British Intelligence Officers in Helsinki from the 1910s to the 1940s

Friday, 4 September 2026
18:00-20:00

Reginald Walter “Rex” Bosley (born 1909 in Erdington, UK) was a member of the Helsinki Finnish–English Society, later named Finnish-British Society. He appeared as an actor in the amateur theatre organised by the society.

Bosley was also an intelligence officer of the United Kingdom’s foreign intelligence service, MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). In Bosley, the British government had a significant informal channel of communication with Prime Minister, later President, Urho Kekkonen.

Bosley had the nickname The Ferret and his intelligence officer codename was Taulukauppias (“art dealer”).

Join us at Finnbrit for an evening of insight into the largely overlooked British intelligence presence in Finland —a young country neighbouring one with huge power — and the intelligence services that operated beneath the surface during the years on both sides of Finland’s independence.

Juho Kotakallio PhD completed his doctorate in general history at the University of Helsinki with a dissertation on British intelligence activities in Finland between 1918 and 1941. As a historian, he has specialised in international relations, particularly intelligence history. Kotakallio has also completed a Master’s programme in Cyber Security at the University of Jyväskylä.

Cancellations

You can request to cancel an existing booking here: Cancel my booking