You have been subpoenaed to appear before the Royal Commission on Espionage. A subpoena is a formal written order issued by a court commanding a person to appear under penalty as a witness in a trial or an inquiry such as a Royal Commission.
Betty Searle and Rupert Lockwood at the Royal Commission on Espionage, 1955.
Photographer – Jack Hickson. Image courtesy of the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.
All three members of the group will work closely together to prepare for the Character to appear before the Royal Commission. This will involve:
1. Preparing a speech (testimony) which outlines, from your point of view:
2. Preparing evidence (facts, documents etc) that supports your case.
3. You will be called when the Royal Commissioners are ready for you.
4. Be prepared to answer any questions from the Royal Commissioners especially about Soviet espionage in Australia.
Betty Searle, along with many other Australians, was affected by the Cold War.
“A Physicist would be best out of it”
George Briggs and the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission by Tim Sherratt (an account of George Briggs being called before the Royal Commission on Espionage in 1954).
The Petrov Affair exhibition was shown at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House in 2003.
More information is available on the exhibitions page.