A sisterhood of spies: how I was recruited aged 53

Ruth Morton was 53 years old when she tells us she was sent on a covert mission to spy on Argentine submarines during the Falklands War. From beneath a derelict building near the naval base at Mar del Plata, Ruth crawled into a gap under floorboards and observed submarine movements, she reported them to British intelligence.

The Morton family's involvement in espionage began decades earlier. During the Second World War, Ruth's father Eddie and her sisters Minna and Babs, who all spoke fluent Spanish and English, worked in the central railway offices, a front for British intelligence in Uruguay.

43 years later, during the Falklands War, Ruth's older sister, Minna, brought in Ruth to watch the Argentine subs. When funds for the mission ran low Ruth raised money by knitting wooly hats that became popular merchandise in a local hotel. Hidden under the building, Ruth made friends with an old capybara, the animal ended up saving her life. This is the first time Ruth is telling her story. She chose to share it with a very old friend, a journalist and Falkland Islander, Graham Bound.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producers: Graham Bound and Andrea Kennedy

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(Photo: A composite image of an old family photo of Ruth with her sister Minna as young women and an image of Ruth today in a blue hoodie, with short cropped grey hair and a big smile. Credit: Courtesy of Ruth Morton. And Graham Bound)