She was recruited by British intelligence services to monitor Argentine naval bases from Mar del Plata
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At 97 years old, Ruth Morton decided to break a silence that she had kept for more than four decades and reveal an unknown chapter of the Falklands War.
Of Uruguayan nationality and with a strong cultural bond with Great Britain, the woman recounted for the first time that in 1982 she carried out espionage tasks in Mar del Plata for the British intelligence services, with the objective of monitoring Argentine naval movements in the middle of the conflict over the islands of the South Atlantic.
Morton defines herself as "Anglo-Uruguayan" and grew up in an environment marked by British influence. Her parents, of Scottish and English descent, made sure that during her childhood she related exclusively with members of the British community in Uruguay. "“I used to say that I was English. I remember that my mother did not like me being friends with the children next door because they were Uruguayan”", she recounted on the BBC Outlook podcast.
The story came to light after a conversation with journalist Graham Bound, a family friend and founder of Penguin News, the newspaper of the Falkland Islands. In that dialogue, Morton not only described her direct participation in intelligence tasks during the 1982 war, but she also reconstructed the family legacy that had linked her from an early age with espionage activities.
Ruth Morton
Ruth Morton's testimony
According to her testimony, her family's relationship with British intelligence dates back to the Second World War. Her father, Eddie, a businessman, worked in 1939 at the Central Railway Offices in Montevideo, which operated as a cog in the British services.
There he recruited his two eldest daughters, Rose Lily and Miriam, to intercept, translate, and transcribe secret messages. "“He knew their desire to be useful to the cause. He knew that they would be good at that job. I'm sure that the fact that they spoke both languages was a great advantage”", Ruth explained.
The operations were carried out in a group of eight people, six of them women. Bound pointed out that "“it was Montevideo's worst-kept secret that the spies met in a café called the Oro del Rin”" and explained Uruguay's strategic role as a key food supplier for Great Britain.
At just eleven years old, Ruth already knew that she had to collaborate discreetly. "“Sometimes I did not know what I was receiving or transmitting, but I had to do it word for word, I had to remember every word and transmit the messages”", she recalled.
Decades later, that past was reactivated. In 1982, when Argentina began the recovery of the Falkland Islands, the British services contacted the family again. Miriam, who worked as an accountant at the British embassy in Montevideo, summoned Ruth, who was 53 years old, was married, and had a daughter. "“She was my boss in those days. She knew what was needed and realized that I would be less suspicious, so she sent me”", Morton explained.
Both traveled to Buenos Aires and Ruth was assigned to Mar del Plata. "“My main job was to watch the movement of three submarines”", she stated, in reference to ARA Santa Fe, ARA San Luis, and ARA Santiago del Estero. From a partially destroyed building, she hid under the boards to observe the naval base. "“There was a space to crawl underneath that gave me a perfect view of the submarines at only a few hundred meters”", she described.
Soldados argentinos en las Islas Malvinas.
The conditions were extreme. "“It was sandy, dirty, and extremely uncomfortable because there was no space. You could not even sit down. I got blisters on my knees and elbows from so much crawling, but that was at the beginning, then I got used to it”", she recounted.
The transmission of information involved a complex route. "“If I had information about submarine movements, I had to take at least two buses inland, then use a public telephone to call an Anglo-Argentine contact”", she explained. That contact gave her new numbers in each communication. "“I did not like that person, that person did not like me, and finally that person disappeared”", she added.
When she detected that the three submarines had left, she decided to report the fact despite the difficulties. "“The three of them left. Then yes, I thought that I had to report it”". Faced with the lack of contact, she took a risk: "“I was not supposed to, but I had a number that I was not supposed to use, but since the intermediary had disappeared, I took a risk and I used it”".
The lack of financial resources also marked the mission. "“I knitted hats that said "Mar del Plata" and they sold like hotcakes”", she recounted, and she explained that she distributed them through the doorman of a hotel.
During her days of surveillance, she even recounted a singular episode with an animal: "“I found that capybara, it was very sociable and we shared snacks”". According to her account, the animal ended up saving her life when a shot hit the place where they were. "“It fell into the water. Yes, it saved my life because it could have been me”".
After that episode, her supervisor, identified with the code name Claire, ordered the end of the operation. "“I left. There was nothing to do. I was dismissed”". Later, Morton received an official British recognition and a silver bowl, although she stated: "“It bothered me. Because I did not want any recognition. I did it because I thought that it was the right thing to do, and I did not expect any reward”".
For more than 40 years, Ruth Morton kept her story secret, even from her daughter Patty. Only now, near the end of her life, has she decided to tell her version of the events and reveal an unknown facet of British intelligence maneuvers during the Falklands War.
