Nigel de Grey facts for kids
Nigel de Grey (born March 27, 1886, died May 25, 1951) was a very important British codebreaker. A codebreaker is someone who solves secret messages or codes. He was known for being quiet and a bit shy. He learned to speak French and German very well, which helped him a lot in his work.
Nigel de Grey in World War I
During World War I, Nigel de Grey joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. In September 1915, he started working in a special section of Naval Intelligence called Room 40. This was where secret enemy messages were decoded.
One of his biggest achievements was helping to decode the Zimmermann Telegram on January 17, 1917. This telegram was a secret message from Germany's foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, to the German ambassador in Mexico. The message suggested that Mexico should join Germany in the war against the United States. In return, Mexico would get back parts of Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico.
When this secret plan was revealed to the public, it made the United States decide to join World War I. This was a huge turning point in the war. Later in 1917, de Grey was promoted. He moved to Rome to work on Austrian secret messages.
Nigel de Grey in World War II
When World War II began, Nigel de Grey worked at a secret place called Bletchley Park. This was a top-secret location where British codebreakers worked to crack enemy codes. His main job was to decode messages sent by the Germans using their Enigma cipher machine. The Enigma machine was a complex device used to encrypt secret communications.
In September 1941, he helped uncover very important information. He provided a report to the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. This report contained the first clues from German messages about their police groups. These groups were carrying out terrible actions, like destroying villages and moving people out of their homes. One message even boasted about many thousands of executions.
After Churchill warned about these actions in a speech, the Germans became more careful. They sent out a message in October 1941. It told their forces not to mention "sensitive operations" in their radio messages anymore. This showed how important the codebreakers' work was.
After the Wars
After World War II, Nigel de Grey continued to work for the British government's codebreaking agency. This agency later became known as GCHQ in 1946. He became a deputy director and led a team. This team worked on decoding secret messages from the Soviet Union.
He retired in 1951. Sadly, he passed away shortly after his retirement from a heart attack in London. His wife, whom he married in 1910, survived him.
