Alastair Denniston: Code-breaking From Room 40 To Berkeley Street And The Birth Of Gchq
by Joel Greenberg /
2017 / English / EPUB
7.3 MB Download
Some of the individuals who played key roles in the success of
Bletchley Park in reading the secret communications of Britain’s
enemies during the Second World War have become well-known figures.
However, the man who created and led the organisation based there,
from its inception in 1919 until 1942, has, surprisingly, been
overlooked – until now. In 1914 Alastair Denniston, who had been
teaching French and German at Osborne Royal Navy College, was one
of the first recruits into the Admiralty’s fledgling codebreaking
section which became known as Room 40\. There a team drawn from a
wide range of professions successfully decrypted intercepted German
communications throughout the First World War.
Some of the individuals who played key roles in the success of
Bletchley Park in reading the secret communications of Britain’s
enemies during the Second World War have become well-known figures.
However, the man who created and led the organisation based there,
from its inception in 1919 until 1942, has, surprisingly, been
overlooked – until now. In 1914 Alastair Denniston, who had been
teaching French and German at Osborne Royal Navy College, was one
of the first recruits into the Admiralty’s fledgling codebreaking
section which became known as Room 40\. There a team drawn from a
wide range of professions successfully decrypted intercepted German
communications throughout the First World War.
After the Armistice, Room 40 was merged with the British Army’s
equivalent section – MI.1 – to form the Government Code and Cypher
School (GC&CS). Initially based in London, from August 1939
GC&CS was largely located at Bletchley Park, with Alastair
Denniston as its Operational Director.
After the Armistice, Room 40 was merged with the British Army’s
equivalent section – MI.1 – to form the Government Code and Cypher
School (GC&CS). Initially based in London, from August 1939
GC&CS was largely located at Bletchley Park, with Alastair
Denniston as its Operational Director.
Denniston was moved in 1942 from military to civilian intelligence
at Berkeley Street, London. Small at first, as Enigma traffic
diminished towards the end of the Second World War, diplomatic and
commercial codebreaking became of increasing importance and a vital
part of Britain’s signal intelligence effort. GC&CS was renamed
the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in June 1946, and
moved to the outskirts of Cheltenham. It continues to be the UK’s
signal intelligence gathering organisation. With the support and
assistance of the both the Denniston family and GCHQ, Joel
Greenberg, author of Gordon Welchman, Bletchley Park’s Architect of
Ultra Intelligence, has produced this absorbing story of Commander
Alexander ‘Alastair’ Guthrie Denniston OBE, CBE, CMG, RNVR, a man
whose death in 1961 was ignored by major newspapers and the very
British intelligence organisation that was his legacy.
Denniston was moved in 1942 from military to civilian intelligence
at Berkeley Street, London. Small at first, as Enigma traffic
diminished towards the end of the Second World War, diplomatic and
commercial codebreaking became of increasing importance and a vital
part of Britain’s signal intelligence effort. GC&CS was renamed
the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in June 1946, and
moved to the outskirts of Cheltenham. It continues to be the UK’s
signal intelligence gathering organisation. With the support and
assistance of the both the Denniston family and GCHQ, Joel
Greenberg, author of Gordon Welchman, Bletchley Park’s Architect of
Ultra Intelligence, has produced this absorbing story of Commander
Alexander ‘Alastair’ Guthrie Denniston OBE, CBE, CMG, RNVR, a man
whose death in 1961 was ignored by major newspapers and the very
British intelligence organisation that was his legacy.