They were the first notorious alumni of what was to become known as the "Cambridge Five": that generation of British traitors and double agents, all graduates of Cambridge University, that so defines the British experience of the Cold War. Donald Maclean along with Guy Burgess, two senior British diplomats, defected to the Soviet Union in 1951 although their presence there was not admitted until 1956. I very much doubt if the joke would detonate now. It was the first time I heard of Donald Maclean. I turned to the teacher: "I'm sorry, sir," I said, "But Burgess and Maclean are missing." The unbridled hilarity that greeted my remark – from teacher and bus driver – alerted me to the fact that I had inadvertently stumbled on an adult joke. I counted and recounted – we were short by two.
We were allowed 30 minutes of liberty in the city centre before returning and as the senior boy I was responsible for counting heads to make sure all were present after our brief furlough. Back in the mid-1960s, I went on a school trip to Inverness.
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