• Recently I was walking along the beach wall and chanced upon a plaque on one of the seats which was new to me. It read

“In loving memory of Lennie Burt ACC 11.2.1932 – 24.11.2010 The man who caught the Portland spies”

When I came to work on Portland in 1971, the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment (AUWE) as it was then known, was still traumatised by the Portland Spy Ring, a Soviet spy ring that operated in England from the late 1950s till 1961. Intrigued by the plaque to Mr Burt, I looked back in the Dorset Echo archives to find that he was an ex-serviceman who joined the Dorset Constabulary in 1954, rising rapidly through the ranks. In the autumn of 1959, as a detective sergeant, he investigated reports of a boastful, greedy middle-aged drunk called Harry Houghton, employed at AUWE, who appeared to be living beyond his means, spending up to £20 a week on drink while earning a clerk’s wage of £15. In Houghton’s living room Burt found three Admiralty charts, marked with the locations of secret submarine trials and exercises, and in the home of Ethel Gee, Houghton’s lover and a filing clerk in the Naval Base, Burt found a handbag containing a secret research document. This proved one of the most damning pieces of evidence against Houghton, Gee and KGB agent Gordon Lonsdale at their Old Bailey trial the following spring. Commended by the Lord Chief Justice, Mr. Burt rose to assistant chief constable of Dorset and retired in December 1984. It is nice to know that Mr. Burt’s painstaking police work in keeping our country safe is remembered by his plaque on the beach wall seat. Look out for it next time you stroll along the wall.

• The Scout and Guide Autumn Jumble Sale will take place in the Scutt Hall on Saturday 27 October. I know that this seems a long way ahead, but there is a reason for mentioning it now. Betty Hennessey tells me that they are in need of jumble, and she would be very grateful if you could look out unwanted clothes or other items which they could sell. We all get lots of plastic bags through our doors with requests for goods for various charities, but the Scout and Guide Jumble sale helps to keep the Scutt Hall in good repair for the benefit of our local children, so if you can help, please do. You can take the goods along to the Scutt Hall – it is in use most early evenings – or you can ring Betty on 833614 to arrange collection.