SCU Reunion May 2001 - Newsletter May 2001
May 13th proved to be extremely hot and the temperature in room Red One at Bletchley Park soared. The 32 veterans and 26 visitors did not let it spoil their enjoyment of the day. We had apologies from 10 who were very sorry to miss the event. This letter will go to all on my mailing list who have let me know that they wish to keep in touch.
Again our thanks are due to the Museum staff who allow us the facilities and it is good to know that the SCU/RSS connection with BP is recognised.
I did not expect us to become one of the exhibits, but so it proved. As the Park was very crowded with the special 1940s event many visitors came to look in on us. Our room was packed and we had to keep the door open because of the heat. My wife kindly stood outside the door to explain that it was a reunion of secret listeners and Ultra operators.. It was these who intercepted enemy signals which after being deciphered were sent by other operators to the commanders in the field. The members of the public were intrigued and fascinated to see the actual wartime men and women who worked in secret and some young adults said how wonderful it was to see some of those who helped to save this country. This report is no exaggeration.
Geoffrey Pidgeon gave us a full account of how he was drawn into the same unit, SCU1, in which his father was serving . With the aid of many slides we were shown Whaddon past and present. The Hall along with some local villages, was used to serve the Special Liaison Units whose job was to convey the deciphered messages from BP to those commanders who were permitted to receive Ultra.
In the early days, Packard vehicles were fitted out as SLUs with transmitters constructed at Whaddon and with other equipment made ready for service at the front. The Mk III was designed and built at Whaddon and used a crystal controlled 807 (valve), made up in an oak case.
For the D Day invasion of Europe Whaddon supplied Guy 15cwt army wireless vans stripped out to take Whaddon's wireless gear and for the American zone of operation Dodge ambulances were used - again fitted with the standard HRO and Mk III.
A full account of the SCUs will appear in Geoffrey's book due later this year.
David White (G3ZPA) explained the changes taking place at the Park which is costing millions of pounds for restoration of huts and the annual running expenses of the whole site. However David is restoring Hut one, the early station X, by himself with £350 from voluntary contributions. We look forward to his presentation of intercept stations including the RSS and VIs. David told us that any who worked at BP or the associated departments may apply for a pass bestowing the "Freedom of the Park" in perpetuity. This free entry includes SCU ex-members and VIs. Application forms are available from me (s.a.e.please) or from the Park. You do not have to be a "Friend of the BP Museum Trust" but it is a worthy cause to support.
After the lunch break I showed a tape from "Collectors Lot" depicting some of the 250 Morse keys in the collection of John Francis. This included a small CIA key, a WW1 army key, one from a U boat and another from a JU88 shot down over London.
This tape was followed by a short film about the small receivers used to track down illicit transmitters and how they were used.
Gerry Openshaw (G2BTO) amplified the film with his account of how he, at that time working for the GPO, used a receiver of his own design in direction finding a transmitter, especially when already quite close to the signal, perhaps in a block of flats.
When Gerry had to enter premises containing a suspect, he made sure that he obtained the largest policeman to accompany him. However he first had to notify the Foreign Office and would sometimes be told to "leave that one alone". We can guess why!
Julian Webster was in the post war Territorial Army signals instigated by Brig. Gambier Parry and explained how the units were formed. He served from 1959 to 1992.
David Williams G3CCO outlined his varied experiences in many fields of signals intelligence which took him from Little Horwood in 1942 via Spain, Calcutta, Malaysia to the occupational forces in Japan until 1947. Post war he held a very senior post in the BBC engineering department. There is material for a book here or at least an article for the Newsletter.
Ken Reid was working for Plessey until he found himself at the Wireless School preparing for the Merchant Navy when the Foreign Office collared him. He was signed up at Barnet in 1944 and operated at St Erth (Cornwall) moving on to Japanese Morse and then intercepting Russian traffic before leaving in August 1946 to join the Marconi firm.
Cyril Fairchild G3YY was an early RSS bird, being approached by Arthur Watts (President of the RSGB) in 1940 to do VI work. Soon a letter arrived from Capt Bellringer to arrange for Cyril to be collected from Brighton by car for a test at Barnet. He was collected again to join the Barnet (Arkley View) Box 25 staff in 1941 for the duration. We were not all given such VIP treatment.
Leon Smith G3HDJ was at the Marine Wireless School in Liverpool (at the same time as John McCafferty) and in November 1944 went to Tattenhoe, Weald and Whaddon to later join the Diplomatic Wireless Service right through to 1985. He was billeted at BP in 1948 in complete ignorance of the significance of this site.
Sylvia Jewell as a small girl, on her way to school, posted envelopes mysteriously addressed to Box 25, Barnet, Herts. Until recently she had no idea why her father, Robert Smith, a WW1 radio operator, was giving her this job. In blissful ignorance she was posting enciphered messages from the German intelligence services to Arkley where after collating they were sent to BP for deciphering and action. Now Sylvia knows how she played a small part in winning the war.
Once more I did not have enough time to talk to everyone and did not get all the pictures I wanted for my card index. It is not easy to remember so many faces with 12 months in between but I am improving.
Best Wishes to all. Thank you for a splendid turnout and with this letter we keep in touch with those unable to attend.
Noz (Bob)
Ruth Luxford describes another mode of entry into RSS
On December 7th 1943 at 3.30pm, I had an interview for National Service at the Labour Exchange. Having made up my mind to enlist for the W.R.N.S. I was confronted with a list of jobs available to me. To one who was used to a responsible office job, in charge of hospital accounts in England and Wales for a wholesale chemist firm, the choice in front of me was beyond belief. The options were:
Thinking very quickly I said to the Clerk, " I am afraid I do not want any of these!" Very surprised at my haste to refuse her suggestions - she vanished into the room behind her - What had I done? Where was I going? She came back with a note saying, "Ring this number and you may be successful." I rang within an hour and to my surprise obtained an interview with a Major Bellringer at Arkley View on December 20th. This was very interesting. I was given a written and typing test on the spot and was then told that if I proved suitable I would receive notice by post. On December 28th, having spent all the Christmas holiday wondering, I received a letter from Capt. J.A. Allerton, Royal Signals, P.O. Box 25, to say it was agreed that I should start employment on January 3rd 1944 and enclosed was a pass to admit me through the security gate - This was great news!
The day arrived. I was escorted by an orderly R.C.O.S. to Lt. Col. Morton Evans and had to sign a few forms of entry which included the Official Secrets Act. From an upstairs office in Arkley View I was then taken by the same Orderly to Major John Howard, Group 2 R.S.S. Discrimination S.C.U.3. After a very friendly welcome chat he suggested that I spend a short time with each group in the room to get the gist of work I would be doing. Three essential things were required of me; typing, to be able to print quickly, and to have a good memory.
Over the first few weeks of getting into the groove of things I worked with several groups and sections all in the same office (hut), Sgt. Les Ullyatt, Sgt. Freshwater, Sgt. Scott, Capt. Fred Stowe, Kay Annerly, C.Q.M.S. Bob Rendall. Stuart Clacy and Roy Ritchie to name but a few.
The work was tedious and monotonous, checking and re-checking numerous sheets straight from the teleprinters - always with hard working, friendly folk willing to help to make the task more interesting. Top Secret signs stamped on every paper around and scramble phones gave one a real feeling of doing war work although of course not being able to talk about it to anyone, not even one’s family. The months went by and the routine was consistent. On the bright side, the ten days holiday every three months was really something to look forward to - a real break - all ready with renewed energy to start work again.
The lunch breaks in the canteen were often very cheerful, especially if Ron Delahunt was encouraged to play Boogie Woogie on the piano. Sgt. Al Webster ran classes some evenings for ballroom dancing - these proved very popular and were great fun. We had a bomb drop behind our site but luckily no one was hurt - plenty of glass and the office covered in plaster. True to song it was "Pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start all over again". On one occasion the canteen had to be closed and we all had to report to the Army Medical Officer for an anti-dysentery injection as some soldiers had just returned from the Middle East but we were all OK.
When peace was declared our work changed considerably of course and several of us were lucky enough to be transferred to Government Communications Headquarters at Eastcote Middlesex. Transport was provided by coach six days a week - 8am pick up at Barnet Church, returning home after 6pm. To start with we had a series of lectures, followed by the signing of the O.S.A. again.
It was there I worked alongside Lt. C.A. Bradbury, Pam Eddy and Bert Matthews until resigning on August 28th 1946 due to the official transport being discontinued. I found the journey to and from Eastcote was taking its toll (two hours in the morning and often longer on the return journey) so different from the fifteen minutes walk to and from home when working at Arkley.
From 1946-1995. Nearly 50 years. There was no sign of a reunion of the Box 25 folk and I often wondered why! That was until, one day a friend of mine sent me a cutting from the Times Group of newspapers dated 29/6/95 written by Keith Taylor from Tonbridge, headed "Arkley’s role in secret war work" ending with "If you worked as a V.I. or in the R.S.S. during the Second World War then call Keith on ......".
Needless to say I phoned - could it be that at last we may be able to have a get together of old friends we used to work with? Yes, thanks to the dedicated folk who made it possible for such a memorable gathering , we now meet each year in May at Bletchley Park for a reunion. Long may it continue.
Roy Ritchie explains the secret of changing call signs in Group 2 (Bertie)
The stark message "HR NO CALLS HR NO CODES AMERIKANS SIND AN DIE AUTOBAHN" has stayed with me ever since the closing days of the war in Europe.
Sent "in clear" from an unidentified Abwehr station somewhere in the Rhineland one sensed the operator’s feeling of desperation. With American forces advancing along the autobahn near him, he sent CL and closed down for the last time.
It showed the collapse of order in Germany as the Allied armies swept eastwards after crossing the Rhine. The radio networks of the German Intelligence Service were disappearing so quickly that intercept services could hardly keep abreast of removing them from their organisational map.
It also shows the extent to which the German operators were dependent on paper records for such things as the call signs used in their communications links. These were changed on a daily basis to make it difficult for listeners to work out the identity of the senders. For the system to work properly both ends of the link had to know beforehand what the call signs would be.
In the Balkans a different method was used to determine this daily change. How far it reflected life in a difficult terrain with hostile inhabitants is not known. The system used by the Abwehr meant that the radio operator did not have to carry paperwork to tell him about his daily contacts.
The key lay in the use of a simple phrase which could be used to construct a three letter call which would change each day of the month. This was peculiar to Centre 5 of Group 2. It was explained to me by Peter Modridge who was in charge of work on this Balkans network and I well remember my first attempt at working this out under his guidance.
At that time my work was on Group 2 Search on 5 Mc/s. This involved scrutinizing incoming logs for all intercepts between 5 and 6 Mc/s to identify Group 2 (i.e.Abwehr) services which were already known. Thereafter the residue was examined to see if there were any Group 2 transmissions which were unknown to us –"suspects" in our terminology
In the course of this a suspect transmission was identified as likely to belong to Centre 5. Initially there were only calls and procedure signals but the call sign changes from day to day were systematic and significant.
The system relied on the use of a phrase of 30-31 letters in length which could be easily remembered. This was written down as one horizontal line of a table which was 31 letters wide, corresponding to the days of the month. Above and below each letter of the phrase the letters of the alphabet were written vertically in their correct sequence. This gave a table of 30-31 vertical lines of alphabet within which would be seen the key phrase running along one horizontal line.
In this particular case the phrase was SCHWARZWALD IM SUEDEN DEUTSCHLAND. The intercepted call signs provided information for the end of one month and the beginning of the next.
If we reconstruct the table we see:
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S |
C |
H |
W |
A |
R |
Z |
W |
A |
L |
D |
I |
M |
S |
U |
E |
D |
E |
N |
D |
E |
U |
T |
S |
C |
H |
L |
A |
N |
D |
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T |
D |
I |
X |
B |
S |
A |
X |
B |
M |
E |
J |
N |
T |
V |
F |
E |
F |
O |
E |
F |
V |
U |
T |
D |
I |
M |
B |
O |
E |
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U |
E |
J |
Y |
C |
T |
B |
Y |
C |
N |
F |
K |
O |
U |
W |
G |
F |
G |
P |
F |
G |
W |
V |
U |
E |
J |
N |
C |
P |
F |
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V |
F |
K |
Z |
D |
U |
C |
Z |
D |
O |
G |
L |
P |
V |
X |
H |
G |
H |
Q |
G |
H |
X |
W |
V |
F |
K |
O |
D |
Q |
G |
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W |
G |
L |
A |
E |
V |
D |
A |
E |
P |
H |
M |
Q |
W |
Y |
I |
H |
I |
R |
H |
I |
Y |
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W |
G |
L |
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R |
H |
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For simplicity let us only use the first part of the phrase and insert the date order at the top
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 S C H W A R Z W A L D T D I X B S A X B M E U E J Y C T B Y C N F V F K Z D U C Z D O G W G L A E V D A E P H
One line, either above or below the key phrase has to be used for call-sign determination.
If the fourth line below the key phrase is used, then for:
Day 1 we read WGL
Day 2 GLA
Day 3 LAE
Day 4 AEV and so on.
One thing immediately becomes obvious – the last two letters of any call are repeated as the first two letters of the next day’s call. Thus WGL is followed by GLA, GLA by LAE and so on.
It was this feature – only needed in a run of a few consecutive days - which told Peter Modridge that the service we were looking at was using this system.
We had a run of 8 or 9 days at the beginning of a month - enough to permit the reconstruction of SCHWARZWALD. There were a few incomplete days at the end of the previous month – not enough to work out the end of the phrase, but enough to guess at LAND. The rest was more guesswork – Schwarzwald (the Black Forest) is in Southern Germany – so Schwarzwald im Sueden Deutschland was probably what we were looking for. Some odd days of intercepts in the middle of the month did not contradict this. So, these calls were inserted as the likely identifiers for this new schedule in Centre 5 and the information passed to the allocated intercept operators.
That done, my task on this particular bit of Group 2 Search was over. However, it has to be admitted that I did watch for this new service in the weeks to come – and, yes, it did come up regularly on sked, day after day, with the forecast calls in correct order.
I can send any of these files on request but please note the file sizes (kilobytes).
1. How Fish was broken. A talk by Tony Sale...44k
2. How Lord Dacre (Hugh Trevor Roper) got into RSS...53k
3. Correspondence between Kenneth Morton Evans and Bob (14 Docs)...300k
(some interesting insights and personal details)
4. Obituary for Morton Evans (Times & Lord Dacre)...24k
5. Obituary for Major E.W.B. Gill who started RSS with HTR...22k
6. Several papers by Gill on the radio experimental work he carried out after leaving RSS
Mainly in radar and VHF work (very interesting)...86k
7. SCU3&4 about 800 names of full time operators etc...76k
8. Box 25 A history (King & Morton Evans)...136k
9. Enigma (A short explanation.. Bob King written for the Eddystone Users Group)...39k
10. Precis of Abwehr agents monitored by RSS...60k
11. Plan Flypaper. G7** calls in 1945 hoping that Germans may wish to make contact with H.M. Government or others...30k
12. Letters between ME and Admiralty 1940. I.D. Pass for ME in1942...10k
13. Very early instructions to Voluntary Interceptors...15k
(Lt Col Morton Evans was Known as ME. We all had abbreviations for addressing papers to each other.
e.g. Capt Tant was T, I was Noz of course.)
If you paid for documents at the reunion and have not received same please give me a reminder.
Some one took the top sheet of "How Lord Dacre got into RSS" and another paper I believe.
Let me know if you are short of the complete article.
34 SCU ex-members (and associates) attended the 2001 reunion with 24 visitors.
Peter Dromgoole , John Endall G2HOS, Cyril Fairchild G3YY, Ray Fautley G3ASG, R.G.Fildes,
Eric Foster, John Foster, Frank Gay G3CFV, John Godwin, Pat Hawker G3VA, John Hofer,
Peter Ives G3ASQ, Alan Jackson, Sylvia Jewell, Noz King G3ASE, Phil Luck, Bill Lush, Ruth Luxford,
John McCafferty, Wilf Neal, Steve Newton, Gerry Openshaw G2BTO, Geoffrey Pidgeon, Len Reeves G4CEM,
Ken Reid, Roy Ritchie, Martin Shaw, Leon Smith G3HDJ, Keith Taylor G0XKT, David Vincent, Don Wallis,
Julian Webster, David White G3ZPA, Dave Williams G3CCO.
P.S. Letter from Lord Dacre of Glanton (was Hugh Trevor Roper and with Major Gill set the future of RSS whilst at Wormwood Scrubs. Item 2 above refers).
Dear Mr King,
Many thanks for writing to me about the meeting at Bletchley park. I was very glad to hear from you, as from any member of RSS; and I wish I could have come to the reunion, but I am afraid I have not been well for some time and am now very blind and cannot drive or indeed see anything much. So I am afraid I have had to miss the occasion but I hope it went well and send you my best wishes.
Signed Hugh Dacre