Francis Lyall "Frank" Birch, (5 December 1889 – 14 February 1956) was a British cryptographer and actor. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

. During

World War I 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 ...

, he served as a lieutenant commander with the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

, and served in the Atlantic, the Channel and the Dardanelles before joining the Naval Intelligence Division (

Room 40 Room 40, also known as 40 O.B. (old building; officially part of NID25), was the cryptanalysis section of the British Admiralty during the First World War. The group, which was formed in October 1914, began when Rear-Admiral Henry Oliver, the ...

) from 1916 to 1919. Birch wrote a satirical history of Room 40, ''Alice in ID25''. Birch was appointed an OBE in 1919. He was a fellow of

, between 1915 and 1934 and a lecturer in history at Cambridge from 1921 until 1928. Birch left Cambridge to pursue an acting career in the 1930s, including the role of Widow Twankey in pantomime. In 1939, he was part of a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television production in a Teresa Deevy play "In Search of Valour". He joined the Naval section at

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 ...

in September 1939, and later became Head of the (German) Naval Section. He had to face the shortage of

Bombe The bombe () was an Electromechanics, electro-mechanical device used by British cryptologists to help decipher German Enigma machine, Enigma-machine-encrypted secret messages during World War II. The United States Navy, US Navy and United Sta ...

s to decipher the Naval Enigma, which led to the use of American Bombes via

OP-20-G OP-20-G or "Office of Chief Of Naval Operations (OPNAV), 20th Division of the Office of Naval Communications, G Section / Communications Security", was the U.S. Navy's signals intelligence and cryptanalysis group during World War II. Its mission ...

. Birch was awarded a CMG in 1945.

Selected filmography

* '' School for Stars'' (1935) - Robert Blake * '' Jubilee Window'' (1935) - Ambrose Holroyd * '' Cross Currents'' (1935) - Rev. Eustace Hickling * '' Wolf's Clothing'' (1936) - Reverend John Laming * '' Love at Sea'' (1936) - Mr. Godwin * '' Such Is Life'' (1936) - Mockett * '' Jump for Glory'' (1937) - Vicar * '' Double Exposures'' (1937) - Kempton * '' Twin Faces'' (1937) - Ben Zwigi * ''

Victoria the Great ''Victoria the Great'' is a 1937 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook and Walter Rilla. When Laurence Housman's play '' Victoria Regina'' was banned by the Lord Chamberlain (in 1935 the r ...

'' (1937) - Sir Charles Dilke * ''

Jennifer Hale Jennifer Hale is a Canadian voice actress. She is best known for her work in video game franchises such as ''Baldur's Gate'', ''Mass Effect'', '' Metal Gear Solid'', '' BioShock Infinite'', '' Metroid Prime'', '' Halo'', '' Overwatch'', and '' ...

'' (1937) - Sharman * '' The Academy Decides'' (1937) * '' Who Goes Next?'' (1938) - Capt. Grover * '' The Challenge'' (1938) - Rev. Charles Hudson * '' The Villiers Diamond'' (1938) - Silas Wade * '' Lady in the Fog'' (1952) - Boswell - the airport manager * '' Will Any Gentleman...?'' (1953) - Mr. Brown * '' Face the Music'' (1954) - Trumpet Salesman

References

Sources

*Ralph Erskine, ''Birch, Francis Lyall'' (1889–1956),

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

, Oxford University Press, 2004. *''Action this Day'' edited by Michael Smith & Ralph Erskine (2001, Bantam London);

External links

*
Francis Birch
at th
Teresa Deevy Archive
1889 births 1956 deaths British cryptographers English male film actors 20th-century English male actors Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire Bletchley Park people People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I Male actors from London {{England-actor-stub