Alan Gordon-Finlay (8 June 1890 – 6 June 1959) was a British engineer and inventor of Scottish descent born in Australia. He is best known for having co-created the Filene-Finlay (incorrectly spelled Findlay)
simultaneous interpretation
Simultaneous interpretation (SI) is when an interpreter translates the message from the source language to the target language in real-time. Unlike in consecutive interpreting, this way the natural flow of the speaker is not disturbed and allows ...
system at the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
in
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
after the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the first of its kind and the fore-runner to modern interpretation systems in use throughout the world today. A patent was purchased by
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
in 1930, taking it to global production.
Early life

Alan Gordon-Finlay was born on 8 June 1890 at Blytheswood in
Turramurra, seven miles north of
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Australia. In 1896 the family moved to
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, where Finlay attended a number of private schools to nurture a young prodigious talent. In 1898, at the age of 8, Finlay announced that he would like to be an inventor and to earn money by publishing patents. He then proved his point by presenting his first patent: an electrical device for lighting a gas flame. Two years later, Finlay contracted
meningitis
Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...
and stayed with his Aunt (Adeline Finlay) in
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, to take advantage of its healthier air. He remained in his aunt's care in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
for the rest of his formative years, learning both French and German fluently and attending
Lausanne University in 1906/07, before attending an English boarding school in Montreux from January 1908 – 1911.
With his formal education over, Finlay wanted to fly aeroplanes, no doubt encouraged by his life-long friend
Philip Joubert. After his father had died in 1906, Finlay's future was set by his mother, who determined that he would never fly. A reticent Finlay entered the
Royal Military College at
Sandhurst in England in 1910. Though exemplary in conduct, he never responded well to authority and was distracted, narrowly graduating in 1911. Finlay was awarded a commission with the
Gordon Highlanders and was transferred to
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
initially, serving as a
second lieutenant along the
Northwest Frontier with
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. By 1913, he is missing from the
Army Lists and may have returned to England having decided to change his career by entering the
Diplomatic Service.
First World War

The outbreak of War in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
in 1914 interrupted Finlay's diplomatic service training and in April, we see him restored to the Army lists as a second lieutenant in the
2nd King Edward's Horse "on probation", promoted to full lieutenant by November of the same year. He joined the 2nd Battalion in the trenches at the front in
Ypres
Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...
, where he served with great gallantry and was awarded the
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...
with a bar. By the end of 1914, Finlay had been promoted to Captain and in 1915 having been badly gassed at the
Second Battle of Ypres, he was returned to England to recover from chlorine inhalation. In the same year, we find Finlay assigned to work on the development of
Tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...
s with
William Foster & Co. out of
Lincoln before reporting to Battalion and Brigade staff.
On 26 June 1916, Finlay married Florence Mary Gallagher in London. The couple were immediately transferred to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
to work with the French on continued tank development, making frequent trips to Foster's at Lincoln in an effort to coordinate between parallel English and French initiatives. In 1917, Finlay was "invalided out" of the Army and was appointed "Chief of Service" to Inter-Allied and Anglo-American Commissions in Paris from 1918 to 1919.
League of Nations
After the war was over, Finlay was assigned to work in Geneva with the language interpretation unit for the League of Nations in 1919 as a bilingual précis-writer at the newly formed
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...
(ILO). Not content with translation alone, he left the commission in the same year and spent the next five years travelling around Europe, giving lectures on physics and doing consultancy work designing scientific instruments for manufacture. In March 1926, Finlay returned to the League of Nations in Geneva with high hopes of an appointment as General Registrar. His wife was six months pregnant, which encouraged Finlay to think about settling down to a career that combined his passion for science with his language skills as a communicator and a leader. Initially, he was only able to get his old job back at the
ILO as a précis-writer on successive short-term contracts. Finlay's opportunity for advancement came in April 1927 when he identified critical weaknesses in an experimental telephonic translation system being trialled at the ILO. He diagnosed the problems with the system, suggested some key alterations with cost estimates and concluded with a plan for doing the work.

By June, Finlay was appointed to take responsibility for the technical delivery of the system. His plans were submitted to
Edward Filene
Edward Albert Filene (September 3, 1860 – September 26, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known for building the Filene's department store chain and for his decisive role in pioneering credit unions across the U ...
, a wealthy, well-connected, philanthropic, American entrepreneur who had devised the original telephonic concept and had been underwriting the costs of development. Tests went well and by September 1927, Filene approved a budget of $10,000 to train interpreters and install Finlay's new designs. Finlay collaborated with the
Bell Telephone Company
The Bell Telephone Company was the initial corporate entity from which the Bell System originated to build a continental conglomerate and monopoly in telecommunication services in the United States and Canada.
The company was organized in Bost ...
to manufacture component parts, including his own innovations like the Stethophone and for the first time, automatic voice recording. By the spring of 1928, press releases announced ground-breaking new developments evolved by an "English Scientist attached to the
International Labour Office" (ILO), referred to as Professor Gordon-Finlay, who was addressing a number of technical issues which needed resolving. The number of "receiver" delegates had increased from one hundred to five hundred, with the number of languages from two to six and was tested in June 1928 at the 11th
International Labour Conference under Finlay's direction. Despite doubts going in, the conference proved a success and crucially, demonstrating significant cost savings by shortening proceedings. That proof-of-concept was picked up at the
Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials
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almost twenty years later and arguably lead to the interpretation systems in use today.
Finlay had worked tirelessly to develop and deploy solutions, which was recognised and by 1929, the system had proved both successful and popular, particularly amongst delegates unfamiliar with the two official languages, and began featuring at multiple conferences. ILO historical records indicate that Finlay never had permanent employment with the League of Nations, constantly working under short-term contracts. From 1926 to 1929, his pay was underwritten by Filene, which dried up with the
Wall Street crash of 1929. Finlay left the ILO at the end of September 1929. He was, without question, the technical engine behind the new system (Filene had no technical background) but in May 1930, Filene filed a patent for his original concept including Finlay's innovations, but with himself as sole "inventor", excluding Finlay from the application,
which IBM subsequently purchased. Finlay was an intensely charismatic man who lead from the front, successfully delivering, and more, on all his extravagant promises made in 1927. Focused as he was on technical delivery, he was naive in the ways of business and had nothing material to show for his efforts at the League of Nations. The world had already moved on, however.
Second World War

In the 1930s, Finlay commuted between his house just outside of Lausanne and his London apartment in Kensington Court. He had managed to secure a more permanent contract with
English Electric
The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during the war, made munitions, armaments and aeroplanes.
It initially specialised in industrial el ...
working with the Marconi teams with a good annual salary. By the end of the decade with
war looming again, Finlay was working with Naval scientists to develop a
degaussing
Degaussing, or deperming, is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not ...
system to protect shipping against magnetic
naval mines
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are deposited and le ...
. As conflict in Europe deepened, he would be away from home for long periods but in 1939, his Army commission was reinstated the day after war was declared by the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and he was assigned a "unit car and driver". Not long after, Finlay joined
Maurice Buckmaster from a secret address at Fountain Court in
Belgravia
Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...
.
Finlay does not appear in the published lists as an
SOE operative but his "War Substantive" skills with radio and languages were well known to those with whom he worked. At the same time,
Reginald Victor Jones
Reginald Victor Jones (29 September 1911 – 17 December 1997) was a British physicist and scientific military intelligence expert who played an important role in the defence of Britain in by solving scientific and technical problems, and ...
started making regular calls to Finlay's Kensington Court apartment, becoming a close family friend. In October 1940, the apartment was destroyed by a bomb, causing the family to scatter, staying with relatives or on assignment.
By October 1943, Finlay was sent to
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...
, possible as early as the spring of the same year, apparently brought in by, and in collaboration with, Jones. He is thought to have made at least three parachute drops behind enemy lines at this time but it is unlikely that these were run out of Bletchley. Early in 1944, his first daughter June, who had joined the
WRNS, transferred to Bletchley to work on
Enigma. Father and daughter were working in the same location under completely different commands. In June of that year, his wife Florence and his second daughter,
Dione, were catastrophically buried in the remains of the house they were living in at
Beckenham
Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...
after it was hit by a
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...
. Hours later, the only survivors of the explosion, Florence and Dione were dug out, having fallen from the kitchen in to the cellar under the rubble of a three-storey house and spent the next few weeks recovering in hospital. In 1944 the family were able to live together for the first time since 1940 in an apartment in
Thornton Hall, one of two apartments, which had been made available to Bletchley Park staff. Finlay's last known operation was to disrupt the
V-2 rocket
The V2 (), with the technical name ''Aggregat (rocket family), Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range missile guidance, guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the S ...
programme at
Peenemünde
Peenemünde (, ) is a municipality on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is part of the ''Amt (country subdivision), Amt'' (collective municipality) of Used ...
but the mission was cancelled the day before the intended drop. Finlay finally left Bletchley in 1946.
Legacy

In the 1950s, Finlay launched VIVALUX, a company manufacturing display screens for projected images intended for shop-window displays as well as home entertainment, managed by his daughter June. The company never really took off and by 1957, had ceased trading. Finlay died after a series of heart attacks in January 1959 in Uckfield, Sussex, England.
References
Bibliography
Professor Jesús Baigorri Jalón – 2014, "From Paris to Nuremberg: The birth of conference interpreting (Benjamins Translation Library)", published John Benjamins Publishing Company; Translation edition (19 June 2014).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon-Finlay, Alan
1890 births
1959 deaths
English physicists
20th-century British inventors
British Army personnel of World War I
League of Nations
International Labour Organization
Technical intelligence during World War II
British Army personnel of World War II
British Special Operations Executive personnel
French Resistance
Bletchley Park
Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom
Military personnel from Sydney