In MI6, as in most secret services, codenames were in theory allocated randomly from an officially approved list. Usually, they were real words, and deliberately anodyne in order to give no hint of what they referred to. But spies frequently cannot resist the temptation to choose words that resonate or offer some subtle, or less than subtle, clues to reality. The keeper of MI6's codewords was a secretary called Ursula (her real name). 'You rang Ursula and asked her for the next name on the list. But if you didn't like it you could go back and try to get her to give you a better one. Or you could get a whole set of codewords for different aspects of the case, and then choose the one you liked best.' The wartime MI5 codename for Stalin (meaning man of steel) was GLYPTIC, meaning an image carved in stone; the Germans codenamed Britain GOLFPLATZ, or golf course. Codewords could even be used as a veiled insult. There was some snorting in Century House when a CIA cable accidentally revealed that the American codename for MI6 was UPTIGHT.
Ben Macintyre, The Spy and the Traitor
