Northern Irelands Bletchley Connections
On the 20th March 2025 I was invited to give a talk on behalf of the Northern Ireland War Memorial at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. This was a Power Point presentation and covered the history of the Radio Security Service operation in Northern Ireland during World War Two. As well as Signals Intelligence I also introduced my audience to local Bletchley Code breaker John Herivel. John was recruited to Hut Six, Bletchley, in January 1940 from Sydney Sussex College and by May of that year he had developed a way into the Luftwaffe Code Red. This was known as the "Herivel Tip" a method of breaking this Luftwaffe Enigma Code, without which "We Would Have Been Defeated in 1940" those the words of Gordon Welchman of Hut Six fame. Despite the assurance of Gordon Welchman that John would be recognized for his achievement it never happened until the 11th November 2022 when the Ulster History Circle invited John's daughter Susan to unveil a Blue Plaque at his old school Methodist College Belfast. If you would like to hear my talk, log into YouTube and search for Northern Ireland's Bletchley Connections. With my total respect to those Battle of Britain pilots who paid the supreme sacrifice, it was John Herivel who gave Lord Dowding the Ace Card that allowed Dowding to manage and fight his David and Goliath struggle against the Luftwaffe and by the Grace of God win the "Battle of Britain" and save our nation from defeat in 1940.
