The Super Spy Sir William Stephenson, a native son of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (and mentioned in this blog a few times) was honored by the city of Winnipeg with a street renamed after him.
Full Story from CBC.ca
A Winnipeg street has been renamed for a local man who became a legendary Second World War spy known as Intrepid — an inspiration for the fictional spook James Bond.
Water Avenue, which links Main Street to the Provencher Bridge, was officially renamed William Stephenson Way on Sunday.
The Water Avenue section of Route 57 is now William Stephenson Way:
View Larger Map
Provencher Bridge in Winnipeg, MB, Canada
"Finally, there is some tangible recognition for him in a noteworthy place in Winnipeg," said Kristin Stefansson, a distant cousin of Stephenson.
"The fact it's going to be by the Human Rights Museum is another thing that I think is really important, because he did end up helping with causes of freedom around the world."
The renaming ceremony was held Sunday afternoon at the intersection of Water and Main. Deputy mayor Justin Swandel, who officiated the event, was joined by Stefansson as well as representatives from the Canadian Forces, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the U.S. army and Winnipeg's Intrepid Society.
"It's a great day to be alive and free in the peace-loving country of Canada, and in large part we owe that freedom to the man we're honouring here today — his efforts and accomplishments in the world of intelligence and what they have done for the security of this planet," Swandel said.
William Samuel Stephenson was born in Winnipeg's Point Douglas neighbourhood on Jan. 23, 1897.
As a Canadian soldier, airman and spymaster, Stephenson became the senior representative of British intelligence for the Western Hemisphere during the Second World War.
The telegraphic address of his office was INTREPID, which was later popularized as his code name.
His organization's activities ranged from censoring transatlantic mail, breaking letter codes (which exposed at least one German spy in the United States), forging diplomatic documents, obtaining military codes, protecting against sabotage of Allied factories and training Allied agents, according to the Intrepid Society, a group dedicated to honouring and sustaining Stephenson's memory.
Stephenson was also a radio pioneer who helped develop a way of transmitting photographs around the world. But it was his espionage work that garnered the most fame. Some suggest his covert operations in the Second World War were a decisive factor in the Allied victory.
Author Ian Fleming has credited Stephenson as being an inspiration for James Bond.
In an interview with the Times newspaper in 1962, Fleming said: "James Bond is a highly romanticized version of a true spy. The real thing is … William Stephenson."
Helped create CIA
Stephenson also played a key role in the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency in the United States.
As Winston Churchill's personal representative to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the war, Stephenson became a close advisor to FDR and suggested he put William J. Donovan in charge of all U.S. intelligence services.
Donovan, a good friend of Stephenson, founded the U.S. wartime Office of Strategic Services, which eventually became the CIA.
Donovan later said, "Bill Stephenson taught us all we ever knew about foreign intelligence," according to the Intrepid Society.
For his wartime work, Stephenson was knighted in 1945. In his homeland, Stephenson was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1979.
He died on Jan. 31, 1989, in Paget, Bermuda, at age 93.
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In pure synchromystic fashion, the renamed William Stephenson Way, is the eastbound section that runs right in front of the Winnipeg Goldeyes' baseball stadium (Canwest Park).
Ian Fleming told us that William Stephenson was an inspiration for the MI6 character 007 - James Bond...
Wikipedia on the James Bond movie GoldenEye:
GoldenEye is the 17th spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond.
The Plot of the film contains ... well, frankly, too much to list here. If you haven't seen the film, watch it, or go to the Wikipedia link above and read the plot summary.
As you'll read in the Wikipedia link and hear in the trailer below the film was released November 17, 1995.
GoldenEye Theme by U2's BONO and the EDGE,
performed by Tina Turner:
GoldenEye Title Sequence:
Here's a link to a transcribed dialogue script of GoldenEye
.
Side Notes:
The Provencher Bridge and Boulevard are named after Norbert Provencher, the first Bishop of St.Boniface , Rupert's Land. (Rupert's Land was one of the original names of the territory which later became Manitoba - Rupert's Land was named for Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria)
Prince Rupert, The Duke of Bavaria - and to the curious, one possible historical origin of the Gold, blue and red, EYE logo of Winnipeg is a synch-wink to the Bavarian name origins of the territory which became Manitoba.
If we chase that rabbit down the hole just a little further we find that Winfrid (Later known as Saint Boniface) was an ordained Benedictine priest.
The Benedictines / Cistercians were the faction of the Roman Catholic Church that created the group known as the Knights Templar.
The Knights Templar were said to have discovered the secrets of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.
Winnipeg historian, Frank Albo, PhD believes the Manitoba Legislature in Winnipeg is a replica of Solomon's Temple.
UPDATE:
Mention the British-Canadian super spy Sir William Stephenson, JAMES Bond, Route 57 and the Bavarian (Illuminatus) Prince Rupert @11:33 Canada Central Time ( = 17:33 GMT) in the same post and 22 hours later at 7:33am BC local time (Canada Pacific = 15:33 GMT) a large 6.6 earthquake followed by a 5.7 aftershock strikes off Cape St James, 260 km from the NEAREST mainland center, Prince Rupert, British COLUMBIA (BC), Canada.
The epicenter was just off the Queen Charlotte Islands opposite the Hecate Strait and just off Cape St. James.
The QC Islands are just south of the Dixon Strait, Prince of Wales Islands and ALASKA (AL Aqsa - the Temple Mount, Jerusalem) USA.
The U.S. Geological Survey website reported a 5.7 magnitude aftershock at 7:37 a.m. (PST) and a 4.6 magnitude aftershock at 8:26 a.m. (PST)
From the Wikipedia entry for Queen Charlotte:
"Queen Charlotte was keenly interested in the fine arts and supported Johann Christian Bach, who was her music teacher. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then aged eight, dedicated his Opus 3 to her at her request after they met in London in 1764. Charlotte sang an aria accompanied by Mozart. "
Mozart was the famous composer of the Masonic opera The Magic Flute
Other interesting USA places bearing the "Queen Charlotte" namessake:
Florida: Port Charlotte
Maryland: Charlotte Hall
North Carolina: Charlotte
North Carolina: Mecklenburg County
Virginia: Charlotte County
Virginia: Charlottesville
Virginia: Mecklenburg County
November 17 -
"The area where the 6.6 earthquake struck is located about 260 kilometres southwest of Prince Rupert."
51º North, 131º West:
Strong 6.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off Queen Charlottes
PRINCE RUPERT - A strong earthquake occurred early Tuesday in the Queen Charlotte Islands region off of B.C.’s central west coast, according to Earthquakes Canada.
The 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck at 7:30 a.m. local time and was felt as far away as Terrace and Prince Rupert.
The quake was followed was followed seven minutes later by an aftershock at the same depth with a 5.7 magnitude, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
“It’s been felt extensively up and down the Queen Charlotte Islands in Sandspit and Queen Charlotte City,” said seismologist Stephane Mazzotti. “But we haven’t had any reports of damage.”
Several aftershocks were felt quickly after the initial earthquake, he said, but seismologists were still determining their magnitudes.
No injuries have been reported and there is no threat of a tsunami, Mazzotti said.
Rod Link, publisher of the Terrace Standard newspaper, told Agence France-Presse that window blinds and picture frames in his office, about 400 kilometres inland from the epicenter, shook for about 30 seconds.
“Shortly after 7:30 am local time, my window blinds started moving back and forth,” he said. “I have a bit of a fever and at first I thought I was just dizzy from the flu... but then I realized the blinds were really moving.
“You get a funny feeling in the pit of your stomach when things are moving around you.”
The area where the earthquake struck is located about 260 kilometres southwest of Prince Rupert.
According to the Geological Survey of Canada, the Pacific coast is the most earthquake-prone area in the country.
The area of the Queen Charlotte Islands is active because it is a junction between two major fault systems, Mazzotti said.
The last massive earthquake to hit the Queen Charlotte Islands was in August 1949, at a magnitude of 8.1. The shaking was so intense that cows tipped over in fields. In Terrace cars bounced around and windows shattered.
The 1949 earthquake was “1,000 times stronger” than Tuesday’s quake, Mazzotti said.
It was the biggest earthquake ever recorded in Canada.
"The last massive earthquake to hit the Queen Charlotte Islands was in August 1949"
(8/22) August 22 is the 234th day of the year (235th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 131 days remaining until the end of the year.
...And all of it reminds me of another B.C.
... sometimes the Synchs Wink back and sometimes they tremble and shake!
