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 Widow Twankey (originally Twankay, sometimes Twanky) is a female character in the pantomime ''Aladdin''. She is a pantomime dame, played by an older man. History The story of Aladdin is drawn from the ''Arabian Nights'', a collection of Middle ...

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 Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York–based data-technology startup *Enigma machine, a famil ...

, 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 ''School for Stars'' is a 1935 British romance film directed by Donovan Pedelty and starring Fred Conyngham, Jean Gillie and Torin Thatcher. It was made at British and Dominions Elstree Studios as a quota quickie.Chibnall p.285 Cast * Fred Con ...

'' (1935) - Robert Blake * ''

Jubilee Window ''Jubilee Window'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by George Pearson and starring Sebastian Shaw, Ralph Truman and Olive Melville.Wood p.86 Cast * Sebastian Shaw as Peter Ward * Ralph Truman as Dan Stevens * Olive Melville as Marge ...

'' (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 ''Jump for Glory'' is a 1937 British crime romantic drama film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Valerie Hobson and Alan Hale. It was based on a novel by Gordon McDonnell. The film was shot at Isleworth Studios by t ...

'' (1937) - Vicar * '' Double Exposures'' (1937) - Kempton * ''

Twin Faces ''Twin Faces'', also known as ''Press Button B'', is a 1937 British crime film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Anthony Ireland, Francesca Bahrle and Frank Birch. The film was made at Highbury Studios as a quota quickie for relea ...

'' (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 ''The Academy Decides'' is a 1937 British drama film directed by John Baxter and starring April Vivian, Henry Oscar, John Oxford and Wensley Russell. It was made at Shepperton Studios as a quota quickie.Chibnall p.292 Cast * Henry Oscar as Ky ...

'' (1937) * ''

Who Goes Next? ''Who Goes Next?'' is a 1938 British war drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Barry K. Barnes, Sophie Stewart and Jack Hawkins. The story was inspired by the escape of 29 officers through a tunnel from Holzminden prisoner-of-war ...

'' (1938) - Capt. Grover * '' The Challenge'' (1938) - Rev. Charles Hudson * ''

The Villiers Diamond ''The Villiers Diamond'' is a 1938 British crime film directed by Bernard Mainwaring and starring Edward Ashley, Evelyn Ankers and Frank Birch. The screenplay concerns a man who is threatened with scandal when he accidentally acquires a stolen ...

'' (1938) - Silas Wade * ''

Lady in the Fog ''Lady in the Fog'' (U.S. title: ''Scotland Yard Inspector'') is a 1952 British mystery film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Cesar Romero, Lois Maxwell and Bernadette O'Farrell. It was written by Orville H. Hampton based on the 1947 BBC r ...

'' (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