Rolf Noskwith

Rolf Noskwith was a rare example of someone who joined Bletchley Park having a good idea of what work was being done there. As a maths undergraduate at Cambridge who spoke German and enjoyed solving crosswords, he was recommended by the University Recruitment Board to join the Officer Training Corps in Artillery Survey Work but for the Army to use his knowledge of languages and his interest in decoding. In the event he was deemed medically unfit to serve in the Armed Forces and so continued his studies.

In early 1940 he was interviewed by Gordon Welchman and offered a job at Bletchley Park but the discovery that he was not British-born meant that his appointment was vetoed. In 1941, his final year at university, he was again interviewed, this time by CP Snow (at the time a Civil Service Commissioner) and Hugh Alexander. The veto was lifted, he was once again offered a job, and he joined Bletchley Park on 20 June 1941 as soon as he had finished his Finals. He was sent to Hut 8 to work, under Alexander, on German Naval Enigma. He discovered a knack for cribbing and remained a Hut 8 cribster for the rest of the war. He had a varied social life at Bletchley Park, enjoying bridge and chess and attending concerts. He was also a member of the Bletchley Park Home Guard platoon. After VJ Day he stayed on at GCHQ, moving to Eastcote and working under John Tiltman for a while before leaving to join the family business.

For more about the contribution made by Rolf Noskwith and the other Jewish codebreakers at Bletchley Park see the article written by Robert Hannigan, former Director GCHQ, published in the Jewish Chronicle.