The Role of Female Cryptanalysts from 1914 to 1946

This thesis shows that the history of cryptanalysis in Britain in the first half of the twentieth century has focussed on the contribution of men to the virtual exclusion of that of women, and produces evidence to prove that, from the First World War onwards, women, although in a minority, were working at the same level as their male counterparts, despite their lack of mention in the published literature which generally holds that only men worked as cryptanalysts during this period. The present research identifies that this was not the case, and that though the number of confirmed female cryptanalysts remains small and elusive, these women were nonetheless important for the role that they played. This thesis examines published work on British cryptanalysis between 1914 and 1946, demonstrating that these accounts are almost exclusively by men and about men. The research presented uses original documentation and interviews to advance and place on record knowledge about female cryptanalysts who worked in high-level codebreaking during time both of war and peace in a gendered approach. The analysis sets out the case studies of six women - four cryptanalysts, one linguist and a decoder - who typify the roles that women held in cryptanalysis between 1914 and 1946, providing an in-depth study of their backgrounds and roles they carried out for the British Admiralty’s Room 40, the War Office’s MI1(b) and HushWAACs, and the Foreign Office’s Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS). The thesis provides a detailed historiographical chronology in a gendered approach of the women’s role in cryptanalysis from the beginnings of modern codebreaking in the First World War, through the interwar creation of GC&CS, to the vast cryptanalytical organisation at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, setting out the context of relevant literature and archival materials. Definitions are derived for key terms whose meanings have changed over the period, causing confusion and erroneous conclusions to be drawn, and key themes are identified which can be used in the identification of future female cryptanalysts. This thesis clearly identifies that women were working as high-grade cryptanalysts during the period 1914 to 1946, and offers pointers and analytical tools to potential further identifications in future research

Medmenham: Anglo-American Photographic Intelligence in the Second World War

The role of photographic intelligence during the Second World War at Royal Air Force (RAF) Medmenham and its predecessor at Wembley is investigated in this thesis. The development from 1939 to 1945 of photographic reconnaissance and photographic interpretation is examined. The growth of the Central Interpretation Unit (CIU) at Medmenham and its change to the Allied Central Interpretation Unit (ACIU) in 1944, with the arrival of a significant American influx is investigated. Medmenham is compared with Bletchley Park using an organisational lens to reveal similarities and differences in the growth and development of these two centralised intelligence organisations. The thesis then explores four case studies: Operation Sealion, the Nazi planned invasion of Britain in 1940, Operation Millennium, the first 1,000 bomber raid of the war in 1942, Operation Chastise, the Ruhr dams raid in 1943 and Operation Epsom, the first large scale operation after D-Day to capture Caen in June 1944. The primary methodology employed is a detailed examination of the photographic interpretation reports produced by Wembley and Medmenham during the operations. The core of the methodology used in this thesis, is an individual examination of every photographic interpretation report produced for each of the case studies. The thesis provides an innovative interpretation of the role and importance of photographic intelligence during the Second World War. It therefore makes an original contribution to intelligence history

Medmenham: Anglo-American Photographic Intelligence in the Second World War

The role of photographic intelligence during the Second World War at Royal Air Force (RAF) Medmenham and its predecessor at Wembley is investigated in this thesis. The development from 1939 to 1945 of photographic reconnaissance and photographic interpretation is examined. The growth of the Central Interpretation Unit (CIU) at Medmenham and its change to the Allied Central Interpretation Unit (ACIU) in 1944, with the arrival of a significant American influx is investigated. Medmenham is compared with Bletchley Park using an organisational lens to reveal similarities and differences in the growth and development of these two centralised intelligence organisations. The thesis then explores four case studies: Operation Sealion, the Nazi planned invasion of Britain in 1940, Operation Millennium, the first 1,000 bomber raid of the war in 1942, Operation Chastise, the Ruhr dams raid in 1943 and Operation Epsom, the first large scale operation after D-Day to capture Caen in June 1944. The primary methodology employed is a detailed examination of the photographic interpretation reports produced by Wembley and Medmenham during the operations. The core of the methodology used in this thesis, is an individual examination of every photographic interpretation report produced for each of the case studies. The thesis provides an innovative interpretation of the role and importance of photographic intelligence during the Second World War. It therefore makes an original contribution to intelligence history

Profiles in intelligence: an interview with Tony Comer

Until August 2020, Martin Anthony ‘Tony’ Comer was the first publicly avowed Departmental Historian of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the UK’s cyber and signals intelligence agency. His career at GCHQ spanned thirty-seven years, both operationally and, from 2009, as the eighth Departmental Historian (‘the best job in GCHQ’, he has previously said), culminating with GCHQ’s centenary in 2019 and publication of the authorised history of the agency, authored by Prof. John Ferris.1 Born in Langley, Greater Manchester, Tony joined GCHQ in October 1983, first, as a linguist and, then, taking a series of operational roles within ‘the department’. Over the years, he has worked on GCHQ support for the armed forces and was the UK representative on the NATO Signals Intelligence committee. The role of Departmental Historian was his first non-operational job, and, from April 2009, one that he gradually developed from a largely in-house function writing the classified history of GCHQ, to a public facing one, telling the story of GCHQ’s work and promoting the study of UK signals intelligence to a wider audience. From April 2009 to August 2020, Tony supported GCHQ’s public engagement activity by communicating with thousands – if not tens of thousands – of people and took a central role in marking the centenary of GCHQ, as well as supporting the work of the Bletchley Park Trust, commemorating the important work of GCHQ’s predecessor, the Government Code & Cipher School (GC&CS), during the Second World War. ‘For a lot of people’, Tony reflected at the end of his career, ‘I am the only member of an intelligence service they will ever meet (or at least know that they have met) – that is a terrific honour’. He was appointed OBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours for services to International and Intelligence history. Tony continues to write on the history of Sigint and publishes document extracts via https://siginthistorian.blogspot.com/, and has contributed to the Lawfare podcast and Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Commentary. This is the first major interview with a former UK agency departmental historian, in which he discusses the work of in-house history, intelligence agency transparency and engagement, and provides insights into the Centenary of GCHQ

Language of the universe

This thesis consists of a sequence of five scripts for a television series that seeks to articulate the history of mathematics through key events and figures. Programme One examines the idea of zero, while Programme Two looks at how much of geometry was developed by mathematicians who examined the stars and led on to Einstein's work on relativity. Programme Three explores the history of codes and Programme Four complements this by examining how understanding triangles in different contexts was used to solve contemporary problems. Finally, Programme Five looks at an area of mathematics that many people find counter-intuitive, the measurement of chance events. Behind the series lies the desire both to entertain and educate the audience, but also to demonstrate how the art of the documentary can be applied to science topics in a dramatic and imaginative way. The question of the documentary and its nature is discussed in the initial critical chapters that chart the development of the programmes and discuss the creative and technical issues they raise, together with a reflection on the learning process involved in their writing

Law and Policy for the Quantum Age

Law and Policy for the Quantum Age is for readers interested in the political and business strategies underlying quantum sensing, computing, and communication. This work explains how these quantum technologies work, future national defense and legal landscapes for nations interested in strategic advantage, and paths to profit for companies

Starting from scratch: St. John's, Newfoundland as a case study in second world war naval base development

Contrary to popular belief, St. John's, Newfoundland, rather than Halifax, Nova Scotia, was Canada's major convoy escort base during World War II. This is significant for a number of reasons. Chief among them is that Newfoundland was a separate dominion, and the base - commissioned HMCS Avalon - was built and operated by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) but owned by the British Admiralty. Furthermore, the RCN managed to create a major naval facility in the heart of a capital city with a civilian population of 40,000 when American and Canadian army forces already occupied most of the available vacant land. -- Historians have suggested that the establishment of the Newfoundland Escort Force in May 1941 was a milestone in Canadian naval history and that its creation elevated the RCN into a major combatant. They argue that the importance of the naval base can hardly be exaggerated and that it was actually the key to the western defence system. Yet relatively little has been written on how this base arose from what originally was merely a defended harbour. -- While much has appeared on the ships and men involved in the Battle of the Atlantic, the various bases from which they operated have received scant attention. This is a significant oversight because how the forces fared at sea was often bound up inextricably with the operation of the facilities ashore. This was especially so for the RCN due to its rapid expansion during the war. Its defence of the convoys was a direct reflection of the efficiency, maintenance and training capabilities of the shore establishments. For the Newfoundland Escort Force/Mid-Ocean Escort Force this was HMCS Avalon located at St. John's, Newfoundland. Yet both contemporaries and historians remember the presence of the US army more than the RCN despite the fact that thousands of sailors and hundreds of warships were stationed in St. John's during the war. This may be due to the longevity of the American presence in Newfoundland and the haste with which the Canadian facilities were dismantled at the end of the hostilities. Or perhaps it is a hangover from Newfoundland's still contentious decision to join Canada in 1949. The story of how St. John's evolved from a defended harbour to a major Allied escort base makes a significant contribution to Canadian, Newfoundland and naval historiography

The Turing Bombe <i>Victory</i> and the first naval Enigma decrypts

<p><i>Victory</i> was the name of the first prototype Bombe that was developed for breaking the German Enigma messages of World War II. It lacked the diagonal board and simultaneous scanning that was provided for all the later models, but these disadvantages were overcome by the ingenious use of a column menu (a special Bombe menu where the Enigma fast rotors are all in the same position) to break six days of naval traffic, 22–27 April 1940, following the pinch of material from an armed trawler <i>Schiff 26</i> (<i>Polares</i>). These were the first naval decrypts of the War, and their solution took several months to complete. No further naval breaks occurred until November. This article examines the decryption process in some detail in order to explain the difficulties, highlight the role of <i>Victory</i> in this process, and provide detailed workings of the processes. It also sheds some light on the early development of the British Bombe.</p