Arthur Bonsall facts for kids
Sir Arthur Wilfred "Bill" Bonsall (born 25 June 1917 – died 26 November 2014) was a very important person in British intelligence. He was the director of GCHQ, a secret agency that deals with signals intelligence. He held this important job from 1973 to 1978.
Early Life
Bill Bonsall was born in Middlesbrough, England, on 25 June 1917. He was the oldest son of Wilfred C Bonsall and Sarah Frank.
Career in Secret Intelligence
Bonsall studied modern languages at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. After his studies, he joined a very secret organization called the Government Code and Cypher School. This group worked at Bletchley Park during World War II. At Bletchley Park, clever people worked to break enemy secret codes.
From 1940, Bill Bonsall worked in the German Air Section. His job was to study the German air force, known as the Luftwaffe. In 1942, he helped create special daily reports called BMP reports. These reports were based on intercepted German radio messages and low-level codes. They helped the Allied forces understand what the Luftwaffe was doing. Later, these reports also included information from the German Enigma machine codes. This information helped the Allied Air Commands plan their attacks and strategies.
After the war, the organization changed its name to GCHQ. Bill Bonsall continued to work there. GCHQ is the UK's intelligence agency that collects and understands secret messages from other countries. He became the director of GCHQ in December 1973 and stayed in that role until 1978. He was given the title of "Sir" in 1977 for his important work.
After he retired, Bill Bonsall worked to make sure people remembered the important work done at Bletchley Park, especially the parts that were not about the famous Enigma machine. He gave talks and wrote about his experiences. In 2013, he even gave an interview about his career to the BBC.
Personal Life
While working at Bletchley Park, Bill Bonsall met Joan Wingfield. She worked in the Italian Naval Section. They got married on 17 November 1941 and had seven children. Bill Bonsall passed away on 26 November 2014, in Cheltenham. His younger brother was Frank Bonsall, who was also a well-known person.
