Bernard Willson
| Bernard Willson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
H Bernard Willson ca. 1919 |
| Died | 1994 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Linguist (German) & Academic |
| Spouse(s) | Agnes "Nan" Gullon/Willson (1917-1999) |
| Children | Vivian Willson Quentin Willson Ashley Willson Chloe Willson |
Bernard Willson was a British linguist and noted academic, who during World War II was the first person to decrypt the Italian Navy Hagelin C-38 code machine. He is the father of television presenter Quentin Willson.
Willson graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge with a degree in modern languages, having studied under JRM Butler.
On entering World War II in June 1940, the Italian military were using book codes for most of their military messages. The exception was the Italian Navy which, early in 1941, started using the C-38 version of the Hagelin rotor-based cipher machine, which they used to route their navy and merchant marine convoys to the conflict in North Africa.
Willson was recruited in 1941 by JRM Butler to join a team with two others in Hut 4 at Bletchley Park, the Italian subsection of the UK's GC&CS. Dedicated to cracking the Italian Navy Hagelin code, the team were working in partnership with the Cairo-based team of the British 8th Army Intelligence Chief Brigadier Edgar Williams, who reported to General Bernard Montgomery. In June 1941 Willson became the first of the team to decode the Hagelin system, thus enabling military commanders to direct the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to sink enemy ships carrying supplies from Europe to Rommel's Afrika Korps. Resultantly with shipping losses increasing, from reading the resultant Ultra traffic the team learn that between May and September 1941 the stock of fuel for the Luftwaffe in North Africa reduced by 90%. The cracking of Hagelin is considered to have been “hugely significant", so much that Prime Minister Winston Churchill specifically visited Hut 4 on a visit to Bletchley Park to thank the team for their endeavours. After an intensive language course, in March 1944 Willson switched to Japanese language-based codes.
...
Wikipedia