Jack Nissenthall
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Jack Nissenthall (later shortened to Jack Nissen) was a British
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
electronics and radar expert who played a key role in the
Dieppe raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was a disastrous Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a ...
. His actions during the operation resulted in the Allies' gaining vital intelligence about the type, density and location of German radar installations along the Channel coast. The intelligence gathered by his actions also spurred the development of Allied radar jamming countermeasures, the technology of which Nissenthall also assisted in developing after the raid. His role in radar development and his actions during the Dieppe raid were never officially acknowledged, and he received no awards.


Early life

Jack Maurice Nissenthall was born in
Bow, London Bow () is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, it became part of the County of L ...
, on 9 October 1919, the son of Jewish immigrants. He was educated at Malmesbury Road primary school and Mansford technical school. From an early age Nissenthall had shown a great interest and aptitude in electronics and wireless, and took a position with
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
in 1935 at the age of sixteen, firstly at the EMI factory in
Hayes, Hillingdon Hayes is a town in west London. Historically situated within the county of Middlesex, it is now part of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The town's population, including its localities Hayes End, Harlington and Yeading, was recorded in the ...
and then at their main retail outlet in
Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tu ...
. At the same time he was enrolled at the
Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...
studying advanced electronics.


R.A.F Apprentice and early wartime service

In 1936, Nissenthall was talent scouted by the R.A.F and given an apprenticeship which involved him working during his free time at the experimental radar station at
Bawdsey Bawdsey () is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, eastern England. It is situated on the other side of the mouth of River Deben from Felixstowe. It had an estimated population of 340 in 2007, reducing to 276 at the Census 2011. Bawdsey Mano ...
Manor in
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, thus involving him at a critical period in the pioneering work of
Robert Watson-Watt Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt (13 April 1892 – 5 December 1973) was a Scottish radio engineer and pioneer of radio direction finding and radar technology. Watt began his career in radio physics with a job at the Met Office, where he be ...
and his team. On the outbreak of war in September 1939, Nissenthall volunteered for service in the R.A.F. His request for flight duties was refused and instead he was posted to R.A.F Yatesbury where he was assigned to the first R.D.F (Radio Direction Finding) training school in Britain. Thereafter he was posted to various radar installations across the country. His skills and his abilities were increasingly being recognised by higher authority, as indicated by his suggestions for technical improvement of equipment being regularly accepted without question. By early 1942, with the rank of sergeant, he was stationed at Hope Cove in Devon, where he had been instrumental in establishing a pioneering Ground-control intercept (G.C.I.) facility. This and his other contributions had by this time led to him being nicknamed "The G.C.I king".


Volunteering for a special assignment

Since being rejected for aircrew service due to the value of his technical knowledge, he made it known he was prepared to be involved in special assignments where his knowledge would be of use, and would often give up his leave to pursue further training, including taking the commando course. In early 1942 Nissenthall was ordered to report in person for an interview in London and was asked to volunteer for a dangerous assignment.


Operation Jubilee

Operation Jubilee, or the
Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was a disastrous Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a ...
, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of
Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The raid took place on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. Nissenthall was selected to enter the Pourville Radar Station to gain vital intelligence on the new German ''Freya'' radar, and was escorted by a team of 11 men from the
South Saskatchewan Regiment The South Saskatchewan Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces formed in 1936 by the amalgamation of The Weyburn Regiment and The Saskatchewan Border Regiment. It was reduced to nil strength and placed on the Supplementary Ord ...
, to protect him but also to prevent his capture, due to his exceptional technical knowledge. Nissenthall volunteered for the mission fully aware that, due to the highly sensitive nature of his knowledge of Allied radar technology, his escort was under orders to kill him if necessary to prevent him from being captured. He also carried a
cyanide pill A suicide pill (also known as the cyanide pill, kill-pill, lethal pill, death-pill, cyanide capsule, or L-pill) is a pill, capsule, ampoule, or tablet containing a fatally poisonous substance that a person ingests deliberately in order to achie ...
as a last resort. Nissenthall and his bodyguards failed to enter the radar station due to strong defences, but Nissenthall was able to crawl up to the rear of the station under enemy fire and cut all telephone wires leading to it. This forced the crew inside to resort to radio transmissions to talk to their commanders, transmissions which were intercepted by listening posts on the south coast of England. The Allies were able to learn a great deal about the location and density of German radar stations along the channel coast thanks to this single act, which helped to convince Allied commanders of the importance of developing radar jamming technology. Of this small unit, only Nissenthall and one other returned safely to England. Due to the clandestine nature of his mission, he was not presented any awards for his actions.


Later years

After the war, Jack Nissenthall shortened his surname to Nissen. He married and moved to South Africa. In 1978, he emigrated to Canada, where he died in 1997


Historical Marker

A historical marker recognizing and honoring Fl. Sgt. Jack Nissenthal was placed in London by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation (U.K. Branch) and AJEX -the (British) Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women. Text:


References

;Citations ;Bibliography * Atkin, Ronald. ''Dieppe 1942: The Jubilee Disaster''. London: Book Club Associates, 1980. . * Leasor, James. ''Green Beach London: House of Stratus, 2001. . * Nissen, Jack Maurice. ''Winning the radar war''. London : Hale, 1989 . See also his chapter in 'Fighting Back' by Martin Sugarman, Valentine Mitchell 2017


External links


Jack Nissen and radar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nissenthall, Jack 1919 births 1997 deaths People associated with radar Royal Air Force personnel of World War II People from Bow, London British emigrants to South Africa British emigrants to Canada Alumni of the Regent Street Polytechnic