View source for John Watkins (diplomat)

{{Short description|Canadian diplomat}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}

'''John Benjamin Clark Watkins''' (3 December 1902 – 12 October 1964) was a Canadian [[diplomat]] and scholar who served as Canadian [[ambassador]] to the [[Soviet Union]] from 1954 to 1956.<ref name="The Canadian Encyclopedia">{{cite web |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-bc-watkins |title=John Watkins |last=Bothwell |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Bothwell |date=2 December 2007 |editor-last=Yarhi |editor-first=Eli |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date= 7 July 2020}}</ref>{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xiii}} Describing Watkins as "sophisticated, erudite and fluent in Russian", [[Michael Dobbs (journalist)|Michael Dobbs]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote that he was the "perfect ambassador" to Moscow.<ref name=Dobbs>{{cite news |last=Dobbs |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Dobbs (journalist) |date=12 April 1987 |title=Sexpionage: Why We Can't Resist Those KGB Sirens |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1987/04/12/sexpionage-why-we-cant-resist-those-kgb-sirens/900e1e59-1a7b-455f-93cf-22e67394512b/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=D1 |access-date=6 July 2020}}<!-- article also found here https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00965R000201630001-2.pdf --></ref> He is credited with organizing a historic meeting between Soviet Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]] and Canadian External Affairs Minister [[Lester B. Pearson]].<ref name="The Canadian Encyclopedia"/>

==Early life==
Born in [[Norval, Ontario]],<ref name="The Canadian Encyclopedia"/> Watkins was the first child of John Watkins and Jane Clark.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|pp=xvii-xviii}} He had two sisters, Elizabeth and Isabel.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xvii}}

Watkins studied French, German, and Latin at the [[University of Toronto]], and earned a master's degree by 1927.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xviii}} In a trip to Europe in the late 1920s, he was a guide and companion to [[Heywood Hale Broun]]<!-- son of Heywood Broun --> in France, Holland, and Denmark.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xviii}} He left Europe for the United States in 1930, where he attended [[Columbia University]] and joined the staff of [[the American-Scandinavian Foundation]] in [[New York City]].{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xviii}}<!-- resigned from ASF in 1945 per snippet view in this source: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Newsletter/Z3PxAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 --> After Columbia, Watkins attended [[Cornell University]] in 1942 and earned a PhD there in 1944; his thesis was about the Danish writer [[Gustav Wied]].{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xviii}} During [[World War II]], he returned to Canada to teach at [[Queen's University at Kingston]], then [[Ontario Agricultural College|Guelph Agricultural College]].{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xviii}} Watkins became an associate professor of English at the [[University of Manitoba]] in 1944.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xviii}} In 1946,{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} Watkins translated the complete works of [[Honore de Balzac]] into English.<ref name="upi.com; January 5, 1982; Phillips">{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Brigid |title=A close friend and confidant has agreed to testify... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/01/05/A-close-friend-and-confidant-has-agreed-to-testify/9112379054800/ |work=upi.com |agency=UPI |date=5 January 1982 |access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref>

Upon an invitation by [[Humphrey Hume Wrong]], Watkins reluctantly agreed to take the [[Canadian Foreign Service Examination]].{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xviii-xix}} He was offered a position as a [[Foreign Service Officer|foreign service officer]] and left the University of Manitoba to join the [[Global Affairs Canada|Department of External Affairs]] (DEA).{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xix}} Watkins rapidly advanced from first secretary of the European Division to head of section to ''[[chargé d'affaires]]'' in [[Moscow]].{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xix}}

==Diplomatic career==

===First post in the Soviet Union: chargé d'affaires===

On 1 September 1948, Watkins officially replaced [[John Wendell Holmes]] as the ''chargé d'affaires ad interim''.<ref name="Global Affairs Canada; Heads of Post List: USSR">{{cite web |url=https://w05.international.gc.ca/HeadsOfPost/Results-Resultats.aspx?lang=eng&cntry=205 |title=Heads of Post List: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics |author=Global Affairs Canada |author-link=Global Affairs Canada |website=Global Affairs Canada |date=5 June 2014 |access-date=6 July 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He knew some [[Russian language|Russian]] prior to arriving in Moscow, and set himself apart from other Western diplomats in the city by becoming fluent in the language.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xix}} There, Watkins befriended [[George Costakis]], the long-time head of personnel at the Canadian embassy and collector of Soviet art.<ref name="Roberts">{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Peter |chapter=The Canadian Connection |title=George Costakis: A Russian Life in Art |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ne_0AwAAQBAJ |publisher=Carleton University Press, Inc. |date=1994 |page=107 |isbn=9780773573819}}</ref> While Stalin led the Soviet Union, there was limited opportunity for foreign diplomats like Watkins to travel and interact with Soviet society.<ref name="Hilliker">{{cite book |last1=Hilliker |first1=John |last2=Barry |first2=Donald |chapter=Pearson's Department: 1952-1957 |title=Canada's Department of External Affairs. Volume II: Coming of Age, 1946-1968 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMfScGtYyLMC&pg=PA111 |publisher=The Institute of Public Administration of Canada |date=1995 |page=111 |isbn=0-7735-0738-8 }}</ref> Near the end of his post in Moscow, Watkins began to develop health issues{{Snd}}heart and circulatory weaknesses that were not diagnosed at his medical examination upon entering the DEA{{Snd}}that would affect him for the remainder of his life.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxiii}} The DEA announced in January 1951 that he was to return to Ottawa on [[sick leave]], and he was replaced by [[Robert Ford (Canadian diplomat)|Robert Ford]].<ref name="Global Affairs Canada; Heads of Post List: USSR"/>{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxiii}}

===Norway===
By the end of 1951, Watkins was appointed to serve a diplomatic post in [[Oslo, Norway]].{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxiii-xxiv}} Canadian government records list him as [[Envoy (title)|envoy]] to [[Iceland]] and [[Norway]] from the summer of 1952 to 1954.<ref name="Global Affairs Canada; Watkins, John Benjamin Clark (Career)">{{cite web |url=https://w05.international.gc.ca/HeadsOfPost/Results-Resultats.aspx?lang=eng |title=Watkins, John Benjamin Clark (Career) |author=Global Affairs Canada |author-link=Global Affairs Canada |website=Global Affairs Canada |date=5 June 2014 |access-date=6 July 2020 |archive-date=6 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206052528/https://w05.international.gc.ca/HeadsOfPost/Results-Resultats.aspx?lang=eng |url-status=dead }}</ref><!-- named envoy to Iceland and Norway per snippet view in this source: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Newsletter/Z3PxAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 --> In February 1954, it was reported that [[Chester Ronning]] would replace Watkins as the minister to Norway.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=News in Brief |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aBUyuO3-iiAC&pg=PA20 |work=New of Norway |publisher=Norwegian Information Services |location=Washington, D.C. |page=20 |date=4 February 1954 |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref>

===Second post in the Soviet Union: ambassador===
After the death of [[Joseph Stalin]] in 1953, [[Georgy Malenkov]] expressed a willingness to resolve issues of conflict between the East and the West,{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxiv-xxv}} and there was an apparent easing of tensions within [[Canada–Soviet Union relations]] when [[Dmitri Chuvakhin]] was appointed Soviet ambassador to Canada.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxv}} In response, Watkins was officially made Canada's first peacetime ambassador to the Soviet Union on 1 January 1954.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxv}}{{efn|According to [[Global Affairs Canada]], Watkins officially became the Canadian Ambassador to the Soviet Union on 14 January 1954 and held the post until 15 April 1956.<ref name="Global Affairs Canada; Watkins, John Benjamin Clark (Career)"/>}} Watkins found that the Soviet Union was more open under the leadership of [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] [[Nikita Khrushchev]], and he had a fondness for befriending Soviet officials and was able to develop a large number of contacts.<ref name="Hilliker"/>{{sfn|Glazov|2002|p=54}} To his detriment, this would prove costly and allow him to become a target of Soviet espionage.{{sfn|Glazov|2002|p=54}}

In the fourth quarter of 1954, Watkins met a young man named Kamahl in a Muslim area of one of the southern [[republics of the Soviet Union]] and invited him back to his hotel room.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=179}} The hotel staff likely observed the pair entering Watkins' room.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=179}} A few months later, Watkins received a postcard from Kamahl who stated he would be visiting Moscow.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=179}} Watkins entertained Kamahl in Moscow, and the two men engaged in a brief romantic affair consummated in the younger man's hotel room.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=179}} As he did with every other encounter, Watkins dutifully reported to Quebec his encounters with Kamahl and described him as a young man who had doubts about the Soviet system.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=182}} The only thing he failed to report was the homosexual aspect of their relationship.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=182}} Unbeknownst to Watkins, Kamahl's visit was staged by the KGB and the two men were photographed together in Kamahl's room.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=179}} The KGB sought to exploit Watkins' indiscretion not by [[blackmail]]ing him, but rather by manipulating him to become an [[agent of influence]] by enveloping him in a "debt of gratitude".{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|pp=179-181}} In contrast to his first post in Moscow, he found himself enjoying access to top officials within the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] and invitations to social events that other [[Western Bloc]] ambassadors could not get.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=180}} All of this was planned by the KGB.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=180}}

In April 1955, Watkins met then befriended "Aloysha", who introduced himself as Alexei Mikhailovich Gorbunov, a historian and consultant to the Soviet foreign ministry.{{sfn|English|1994|p=110}}{{sfn|Glazov|2002|p=54}} Watkins also described him as his best Soviet informant.{{sfn|English|1994|p=110}}{{sfn|Glazov|2002|p=54}} Watkins also met Anatoly Nitkin, who introduced himself as a professor of history at the [[Moscow Academy of History]].{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|pp=xxvii-xxix}}{{sfn|Glazov|2002|p=54}} Watkins did not know that "Aloysha" was actually KGB officer [[Oleg Mikhailovich Gribanov]]{{Snd}}the second-highest-ranking official within the [[Second Directorate]] and the mastermind of the entrapment operation against Watkins involving Kamahl{{Snd}}and Nitkin was [[Anatoly Gorsky]], a KGB official senior to Gribanov and a former [[agent handling|handler]] of [[Kim Philby]].{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=180}}{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|pp=xxvii-xxix}}{{sfn|English|1994|p=110}}{{sfn|Glazov|2002|p=54}}<!-- each citation references a different part of the statement --> The three spent much time together, including a weekend at "Aloysha's" [[dacha]] in the [[Crimea]] in June.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|pp=xxvii-xxix}}{{sfn|Glazov|2002|p=54}}{{sfn|English|1994|pp=110-111}} "Aloysha" would soon play an important role in [[Secretary of State for External Affairs (Canada)|Secretary of State for External Affairs]] [[Lester Pearson]]'s visit to the Soviet Union.{{sfn|English|1994|p=110}}

After a meeting in [[San Francisco]] that same month, Pearson was invited by Soviet [[foreign minister]] [[Vyacheslav Molotov]] to visit the Soviet Union.{{sfn|English|1994|p=105}} Pearson had expressed his interest in visiting the USSR to Watkins the previous November, and it is likely that Watkins had relayed that to Soviet officials with whom he had established close contact.{{sfn|English|1994|p=108}}{{efn|Robert Ford, who became Chargé d'Affaires ad interim after Watkins' first post in Moscow, also claimed to have made the overtures that made the meeting possible.{{sfn|English|1994|p=108}}}} Watkins reported in July that "Aloysha" had close contacts with Molotov, Khrushchev, and [[Nikolai Bulganin]], and by August he was Watkins' main informant on the Soviet's views of the visit pending with Pearson.{{sfn|English|1994|p=111}} In planning the meeting, Pearson advised Watkins not to show the Soviets too much enthusiasm for their interest in a [[trade agreement]].{{sfn|English|1994|p=108}} The official Canadian delegation included Pearson, Holmes, Watkins, [[George Ignatieff]], [[Mitchell Sharp]], and Raymond Crépault; Pearson's wife, [[Maryon Pearson|Maryon]], and journalists [[René Lévesque]] and [[Richard J. Needham]] accompanied them.{{sfn|English|1994|p=108}} On 5 October 1955, Molotov led the Soviet dignitaries in meeting the Canadians arriving at the Moscow airport.{{sfn|English|1994|p=108}} What has been described as the most memorable event of the trip is a drinking party that occurred when Pearson, Watkins, Ignatieff, and Crépault visited Khrushchev and [[Nikolai Bulganin]] at the [[Yusupov Palace (Crimea)|Yusupov Palace]] in [[Yalta]] on 11 October.{{sfn|English|1994|pp=109-110}}<ref name="Pearson">{{cite book |last=Pearson |first=Lester B. |author-link=Lester B. Pearson |chapter=A Visit to Mr Khrushchev |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yIh6CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA204 |editor1-last=Munro |editor1-first=John A. |editor2-last=Inglis |editor2-first=Alex I. |title=Mike: The Memoirs of the Rt. Hon. Lester B. Pearson |volume=2  |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press |date=2015 |pages=202–211 |isbn= 9781442668669}}</ref> "Aloysha"/Gribanov also attended the party and was understood by the other Canadians to be Watkins' friend; Ignatieff apparently believed him to be a [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Soviet Union)|MVD]] official.{{sfn|English|1994|p=111}} It is at this party that Khrushchev was alleged by a KGB defector [[Yuri Nosenko]] to have taunted Watkins about his homosexuality during a toast.{{sfn|English|1994|p=110}}{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=175}} In his memoirs, Pearson noted that Watkins looked "less and less happy" as the evening progressed;{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=175}} however, Ignatieff, who understood Russian, denied that he heard the remark and Watkins' account of the meeting expressed no concerns.{{sfn|English|1994|p=110}}

Watson's writings show that he held a view of the Soviet Union was that more trustful and generous than that of Pearson or Ignatieff.{{sfn|English|1994|p=114}} He continued to meet with "Aloysha" and wrote the DEA to explain his importance to Khrushchev; Watkins even suggested that "Aloysha" wrote parts of the Soviet leader's speeches at the [[20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]].{{sfn|English|1994|p=111}} Pearson remained unconvinced about Soviet aims and told the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] in January 1956 that "not a single basic objective of Soviet policy was changed".{{sfn|Glazov|2002|pp=52-53}}{{sfn|English|1994|pp=112-113}} In February, Watkins sent Pearson a lengthy dispatch reiterating a meeting in which "Aloysha" voiced the Soviet's displeasure with Pearson over his continued skepticism of Soviet intentions.{{sfn|Glazov|2002|p=53}}{{sfn|English|1994|pp=111-112, 114}} Pearson fired back: "My visit did not reassure me in regard to the peaceful aims of that policy, but certainly did convince me that the people themselves, whatever might be the views of their rulers, did sincerely desire peace. You might tell your friend Aloysha one day that if he wants to convince me of the pacific<!-- verified as "pacific" --> intentions of his Politburo friends, he should explain why they find it necessary to have 400 modern submarines."{{sfn|English|1994|p=114}} Watkins was recalled from the Soviet Union shortly afterwards.{{sfn|English|1994|p=114}}

More than a year after his affair with Kamahl and just before he was to return to Ottawa, Watkins was invited by "Aloysha" to his office.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=180}} The Soviet official acted troubled and stated he had gained custody of the KGB material compromising to Watkins, but would do what he could to prevent the KGB from exploiting him.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=180}} Watkins, understanding that his career depended upon the goodwill of the Soviets, had skilfully been placed into "Aloysha's" debt.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=180}} Following through on the plan to get the ambassador to become an agent of influence steering Canadian policy away from the United States and towards the Soviet Union, "Aloysha" implied that Watkins could return the favour when he returned to Ottawa.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=180}}

On 3 April 1956, Watkins was recalled to Ottawa to become assistant under-secretary of state for External Affairs.{{sfn|Glazov|2002|p=54}} David Chalmer Reece, a former colleague of Watkins in the Canadian diplomatic corps who had also been one of his students at the University of Manitoba, recalled that Watkins "seemed much the same in Ottawa, gentle and charming, but a little melancholy and bothered by ill health".<ref name="Reece">{{cite book |last=Reece |first=David Chalmer |year=1993 |chapter=Ottawa, Marriage, and Malaysia (1956-59) |title=A Rich Broth: Memoirs of a Canadian Diplomat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5-uAwAAQBAJ |publisher=Carleton University Press, Inc. |page=52 |isbn=0-88629-205-0}}</ref>

===Denmark===
Watkins officially became the Canadian ambassador to Denmark on 30 August 1958.<ref name="Global Affairs Canada; Watkins, John Benjamin Clark (Career)"/> Having developed diabetes, his health continued to decline and he spent Christmas 1959 hospitalized in [[Copenhagen]] with a continuous nosebleed.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxx}} Unwell and taking heart medications regularly, Watkins again returned to Ottawa in 1960 where he was an assistant undersecretary with External Affairs.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxx}}{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=174}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.international.gc.ca/history-histoire/dcer-drrec/volumes/28/introduction.aspx?lang=eng|title=Introduction|first=Global Affairs|last=Canada|date=20 May 2014|website=www.international.gc.ca|accessdate=12 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.international.gc.ca/history-histoire/dcer-drrec/volumes/29/introduction.aspx?lang=eng|title=Introduction|first=Global Affairs|last=Canada|date=9 May 2014|website=www.international.gc.ca|accessdate=12 January 2021}}</ref> After lengthy medical leaves, Watkins officially retired from the Department of External Affairs on 25 July 1963.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxx}}

==Retirement==
In retirement, Watkins prepared his move to France by donating his valuable collection of Russian and Scandinavian books to various Canadian universities.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxx}} His collection of paintings by [[Pablo Picasso]] and [[Russian avant-garde]] artists, including [[Marc Chagall]], were distributed to friends for safe-keeping.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxx}} Watkins retired to Paris, where he lived at the Hôtel Lenox on the [[Rive Gauche|Left Bank]].{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxx}} He was a frequent dinner guest of the Canadian ambassador to France, [[Jules Léger]], and his wife [[Gabrielle Léger|Gabrielle]], and [[Basil Rakoczi]] was among the many unknown artists he befriended.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxx}} After entertaining his cousins in Paris and a [[road trip]] around Europe in May 1964, Watkins suffered a heart attack that summer.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxx}}{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=176}} In September, he moved to an apartment in [[Montparnasse]].{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xxx}}

==Soviet defections, Operation Rock Bottom and death==
In April 1962, two British officers from [[MI5]] and [[MI6]] who had assisted the United States [[Central Intelligence Agency]] in the debriefing of Soviet defector [[Anatoliy Golitsyn]] travelled to Ottawa to update the [[RCMP Security Service|Security Service]].{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=172}} The two officers reported that Golitsyn had brought with him a collection of leads into operations that the Soviet Second Directorate had directed against the Canadian Embassy, including an operation to blackmail a gay Canadian ambassador who had been caught in a sex trap.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=172}} Golitsyn could only narrow the time frame to the 1950s and was unable to identify the ambassador or whether he had been swayed or controlled by the trap.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=172}} In an effort to identify the unnamed ambassador, the Canadian Security Service launched Operation Rock Bottom.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=172}}{{efn|According to upi.com, Brandes testified during the inquest into Watkins death that "Rock Bottom" begain in September 1964 and was "the code name for the Watkins investigation".<ref name="upi.com; no byline; December 22, 1981">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=RCMP counter-espionage agents hid the fact that former ambassador... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/22/RCMP-counter-espionage-agents-hid-the-fact-that-former-ambassador/2394377845200/ |work=upi.com |agency=UPI |date=22 December 1981 |access-date=13 July 2020}}</ref>}} Security Service officers Charles Sweeny and [[Leslie James Bennett]]{{Snd}}considered to be the RCMP's counterespionage guru{{Snd}}wanted to question Golitsyn for further details but were told they had to wait in line behind the Americans, British, French, Germans, and Dutch.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|pp=172, 176}}<!-- p. 176 for "counterespionage guru" --> While waiting for their turn, Sweeny and Bennett attempted to match up clues by scouring almost 500 files at External Affairs.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=172}} In August 1962, they finally had their opportunity to question Golitsyn at a [[safehouse]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], but were unable to discover any new leads.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=172}} The investigation initially focused on [[David Johnson (Canadian runner)|David Johnson]], the Canadian ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1956 to 1960, who resigned his position after a previous investigation forced him to admit his homosexuality.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|pp=172-174}} Although Johnson had been an ambassador in the 1950s, other details from Golitsyn's leads did not match up.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=174}} Additional review suggested that the unidentified ambassador could be Watkins, but the investigation stalled with no firm evidence against either him or Johnson.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=174}}

In September 1963{{citation needed|reason=Sawatsky says "Fall of 1963", but other reliable sources state September 1963|date=August 2020}} in London, Soviet writer [[Yuri Krotkov]] defected to [[Western Bloc|the West]]. Krotkov revealed that he had cooperated with the KGB years earlier in a [[badger game|seduction/compromise operation]] against [[Maurice Dejean]], the French ambassador to the USSR, and his wife, and stated he had learned of a similar entrapment operation against a homosexual Canadian ambassador.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|pp=174-175}} Like Golitsyn, Krotkov said he did not know the ambassador's name, but he confirmed that the diplomat had fallen into the trap and the timeline he presented seemed to overlap with Watkins' post in Moscow.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=175}} Although their suspicions had been pushed in the direction of Watkins, the Security Service felt they did not have enough evidence to interrogate the former ambassador.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=175}} In February 1964, [[Yuri Nosenko]], a KGB captain who had served in the Second Directorate, defected while in [[Geneva]] and in debriefing with the CIA identified the Canadian ambassador as Watkins.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=175}} Given that the CIA suspected that Nosenko was a KGB plant sent to undermine Golitsyn, the information was not passed on to the Security Service until August 1964.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=175}} The Canadians were not allowed to interview Nosenko.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=175}} At this juncture, the Security Service had gone through Watkins' dispatches looking for evidence that he had attempted to influence Canadian policy in favour of the Soviets but were so overwhelmed by the vast number of files that they were unable to find any firm evidence.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=175}} The RCMP determined that they would need to go to Paris and directly approach Watkins.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=175}}

Bennett was the obvious choice to lead the investigation, and [[William Higgitt]] selected corporal Harry Brandes over veterans Lloyd Libke and Murray Sexsmith as the interrogator to back him up.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=176}} The two members of the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]]'s Soviet counterespionage unit flew to Paris where they immediately met with Ambassador [[Jules Léger]] at the Canadian Embassy to brief him on the reason for their trip and the allegations against Watkins.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=176}}<ref name="Beirne">{{cite magazine |last=Beirne |first=Anne |date=18 January 1982 |editor-last=Newman |editor-first=Peter C. |editor-link=Peter C. Newman |title=Scenario with an unexpected twist |url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1982/1/18/scenario-with-an-unexpected-twist |magazine=Maclean's |location=Toronto |publisher=Maclean Hunter Limited |volume=95 |issue=3 |pages=24–25 |issn=0024-9262 |access-date=3 July 2020 |archive-date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703193928/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1982/1/18/scenario-with-an-unexpected-twist |url-status=dead }}</ref> Watkins was a friend of Léger and was frequently invited to the embassy and Léger's home, so the two investigators hoped Léger could help them get Watkins to cooperate.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=176}} Léger was skeptical of the allegations and initially reluctant to assist the investigators in approaching Watkins.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=176}} He cautioned Bennett and Brandes that Watkins' had a recent heart attack and was not well.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=176}} Understanding that Bennett and Brandes could approach Watkins without his help, Léger eventually agreed to assist the following day.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=176}} That evening at an already scheduled dinner party at the embassy, Léger led the frail-looking Watkins into his office where he was introduced to Bennett and Brandes, the purpose of their visit from Canada described to him as a matter of national importance.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=177}} Watkins, reportedly understanding the purpose of their visit even before it was explained to him, agreed to help.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=177}} Watkins was told by Bennett that he could consult with Léger or anyone else, but he declined, stating that the ambassador would be hurt by the details.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=177}}

Watkins was picked up at his apartment the following morning and taken to a CIA [[safehouse]] where he admitted to having a liaison with someone apparently under KGB control and failing to report it.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=177}} He denied that he was blackmailed or did anything in conflict with Canadian interests.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=177}} Bennett told Watkins that they preferred not to question him in France, and that the Canadian government would pay for him to travel to Ottawa.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=177}} Watkins declined for fear inadvertently running into old friends there, but he did agree to Bennett's suggestion of going to [[London]], where the debriefing continued at an MI5 safehouse.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=178}} In London, Watkins met with [[John Wendell Holmes]], his close friend and confidant who preceded him as ''chargé d'affaires'' in Moscow, and told him that he was being investigated as a possible security risk.<ref name="upi.com; January 5, 1982; Phillips"/><ref name="upi.com; January 6, 1982; Phillips; 1 of 2">{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Brigid |title=John Watkins acted like a man with little time... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/01/06/John-Watkins-acted-like-a-man-with-little-time/4355379141200/ |work=upi.com |agency=UPI |date=6 January 1982 |access-date=14 November 2020}}</ref> After a week, Bennett and Brandes convinced Watkins to allow them to move the questioning to [[Montreal]].{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=178}} There, the interrogation continued at the Holiday Inn Chateaubriand on [[Quebec Autoroute 520|Côte-de-Liesse Road]].{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=179}}<ref name="Beirne"/> Each day, more details emerged as Watkins' revealed the story of his homosexuality, meeting Kamahl, and the Soviet's attempt to pressure him.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|pp=179-181}} After verifying Watkins' statements with the lengthy dispatches he had written in Moscow nearly ten years earlier, Bennett and Brandes were convinced that the former ambassador had been truthful and that the KGB attempt to blackmail him had failed.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|pp=181-182}}

On the evening of 12 October 1964, the interrogation was essentially finished when Watkins, while reminiscing about his diplomatic career, suffered a [[heart attack]] and died instantly.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|pp=182-183}} After feeling no pulse and attempting [[cardiopulmonary resuscitation|chest compressions]], Bennett and Brandes telephoned for help.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=183}} Two police officers from [[Saint-Laurent, Quebec]], Remy Martin and Pierre Lemire,<ref name="upi.com; Phillips; December 22, 1981">{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Brigid |title=RCMP security service officers sought to discourage removal to... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/22/RCMP-security-service-officers-sought-to-discourage-removal-to/9175377845200/ |work=upi.com |agency=UPI |date=22 December 1981 |access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref> and two ambulance attendants responded to their call.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=183}}{{efn|According to [[John Sawatsky]], Bennett and Brandes were met by two plainclothes detectives from [[Saint-Laurent, Quebec|Saint-Laurent]].{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=183}}}} Gus Begalki, the RCMP Security Service's senior [[non-commissioned officer]], then convinced the Saint-Laurent police chief to keep the matter quiet out of concern that publicity regarding Watkins' death might allow the KGB to take [[countermeasures]] for the intelligence the Security Service had acquired regarding their operating methods.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=183}}

Coroner Marcel Trahan ruled that Watkins had an "unforeseeable" death due to heart attack,<ref name="upi.com; December 3, 1981">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=An inquest may travel to Australia to gather evidence... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/03/An-inquest-may-travel-to-Australia-to-gather-evidence/9834376203600/ |work=upi.com |agency=UPI |date=3 December 1981 |access-date=13 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="upi.com; Phillips; December 22, 1981"/>{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=183}} and his report stated that Watkins died in the company of "friends" awaiting a flight to England.<ref name="upi.com; December 23, 1981">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=RCMP interrogation of Canada's first ambassador to Moscow, John... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/23/RCMP-interrogation-of-Canadas-first-ambassador-to-Moscow-John/1926377931600/ |work=upi.com |agency=UPI |date=23 December 1981 |access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref> The report listed Brandes as the only witness and said he should be considered "a friend of the deceased".<ref name="upi.com; December 3, 1981"/>{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=183}} Brandes was not identified as a member of the RCMP and Bennett's name was not mentioned.<ref name="upi.com; December 3, 1981"/>

Watkins' death certificate was signed by pathologist Iona Kerner.<ref name="upi.com; December 21, 1981; Phillips">{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Brigid |title=A policeman called to the death scene in 1964... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/21/A-policeman-called-to-the-death-scene-in-1964/5790377758800/ |work=upi.com |agency=UPI |date=21 December 1981 |access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref> Kerner only externally examined the body and observed no unusual markings, and an investigative report stated "coronary thrombosis in an unexpected, sudden, and accidental death".<ref name="upi.com; December 21, 1981; Phillips"/> No autopsy was performed.{{sfn|Sawatsky|1982|p=183}}

==Investigation of death==
In 1980, the circumstances of Watkins' death started to become public when [[David Martin (journalist)|David Martin]]'s ''Wilderness of Mirrors'' revealed that the [[KGB]], using a [[Recruitment of spies#Love, honeypots, and recruitment|honey trap]], had targeted Watkins for [[blackmail]] because of his homosexuality.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xiv}} [[Chapman Pincher]]'s March 1981 book ''Their Trade is Treachery'' was reported to have caused a "sensation in the press" with the claim that Watkins died while being questioned in a Montreal hotel room.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xiv}} In April 1981, for the second edition of ''[[S – Portrait of a Spy]]'', [[Ian Adams]] found that the Quebec coroner who had signed Watkins' death certificate in 1964 had not realized he was a former ambassador nor was he aware of the true circumstances of his death.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xiv}} Additional details of Watkins' entrapment emerged in [[John Sawatsky]]'s two-part series published in June 1981.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xiv}}

In September 1981, [[Ministry of Justice (Quebec)|Quebec Minister of Justice]] [[Marc-André Bédard (politician)|Marc-André Bédard]] ordered an [[coroner's inquest|inquest]] into the death of Watkins.<ref name="Beirne"/><ref name="Loos">{{cite magazine |last=Loos |first=Bill |title=Watkins death probe seeks new evidence |magazine=The Body Politic |url=https://archive.org/details/bodypolitic84toro/page/12/mode/2up |department=Body Politic |location=Toronto |publisher=Pink Triangle Press |date=June 1982 |issue=84 |pages=13–14 |issn=0315-3606|access-date=12 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="upi.com; December 3, 1981"/> [[Solicitor General of Canada|Solicitor General]] [[Bob Kaplan|Robert Kaplan]] criticized the inquest as "unnecessary and a witch hunt", but said he would cooperate with the investigation.<ref name="upi.com; December 3, 1981"/> A few weeks prior, Dery stated that he wanted to interview Bennett and that he was considering plans to take the inquest to Australia, where the former Mountie had retired, or bring him to the inquest in Canada.<ref name="upi.com; December 3, 1981"/>

21 witnesses testified at the inquest, including many police officers whose testimony was often contradictory.<ref name="upi.com; June 23, 1982">{{cite news |title=Former Canadian ambassador to Moscow John Watkins died 17... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/06/23/Former-Canadian-ambassador-to-Moscow-John-Watkins-died-17/9832393652800/ |work=upi.com |agency=UPI |date=23 June 1982 |access-date=10 October 2020}}</ref> Martin, one of the constables who responded to the Chateaubriand Holiday Inn, said that he received the impression from a telephone call made by Lemire that Watkins' body was taken to the morgue over the objections of Bennett and Brandes; however, Lemire, his partner, said the only telephone calls he made were to verify the identities of Bennett and Brandes.<ref name="upi.com; Phillips; December 22, 1981"/> The person to whom Lemire's call was allegedly made was also found not to have been on duty that night.<ref name="upi.com; Phillips; December 22, 1981"/> Written testimony from Watkins' only known living relatives stated that his health had declined in the six months prior to his death.<ref name="upi.com; Phillips; December 22, 1981"/>

On 22 December 1981, Brandes, then chief superintendent of the RCMP, also testified that Watkins' health was failing, so they let him dictate the pace of the questioning.<ref name="upi.com; no byline; December 22, 1981"/> He said that the former diplomat was not held against his will, and that he voluntarily cooperated with the investigation.<ref name="upi.com; no byline; December 22, 1981"/> Bennett stated that he and Bennett were in constant contact with Watkins, including visits to the theatre, watching television, and going for walks together, and that the interrogations typically occurred once each day for about three hours.<ref name="upi.com; no byline; December 22, 1981"/> He testified that on the day Watkins died, he was questioned for four hours in a session focused on recapping information about events already obtained from him.<ref name="upi.com; no byline; December 22, 1981"/> Bennett stated that Watkins was reminiscing about his time in the diplomatic corps when he suddenly collapsed and died.<ref name="upi.com; no byline; December 22, 1981"/> Although he had known Watkins for only a month, Brandes stood by his statement that appeared in the coroner's report that noted he was his friend.<ref name="upi.com; no byline; December 22, 1981"/> He testified: "We spent a great deal of time together under very close relations and, yes, I considered him a friend."<ref name="upi.com; no byline; December 22, 1981"/> Brandes testified that he and Bennett sought to avoid publicity of the former ambassador's death "for the protection of operational national matters that had international ramifications" and only asked the police investigators to avoid making his death a [[cause célèbre]].<ref name="upi.com; no byline; December 22, 1981"/> Brandes had not mentioned that he was an RCMP officer and said that had not thought it was important to notify Montreal authorities that Watkins was a former diplomat.<ref name="upi.com; January 5, 1982; Phillips"/><ref name="upi.com; January 6, 1982; Phillips; 2 of 2">{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Brigid |title=Diplomat John Watkins — 'the most beloved officer in... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/01/06/Diplomat-John-Watkins-the-most-beloved-officer-in/3102379141200/ |work=upi.com |agency=UPI |date=6 January 1982 |access-date=10 January 2021}}</ref>

Kerner, the pathologist, said she would have "most certainly" conducted an autopsy had she known that Watkins was a former diplomat having died in the presence of RCMP officers.<ref name="upi.com; December 21, 1981; Phillips"/> After a two-week recess in the proceedings, John Wendell Holmes testified that he initially "took it as a joke of some sort" when Watkins told him in London that he was being investigated by the RCMP as a security risk.<ref name="upi.com; January 5, 1982; Phillips"/><ref name="upi.com; January 6, 1982; Phillips; 1 of 2"/> Holmes stated that Watkins behaved as someone "who felt he didn't have much longer to live, because of his heart attack", but believed him to be on good terms with those interrogating him.<ref name="upi.com; January 6, 1982; Phillips; 1 of 2"/> Alex Capon, a physician called to see Watkins a few days prior to his death, told the inquest: "It came as no surprise to me to learn of his death."<ref name="upi.com; June 23, 1982"/> During a break in the interrogation, Capon had advised Watkins to enter the hospital immediately; however, Watkins refused.{{sfn|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987|p=xv}}  In May 1982, Bennett was interviewed in Australia by two [[Sûreté du Québec|Quebec Police Force]] officers.<ref name="upi.com; June 24, 1982">{{cite news |title=An inquest into the death 17 years ago of... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/06/24/An-inquest-into-the-death-17-years-ago-of/5759393739200/ |work=upi.com |agency=UPI |date=24 June 1982 |access-date=10 January 2021}}</ref> On 23 June 1982, the inquest concluded when Dery ruled that Watkins died from natural causes unrelated to intensive police questioning.<ref name="upi.com; June 23, 1982"/><ref name="upi.com; June 24, 1982"/> The RCMP was completely exonerated in the role of Watkins' death.<ref name="upi.com; June 24, 1982"/>

==Legacy==
Endowed by Watkins' estate, two awards are bestowed by the [[Canada Council for the Arts]] in his name: the J.B.C. Watkins Award for Architecture and J.B.C. Watkins Award for Music and Theatre.<ref name="The Canadian Encyclopedia"/><ref>{{cite report |author=Canada Council for the Arts |author-link=Canada Council for the Arts |title=J.B.C Watkins Award |url=https://canadacouncil.ca/-/media/Files/CCA/Funding/Prizes/Laureates/JBCWatkinsAward.pdf |publisher=Canada Council for the Arts |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref>

In his 1999 book ''Agent of Influence'', Adams suggested that the CIA had schemed to destroy Pearson, who had become prime minister, and had tried to get Watkins to implicate him. In 2002, the book was made into a television movie with the same title, starring [[Christopher Plummer]]. It was released in 2003 and distributed by [[the Movie Network Encore]] in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agent of Influence |work=The Movie Network |url=http://www.themovienetwork.ca/details/gp636789-agent-of-influence |access-date=20 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909054127/http://www.themovienetwork.ca/details/gp636789-agent-of-influence |archive-date=9 September 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Watkins and his friend, fellow diplomat [[Herbert Norman]], were the inspiration for "Harry Raymond", the central character in [[Timothy Findley]]{{'s}} play ''[[The Stillborn Lover]]'' (1993).<ref name=lures>"The stage lures back one of its own: Timothy Findley". ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'', 29 April 1993.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Agent of influence]]
* [[Sexpionage]]

==Note==
{{notelist}}

==References==
'''General'''
*Adams, Ian. ''Agent of Influence: A True Story'' Toronto: General, 1999.
*{{cite book |last=English |first=John |chapter=Lester Pearson Encounters the Enigma |editor1-last=Davies |editor-first=David |title=Canada and the Soviet Experiment: Essays on Canadian Encounters with Russia and the Soviet Union, 1900-1991 |url=https://www.sju.ca/sites/default/files/1994-davies-canada-soviet-experiment-cfpf.pdf |publisher=Centre for Russian and East European Studies (University of Toronto) and Centre on Foreign Policy and Federalism (University of Waterloo) |date=1994 |isbn=9781551300559}}
*{{cite book |last=Glazov |first=Jamie |year=2002 |title=Canadian Policy Toward Khrushchev's Soviet Union |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TRs_t6fhyX4C |location=Toronto |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=9780773522763}}
*{{cite book |last=Sawatsky |first=John |author-link=John Sawatsky |chapter=Operation Rock Bottom |title=For Services Rendered: Leslie James Bennett and the RCMP Security Service |location=Toronto |publisher=Doubleday Canada |date=1982 |isbn=0385176600}}
*{{cite book |last=Watkins |first=John R. |author-link=John Watkins (diplomat) |year=1987 |editor1-last=Beeby |editor1-first=Dean |editor2-last=Kaplan |editor2-first=William |editor2-link=William Kaplan |title=Moscow Dispatches: Inside Cold War Russia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PTIVuGtAm5sC |location=Toronto |publisher=James Lorimer & Company |isbn=1-55028-028-7 |ref={{harvid|Watkins. Beeby; Kaplan (eds)|1987}}}}

'''Specific'''
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-dip}}
{{succession box|title=Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to [[Denmark]]|
                 before=[[Herbert Feaver]]|
                 after=[[Hector Allard]]|
                 years=1958-1960}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, John}}
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1964 deaths]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Canada to Denmark]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Canada to the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Deaths from coronary thrombosis]]
[[Category:Deaths in police custody in Canada]]
[[Category:Gay diplomats]]
[[Category:Espionage scandals and incidents]]
[[Category:Cornell University alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Manitoba]]
[[Category:University of Toronto alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Canadian gay men]]