret Thomas and likely helped her murder her 63-year-old husband with Bright's disease. It was very convenient that the couple also inherited several hundred thousand pounds in the process. That money enabled Riley to change his name and return to Russia with the appearance of a businessman.

In 1904, Riley was working as a double agent between the British and the Japanese right before the Russo-Japanese war. In Port Arthur, Manchuria, Riley and an accomplice, allegedly stole the Russian coastal defense plant and gave them to the Japanese fleet. But the truth of those events cannot be confirmed for certain. Still makes for a good story, though. And that's what we're here for. Riley's greatest exploit occurred in 1905, one that most sources can agree upon.

Britain was in need of oil for its ships, oil that Iranian oil fields could provide. But Australian businessman, William Knox de R.C., who was in charge of developing the oil fields, was about to partner with France on the project. On the French Riviera, disguised as a priest of all things, and a magnificent feat of rhetoric, Riley convinced to R.C. to partner with the British Petroleum Company instead, giving Britain an enormous advantage in military status. After that, Riley continued to hang around Europe. According to Riley, one of his missions behind German lines even took him into a staff

meeting where he met Kaiser Wilhelm II, face to face. Sometime between 1916 and 1918, Riley met Sir Mansfield at Smithcoming, known as C, one of the earliest heads of the Secret Intelligence Service, the SIS. C's goal was to disrupt the Russian Revolution, and he wanted Riley to do just that. Some say Riley was even tasked with the assassination of Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik revolutionaries. Riley was working on putting an armed rebellion together and bringing back the Russian Empire when his plan was foiled.

The Bolsheviks cracked down on anyone with suspicion, killing thousands of people, and Riley's conspiracy was exposed. But our James Bond spy escaped just in time. Over the next few years, Riley supposedly made several more attempts to overthrow the Bolshevik, which were unsuccessful. But he finally made a breakthrough, or at least he thought he did, when he made contact with the trust, known as the monarchist organization of Central Russia, a group of anti-revolutionaries embedded in the Bolshevik government.

But what Riley didn't know was that the trust was actually created by the Cheka, Lenin's police, made for the purpose of spreading disinformation and unveiling Russia's enemy. and spies. Riley fell right into their trap. In September of 1925, Riley was last seen at the Finnish border to Russia. He was in prison and executed in November of that year. He was about 51 years old. Well, after all of that, I can certainly see why Riley could have been one of the inspirations for James Bond. But not everyone views Riley so positively. Some sources claim that Riley was an unethical, cunning man without patriotism. While this could have been true, you cannot deny that Riley made a profound difference in the course of history.

His crisscrossing identities and his own dramatization of his life make it difficult to pinpoint the real man behind the spy. But that just proves how good of a spy he was. I'm Megan. And I'm Alessia. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Undetected. Tune in next week to hear what is possibly our most dramatic story yet, the story of Fritz Duquesne, the butcher, bomber, soldier spy on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM.