Ping-Pong Diplomacy
Page 30
Montagu’s parents were proud: Michael Davies, “Ping-Pong Diplomats,” The Observer, April 3, 1977.
the Times suggested: “Table Tennis: European Championships,” The Times (London), December 13, 1926.
Can you imagine the training: Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, February 18, 1928.
Is she a Jewess?: interview with Ivor and Hell Montagu, undated, Box 12.9, Montagu Collection, Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester, UK.
I would pay: Montagu, Youngest Son, 375.
Montagu’s share: Ivor Montagu, “Like It Was,” unpublished autobiography, Box 2.3, Montagu Collection, Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester, UK.
Chapter 5 | Table Tennis and Trotsky
his bright-red face: Ivor Montagu, “Like It Was,” unpublished autobiography, Box 2.3, Montagu Collection, Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester, UK.
No foreigner had ever won: Henderson, Last Champion, 30.
The greatest attacking stroke: Ibid., 29.
To get Perry safely inside: Montagu, “Like It Was,” Box 2.3.
Perry tried a drop shot: Henderson, Last Champion, 30.
The crowd stood and cheered: Ibid., 32.
I have finished: Terry Coleman, “Ping-Pong,” The Guardian, April 24, 1963.
Montagu had written to Trotsky: Ivor Montagu to Leon Trotsky, letter, July 1929, Box 4.10, Montagu Collection, Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester, UK.
Montagu would confess: Box 4.10, Montagu Collection, Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester, UK.
Communist Party had: Carr, Twilight of the Comintern, 208.
Chapter 6 | Culture and the Coming War
perfected a special shot: “The King and Table Tennis,” Table Tennis, April 1937.
showing very great interest: “HM the Queen and Table Tennis,” Table Tennis, March 1937.
table tennis is a distinct asset: “A Letter of Advice from Baroness Swaythling,” Table Tennis Collector 57 (summer 2010).
“hate parties”: McGilligan, Alfred Hitchcock, 76.
Hitchcock had great regard: Ibid., 157.
Hitchcock had his favorite book: Ivor Montagu, “Working with Alfred Hitchcock,” Sight and Sound 49 (summer 1980).
the unremarkable Ivor Montagu: Ibid.
something like Potemkin: Ivor Montagu, “Like It Was,” unpublished autobiography, 101, Box 2.3, Montagu Collection, Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester, UK.
devotes the whole of his energies: US Department of Labor to New York Police Department, letter, July 7, 1930, Box 1.1, Montagu Collection, Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester, UK.
having betrayed the United States: Montagu, “Like It Was,” Box 2.3.
as a teenager had dined: Ebon, Soviet Propaganda Machine, 53.
with a long list of introductions: Montagu, Youngest Son, 301.
Munzenberg was in charge: Boris Volodarsky calls him the de facto director of the Soviet Union’s covertly directed propaganda operations in the West in his 2010 master’s thesis, “Soviet Intelligence Services in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939.”
he’d also invented the concept: Ebon, Soviet Propaganda Machine, 50.
And if he is a Jew: Miles, Dangerous Otto Katz, 108.
victim of a pair of agents: This is the accepted point of view. Boris Volodarsky argued that though Munzenberg would have been of interest to the NKVD, the Fascist troops invading France, and the French government, a local doctor near Montagne believed Munzenberg had hanged himself.
the sound of a descending bomb: Interview with Sidney Cole, IWM, 15618 (Reel 4), recorded 1978.
an unintended explosion: Miles, Dangerous Otto Katz, 171.
Chapter 7 | Suspect
Haldane, a “massive, towering” man: Montagu, Youngest Son, 233.
wearing a floppy hat: Ibid., 233.
intellectually sub-human: Clark, J. B. S., 21.
the bravest and the dirtiest officer: West, Venona, 77.
exactly a year before: Clark, J. B. S., 41.
The result of one of these experiments: Ibid., 61.
so many things to do: Ibid., 123.
The reason of our tentative interest: Letter to Major Valentine Vivian, November 9, 1932, KV2/599, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
declined an offer by Lenin: Ivor Montagu, “Like It Was,” unpublished autobiography, 61, Box 2.3, Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester, UK.
what were they saying?: Letter to Major Valentine Vivian, December 12, 1932, KV2/599, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
having answered him: Ibid.
all trussed up like a horse: Evans, Coloured Pins on a Map, 4.
spoke in English, French and German: Bergmann, Twenty-One Up, 18.
one hand in his pocket: Reid, Victor Barna, 38.
as table tennis players a menace: “Ought We To Boo Them?” Table Tennis, April 1936.
let his hand drop off: Ibid.
to set up a chessboard: Kersi Meher-Homji, “Believe It or Not: A Table Tennis Match That Lasted 59 Hours,” The Roar, July 7, 2010, http://www.theroar.com.au/2010/07/07/a-table-tennis-match-that-lasted-59-hours/.
the patted ball: Bergmann, Twenty-One Up, 21.
a palm full of pepper: Tim Boggan, speech inducting Ruth Aarons into the US Table Tennis Hall of Fame, transcript, http://216.119.100.169/organization/halloffame/aarons1.html.
Chapter 8 | Brothers
curious circles: Unsigned letter from MI5 regional officer in Cambridge, UK, to Major Valentine Vivian, February 20, 1928, HW 15/43, National Archives, Kew, UK.
particularly unpleasant Communist: Unsigned letter from MI5 regional officer in Cambridge, UK, to Major Valentine Vivian, March 3, 1942, KV2/599, National Archives, Kew, UK.
megaphone to the home games: Montagu, Youngest Son, 167.
but also Lady Swaythling’s: Conversation between Lady Swaythling and Lord Semphill, February 9, 1941, transcript, National Archives, Kew, UK.
We have considerable information: Letter from Ministry of Labour and National Service, May 8, 1941, HW 15/43, National Archives, Kew, UK.
permanent suspension: Letter to Ministry of Labour and National Service, May 21, 1941, HW 15/43, National Archives, Kew, UK.
A local captain: Captain Barratt to Major Cumming, letter, February 22, 1942, HW 15/43, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
the well being of this country: Unsigned letter from MI5 regional officer in Cambridge, UK, to Major Valentine Vivian, March 3, 1942, KV2/599.
comically menial job: F. Wilson to Ivor Montagu, letter, March 1942, HW 15/43, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
no real formal written agenda: Ewen Montagu to Ms. Filby, letter, February 3, 1979, RNVR 97/45/2, Imperial War Museum Archives, London.
The goal was to deceive: For the full, extraordinary tale, see the absorbing account in Macintyre, Operation Mincemeat.
we shall have to get the body back: Macintyre, Operation Mincemeat, 124.
whose official post: Top secret Venona intercept from London to Moscow, August 16, 1940, HW 15/43, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
known by the moniker: It’s also possible that Montagu was NOBILITY and his friend Haldane was INTELLIGENTSIA. Haldane’s father was Lord Haldane; Montagu’s was Lord Swaythling. Both sons were members of the intelligentsia. Macintyre, in Operation Mincemeat, opts for Montagu as INTELLIGENTSIA. Nigel West believes it was Haldane. Christopher Andrew, MI5’s official historian, wrote in his book The Defence of the Realm, that “The Service devoted no significant further resources to unraveling either the connection between Montagu and the rest of the X Group or the identity of NOBILITY, which remains unknown”; this seems to imply that Montagu headed X group as INTELLIGENTSIA. Boris Volodarsky, historian and former captain of the GRU, implies that it was more likely that Haldane was INTELLIGENTSIA. All studied the same handful of decrypted telegrams. Until the GRU ope
ns its doors to historians, the confusion cannot be resolved.
by a concert pianist: West, Venona, 54–60.
relished the prospect: Venona report, July 25, 1940, HW 15/43, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
a man of different caliber: Venona decryption, August 16, 1940, HW 15/43, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
difficult to contact him: Venona decryption, September 6, 1940, HW 15/43, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
delayed-action bombs: Venona decryption, October 11, 1940, HW 15/43, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
was a matter of exceptional importance: Venona decryption, October 2, 1940, HW 15/43, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
Chapter 9 | The End of the Game?
One RAF flyer: Leslie Bennett, “Chiselling through the Tropics,” Table Tennis, May 1948.
generations of unborn chickens: Chris Clark, “They Knew What They Wanted,” Table Tennis, January 1947.
Their standard package: Alan Duke, “Table Tennis as an Escape Aid!” Table Tennis Collector 54 (fall 2009).
leaned across the table: Montagu, Beyond Top Secret Ultra, 49.
He is simply enormous: Ewen Montagu to Iris Montagu, letters, August–December 1940, quoted in Macintyre, Operation Mincemeat.
a shoulder holster: Montagu, Beyond Top Secret Ultra, 68.
really bad on this war: Macintyre, Operation Mincemeat, 88.
got up at all hours: Report from Hunton Bridge Station, Watford, UK, May 1940, HW 15/43, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
very keen to listen: Report on Ivor Montagu from Watford C Division, November 21, 1940, HW 15/43, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
the captured documents: Montagu, Man Who Never Was, 131.
Chapter 10 | The Jewish Question
Scottish hammer-throwers: Bergmann, Twenty-One Up, 88.
Bergmann had also qualified: Ibid., 94.
a dump of human corpses: Ibid., 102.
domain of Central European Jews: Ivor Montagu, quoted in Reid, Victor Barna, 107.
by leaping from a moving train: “The Inspiring Zoltan,” Table Tennis, May 1951.
father and sister died: Matthew Surrence, “Table Tennis Champion Retires His Game But Not His Memories,” JWeekly.com, August 30, 1996, accessed July 2010.
Finding a beehive: Charyn, Sizzling Chops and Devilish Spins, 23.
only two memories: Author interviews with Jeremy Montagu and Jennifer Montagu.
strained through a bag: Ivor Montagu to Hell Montagu, letters, Box 11.1, Montagu Collection, Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester, UK.
are worse than raisin bread: Hell Montagu to Ivor Montagu, letters, Box 11.1, Montagu Collection, Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester, UK.
really world-embracing: Notes from London ITTF Conference, March 19–23, 1946, available at http://www.ittf.com/museum/archives/index.html.
ran smoothly: Reports to H. A. R. Philby, November 26, 1946, and December 3, 1946, KV2/599, National Archives, Kew, UK.
politically influenced: “Shock Squads of Young Tories Told to Convert East Whitehall Files Reveal Conservatives Were Encouraged to Disrupt Soviets with ‘Inspired Speeches and Awkward Questions,’ ” The Independent, July 26, 2001.
Chapter 11 | Table Tennis Bandits
bubonic plague: Snow, Red Star over China, 41.
heavily bearded: “Behind the Red Star over China,” China Daily, October 22, 2006, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-10/22/content_713979.htm. Huang was China’s first ambassador to the United Nations in the wake of Ping-Pong diplomacy.
a face so striking: Suyin, Eldest Son, 57.
a vast piece of farmland: “Behind the Red Star over China.”
probably the only seat: Snow, Red Star over China, 114.
table tennis by the river: Ibid., 116.
W. H. Auden came to China: They worked together in the 1930s on the translation of poems extolling both Stalin and Lenin; see http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/may/22/unpublished-auden-poems-film-archive.
hairy, meat-pink men: Auden and Isherwood, Journey to a War, 31.
take part in an All-China meet: Program Notes, World Table Tennis Championships, Bombay, 1952.
Many people had been amused: Snow, Red Star over China, 281.
poker was politicized: Ibid., 282.
when he was exiled in Berlin: Suyin, Eldest Son, 57.
a good game of table tennis: Snow, Red Star over China, 338.
be immune to bullets: Ibid., 338.
could disappear among his troops: Smedley, Great Road, xx.
fellow Ping-Pong enthusiast: The two men left Europe in 1924 and 1925, respectively. Since they both lapped up cultural activities in their time in Germany, France, and England, it’s entirely possible that they were exposed to some of Ivor Montagu’s early efforts to spread the gospel of table tennis.
they painted slogans: Smedley, Great Road, 267.
the famous red star: Ibid., 251.
a fireworks display: Belden, China Shakes the World, xii.
be good enough for the thousands: Jonathan Spence, “Portrait of a Monster: Review of Mao—The Unknown Story,” New York Review of Books, November 3, 2005, http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2005/nov/03/portrait-of-a-monster/?pagination=false.
required five reprints: In the United States, the book sold 23,500 copies but affected an entire generation of China watchers.
bring some Ping-Pong balls: Sues, Shark’s Fins and Millet.
In August 1937: Unsigned letter, August 9, 1937, HW 15/43, Montagu Files, National Archives, Kew, UK.
visited Japan in 1927: Michael Davies, “Ping-Pong Diplomats,” The Observer, April 3, 1977.
She strongly objected: Letters to the Editor, The Times (London), February 27 and 29, 1932.
when Edgar Snow visited: Jarvie, Dong-Jhy, and Brennan, Sports, Revolution and the Beijing Olympics, 56.
Ping-Pong had ranked twelfth: Morris, Marrow of the Nation, 120.
China must have her own athletes: Suyin, Eldest Son, 220.
identify sport with the workplace: Jarvie, Dong-Jhy, and Brennan, Sport, Revolution and the Beijing Olympics, 69.
Chapter 12 | The Trojan Dove
regarded with amazement: Editorial, Table Tennis, October 1954.
benevolent monarchy: “Life Members,” Table Tennis, February 1958.
correspondence had taken place: Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the ITTF, Vienna, 1951, 4, ITTF Archives.
family shame: Brownell, Training the Body for China, 300.
the now-dissolved Comintern: The Comintern officially ceased to exist in 1943.
Sports relations are well worth while: Montagu, East–West Sport Relations, 22.
woke up to find themselves surrounded: “The Germ War Cannot Be Denied,” Daily Worker, October 6, 1952.
Both the International Red Cross: Guillemin, Biological Weapons, 99.
it was Russian: “Investigator for Reds Admits No Proof of Germ Warfare,” Washington Post, September 27, 1952.
Trojan Dove: Philip Deery, “The Dove That Flies East: Whitehall, Warsaw and the 1950 World Peace Congress,” Australian Journal of Politics and History 48, no. 4 (2002): 436–57.
lanterns illuminated the political slogans: Starobin, Paris to Peking, 173.
Long Live Peace!: “All Peking Cheers the Fighters for Peace,” Daily Worker, October 14, 1952.
20 million former idle landlords: “Peking Is Gay for National Day Festival,” Daily Worker, October 1, 1952.
as sure as the sunrise: “In a Peking Street Market,” Daily Worker, October 15, 1952.
We love peace, and smash all our enemies: “Pilgrims to Peking,” The Economist, October 11, 1952.
the exploits of Hong Kong: “7000 at All-China Final,” Table Tennis, December 1952.
They weren’t much good: Michael Davies, “Ping-Pong Diplomats,” The Observer, April 3, 1977.
for d
ecades to come: A typical effort from Taiwan can be found in the 1959 Honorable General Secretary Report from the ITTF Museum.
only if they accepted the name: Lijuan, He Zhenliang, 46.
dictated directly to him: Ibid., 160.
a historical opportunity: Yaping, From Bound Feet.
after twenty yards: Ivor Montagu, “Sports and Pastimes in China,” United Asia—The Chinese Scene 8, no. 2 (1956).
Chapter 13 | The Rise of Asia
the gym was tended to: Jojima, Ogi, 15.
Table tennis is for girls: Ibid., 13.
Until the Japanese joined: ITTF Handbook, 4.
names of the winners: “The Game in Japan,” Table Tennis, October 1936.
The MacArthur Cup: “Latest News from Abroad,” Table Tennis, November 1948.
Mac the Devil: Hung, Mao’s New World, 162.
a kind of salvation: Jojima, Ogi, 18.
he didn’t chew: Ibid., 36.
all the cells in the human body: Ibid., 58–59.
It hit my racquet in a new way: Author interview with Marty Reisman, March 7, 2012.
suddenly everything was lit up: “Shizuka Narahara,” Table Tennis News, November 1953.
bullet like forehand: Leslie Nakashima, “Survivor of Atomic Blast Seeks Table Tennis Title,” Coshocton Tribune, January 3, 1952.
Chapter 14 | Tiny Tornadoes
he hopped for four kilometers: Jojima, Ogi, 107.
he begged on the streets: Ibid., 120.
finally had enough: Ibid., 120.
a class for translators: Ogimura, Ichiro Ogimura in Legend, 92.
atomic effort: “World Championship Report,” Table Tennis Topics, April 1954.
miss an easy slam: Ogimura, Ichiro Ogimura in Legend, 102–4.
tiny tornadoes: “World Championships,” Daily Express, April 15, 1954.
Her Majesty the Queen: Editorial, Table Tennis, April 1954.
brainy, superbly fit: Jojima, Ogi, 138, quoting Daily Express, April 1954.