List of people associated with Bletchley Park facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Bletchley Park was a top-secret place in England during World War II. It was the main center where the Allies worked to break secret codes used by the enemy. Thousands of smart and dedicated people worked there, helping to shorten the war and save countless lives. This article tells you about some of the amazing individuals who were part of this important effort, either at Bletchley Park or through their other achievements.

Who Worked at Bletchley Park?
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Who Worked at Bletchley Park?

Bletchley Park was a huge operation, and people from all walks of life came together to work there. They included mathematicians, linguists, engineers, chess players, and many others. Their combined efforts were crucial to understanding enemy messages.

Brilliant Codebreakers and Cryptanalysts

These individuals were the core of Bletchley Park, figuring out the complex codes.

Alexander Aitken was a talented mathematician who helped break codes.
James Macrae Aitken worked in Hut 6, one of the key code-breaking sections. He was also a Scottish chess champion!
Hugh Alexander started in Hut 6 and later became the head of Hut 8, another important code-breaking section. He was also a British Chess Champion.
Dennis Babbage was a chief cryptanalyst in Hut 6.
Mavis Batey was a brilliant cryptologist who made significant breakthroughs.
Francis (Frank) Birch was the head of the German Naval Section.
Joan Clarke (later Murray) was a mathematician who worked closely with Alan Turing. They were even briefly engaged!
John Christie was another important codebreaker.
Josh Cooper was a key cryptographer.
Alec Naylor Dakin worked in Hut 4 and helped decrypt a message about an assassination attempt on Hitler.
Nakdimon ("Naky") Doniach was a linguist who worked for the RAF.
Peter Edgerley was a codebreaker.
Peter Ericsson was a shift-leader and senior codebreaker in the "Testery" section.
Jane Fawcett is famous for identifying the message that led to the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck, a major victory for the Allies.
Hugh Foss was a cryptographer and led the Japanese Naval Section in Hut 7.
I. J. (Jack) Good was a cryptographer.
John Herivel discovered the "Herivel Tip," a clever way to help break codes.
Peter Hilton worked in Hut 8 and later on "Fish" ciphers in the Testery.
James Hogarth worked on German naval codes.
John Constantine Ivanoff was a cryptanalyst and translator for the US Army Signal Corps, helping decode German messages.
Roy Jenkins was a codebreaker in the Testery, who later became a very important politician and writer.
Joan Joslin was a cryptanalyst whose work helped sink the German battleship Scharnhorst.
Dilly Knox was a leading cryptologist who cracked codes used in the Spanish Civil War and helped break the Abwehr Enigma.
Solomon Kullback was an American mathematician and cryptologist who visited Bletchley Park and helped with German codebook systems.
F. L. ("Peter") Lucas was a translator and intelligence analyst in Hut 3.
Donald Michie worked with the Colossus computer and had the idea for Colossus II.
Stuart Milner-Barry was a member and later head of Hut 6. He was also a chess player.
Rolf Noskwith was a cryptographer.
Wilfrid Noyce was an intelligence officer and cryptanalyst, also known for climbing Mount Everest.
Denis Oswald was a linguist and senior codebreaker.
David Rees worked in Hut 6.
Marian Rejewski was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who shared his crucial knowledge of Enigma with the British and French before the war.
Grafton Melville Richards was a cryptographer and linguist.
Jerry Roberts was a shift-leader, linguist, and senior codebreaker in the Testery.
Margaret Rock was a mathematician who worked on codes.
Mair Russell-Jones was a cryptanalyst in Hut 6, working on the Enigma cipher.
Edward H. Simpson was a cryptanalyst and mathematical statistician.
Oliver Strachey led the section that deciphered Abwehr messages.
Alan Stripp worked on Japanese codes and later wrote a book about it.
Derek Taunt worked in Hut 6.
Ralph Tester was a linguist and head of the Testery section.
John Thompson was a codebreaker.
John Tiltman was a key figure in codebreaking.
Alan Turing was a brilliant mathematician and logician. He designed the Bombe machine and was head of Hut 8. He is considered a pioneer of computer science.
W. T. Tutte made incredible breakthroughs in understanding the Lorenz cipher, which led to the creation of the Colossus computer.
Peter Twinn was the first British cryptographer to read a German military Enigma message.
Gordon Welchman was initially in charge of Hut 6 and later became Assistant Director of Mechanisation.
Shaun Wylie worked in Hut 8 and later on the Tunny machine.
Leslie Yoxall worked in Hut 8 and developed a special technique called "Yoxallismus."

Engineers and Machine Builders

These people designed and built the machines that helped break the codes.

Tommy Flowers was a Post Office engineer who designed the incredible Colossus computer, the world's first programmable electronic digital computer.
Harold Keen was an engineer from the British Tabulating Machine Company (BTM) who built the British bombe machines.
Harry Fensom created the British Tunny machine, used for decoding Lorenz cipher messages.
C. E. Wynn-Williams designed the electronic counters used in the Newmanry's Robinson machines and Colossus computers.
Peter Frederick West maintained the Bombe machines at Bletchley Park.

Operators and Support Staff

Many people worked tirelessly operating the machines and supporting the codebreakers.

Pamela Ascherson was a Bombe operator.
Joyce Aylard was a Bombe operator who moved to Bletchley Park after VE Day.
Ruth Bourne (née Henry) was a Bombe operator and later a volunteer guide at Bletchley Park.
Elsie Booker was a Wren (Women's Royal Naval Service) who worked at Bletchley Park.
Dorothy Du Boisson was an operator of the Colossus computer.
Margaret "Peggy" Erskine-Tulloch (née Seton) was one of the first Wrens at Bletchley Park, working as a Bombe operator, instructor, and watch officer.
Joan Louisa McLean was a Leading Wren and a wartime Morse code operator.
Jean Valentine was a leading Wren and Bombe operator.
Betty Webb (code breaker) served in the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) and helped decipher Japanese and German messages.

Linguists and Translators

Understanding the enemy's language was just as important as breaking their codes.

John H. A. Atkins was a translator of Japanese.
Sarah Baring was a linguist in Hut 4.
Osla Benning was a linguist in Hut 4.
Arthur Cooper was a British Foreign Office linguist specializing in Chinese and Japanese.
Dorrit Dekk was a Czechoslovakian emigrant designer who joined the Wrens and worked as a 'listener' during the war.
Gwen Hollington worked in Hut 4, translating decrypted German naval communications.
Daniel Jones was a codebreaker for Japanese, Romanian, and Russian languages, and also a Welsh composer.
Thaddeus ("Teddy") Pilley was an RAF Intelligence Officer and linguist in Hut 3. He later helped found important organizations for interpreters and linguists.

Leaders and Administrators

Managing the massive operation at Bletchley Park required skilled leaders.

Captain A. R. Bradshaw was the senior naval officer at Bletchley Park and in charge of its administration.
Alexander "Alistair" Denniston was the Deputy Director of GC&CS (Government Code and Cypher School), the organization running Bletchley Park.
Leonard Hooper later became the Director of GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters), the successor to GC&CS.
Eric Jones was the head of Hut 3 and also later became Director of GCHQ.
Jones, Sergeant (later Squadron Leader) was responsible for Bombe maintenance.
Stewart Menzies was the non-operational Director of GC&CS and head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).
Max Newman was the head of the "Newmanry" section, which developed advanced code-breaking machines.
Hugh Sinclair was the non-operational Director of GC&CS and also head of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Edward Travis was a key figure in the leadership of Bletchley Park.
Neil Leslie Webster was a major in SIXTA, involved in signals intelligence and codebreaking.

Heroes of the U-559 Incident

Some individuals showed incredible bravery in the field, directly helping the code-breaking efforts.

Tommy Brown, a 16-year-old, was awarded the George Medal for risking his life to help recover vital codebooks from the sinking German submarine U-559.
Francis Anthony Blair Fasson, a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, was posthumously awarded the George Cross for his outstanding bravery in boarding the sinking U-559 to recover codebooks, losing his life in the process.
Colin Grazier, an Able Seaman in the Royal Navy, was also posthumously awarded the George Cross for his incredible bravery in recovering codebooks from U-559 alongside Francis Fasson. These codebooks were a huge breakthrough for breaking German Naval Enigma.

Other Notable People Connected to Bletchley Park

Many people who worked at Bletchley Park went on to achieve great things in other fields.

Sir Frank Ezra Adcock was a Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge University.
Maurice Allen was an Oxford don who worked at the Wireless Experimental Centre in Delhi.
Michael Arbuthnot Ashcroft was a codebreaker.
Arthur Oliver Lonsdale Atkin was a mathematician.
Stephen Michael Alvin Banister was a codebreaker in Hut 6 and invented the 'BLISTS' system for Enigma messages. He later became an Under Secretary at the Dept of the Environment.
Rachel Joan Banister (née Rawlence) was also a codebreaker in Hut 6.
Jean Barker, Baroness Trumpington (née Jean Alys Campbell-Harris) was a socialite and memoirist.
J. W. B. Barns worked in Hut 4, Hut 5, and Block A, and later became a Professor of Egyptology at Oxford University.
Geoffrey Barraclough was the Chichele Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford.
Keith Batey was a codebreaker.
Rodney Bax was an Intelligence Corps captain in Hut 3.
Peter Benenson worked in the Testery and later founded Amnesty International, a famous human rights organization.
Ralph Bennett was an intelligence officer in Hut 3 and later a Professor of History at Magdalene College, Cambridge.
Judith Irene Bloomfield worked in Bletchley Park Mansion and Hut 8, and later for the Foreign Office.
T. S. R. Boase was an art historian.
Arthur Bonsall later became Director of GCHQ.
Edward Boyle was involved in intelligence and later became a Conservative politician.
Charles Brasch worked in the Italian section and was a New Zealand poet.
Hilary Brett or Brett-Smith was a cryptologist in Hut 8.
Lord Asa Briggs was a member of the Watch in Hut 6 and became a famous historian.
Jean Briggs Watters was an English cryptanalyst.
Christine Brooke-Rose was a writer from Somerville College, Oxford.
Alan Bruce was a codebreaker.
William Bundy worked for the US Army Signal Corps and later became a member of the CIA and a foreign affairs advisor to US Presidents.
James Ramsay Montagu Butler was a politician and historian.
Elizabeth Byng was a codebreaker.
John Cairncross was a Soviet spy.
Peter Calvocoressi was an intelligence officer in the RAF.
J. W. S. Cassels was a codebreaker.
John Chadwick was a codebreaker.
Caroline Chojecki MBE was an intelligence database analyst.
Tom Colvill was the general Manager of the Testery.
Margaret Cooper (née Douglas) was a codebreaker.
Michael Crum worked on the Siemens and Halske T52 teleprinter cipher, codenamed "STURGEON."
John Davies Evans was a codebreaker.
Michael Field became a foreign correspondent for the Daily Telegraph.
Harold Fletcher was involved in Bombe administration in Hut 6.
Leonard Forster was a codebreaker.
"Freddy" (Frederick) Freeborn ran the Tabulating Section in Block C.
Alfred Friendly worked for the US Army Air Force and later became editor of the Washington Post.
Valerie Glassborow, grandmother of Kate Middleton (Princess of Wales), worked in Hut 16 with her twin sister.
Joshua David Goldberg was a Japanese codebreaker and solicitor.
Harry Golombek was a chess player.
Raymond Goodman was head of a shift in Naval Intelligence.
Philip Hall was a codebreaker.
Harry Hinsley was a historian.
Dorothy Hyson was an American-born West End actress.
John Jeffreys supervised the manufacture of perforated sheets and was initially in charge of Hut 6.
Marjorie Jean Oswald Kennedy was a librarian.
Leslie Lambert was a short story writer known as A. J. Alan.
Peter Laslett was a codebreaker.
Hugh Last was a Professor of Ancient History at Brasenose College, Oxford.
Arnold Lynch was a codebreaker.
Sir John Marriott was a philatelist (stamp collector).
Peter Marr-Johnston headed the Wireless Experimental Centre in Delhi.
Victor Masters was a Testery shift-leader and senior codebreaker.
George McVittie was head of the Meteorological Sub-section and later a Professor of Astronomy.
Brinley ("Bryn") Newton-John was the father of famous singer Olivia Newton-John.
John H. Plumb was a codebreaker.
Howard Newton Porter worked for the US Army and became a professor of classics.
Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. worked for the US Army and later became a member of the US Supreme Court.
F.T. Prince was a poet.
Henry Reed was a translator, poet, and radio dramatist.
James Robertson worked in the Air Section and later became Director of the Sadler's Wells Opera Company.
Alison Robins was a Wren.
Jim Rose worked in Hut 3 and later became a journalist and campaigner.
Pamela Rose worked in Hut 4 and Naval records, and was earlier an actress.
Bob Roseveare worked in Hut 6 and became a schoolteacher.
Miriam Louisa Rothschild was an author and scientist.
John Saltmarsh was a historian.
Anne Segrave (née Anne Hamilton-Grace) was an indexer in Hut 3.
D. R. Shackleton Bailey was a codebreaker.
Arthur Shaw (cryptographer) was founder and head of the diplomatic section at the Far East Combined Bureau.
Howard Smith later became Director General of MI5.
Francis Hayward Stanton was a codebreaker.
Rosemary Brown Stanton was a codebreaker.
Rena Stewart was a codebreaker.
Sadie Stuart was a codebreaker.
Joy Tamblin later became Director of the Women's Royal Air Force.
Telford Taylor worked for the US Army and became Counsel for the Prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials.
Michael Trumm was a codebreaker.
Ralph Tymms was a codebreaker.
Langdon Van Norden worked for the US Army Signal Corps and later became chairman of the Metropolitan Opera Association.
Vernon Watkins was a codebreaker.
J. H. C. Whitehead was a mathematician in the Newmanry and a founder of homotopy theory.
Bernard Willson was an academic who worked on Italian and Japanese codes in Hut 4.
Angus Wilson was a novelist and short story writer.
F. W. Winterbotham was an RAF Intelligence Officer who wrote The Ultra Secret.