Roy Jenkins

Born the son of a South Wales miner, Roy Jenkins was educated at Abersychan County School in South Wales and showed his ambition by passing the entry standards for Oxford University, beginning his degree course in 1938. Jenkins joined GC&CS at Bletchley Park as a Captain in the Intelligence Corps and became part of the Block F 'Testery' research team from its beginnings in 1942, under the leadership of Major Ralph Tester. This team centred around the work to exploit the Lorenz SZ40/42 machine telecipher system (used by the German High Command around occupied Europe). By September 1945 Captain Jenkins was working under John Herivel in the Newmanry in Room 3 of the new Block H, when, together with RSM Peter Benenson, he was disciplined for misappropriating Bletchley Park lunch sandwich tickets!

He entered the House of Commons in 1948 and would go onto a number of senior governmental posts. This included Home Secretary between 1965-1967, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1967-1969, and a second stint as Home Secretary between 1974-1976. He then went on to become the President of the European Commission between 1976-1981.
In 1981 Jenkins founded the Social Democratic Party (SDP) with the ‘gang of four’ senior Labour moderates (David Owen, Bill Rodgers, Roy Jenkins and Shirley Williams). He would go onto become Lord Jenkins of Hillhead and was appointed as Chancellor to the University of Oxford in 1987.
Jenkins died in 2003.