Teddy (Thadée) Pilley was a linguist and conference interpreter.

Family

He was born as Ari Thaddeus Pilichowski in Paris. His parents, Leopold Pilichowski (18601934) and Lena Pillico (Pilichowski) (18841947), were Jewish émigrés from Poland and were both accomplished artists. Pilley had two sisters, Maia Gainsborough (Pilichowski) (19041936) and Thea Doniach (Pilichowski) (19071986), and a brother Vivien Pilley (Pilichowski) (19071982). When Teddy Pilley was 4‑years old, his parents moved the family from Paris to London, where he remained until his death. He was married to Nora (Sachs), and they had one son, Peter.

Education

Pilley's early education was at Merchant Taylors' School in London. He then studied at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, graduating with a PPE degree.

Second World War

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Pilley served in the RAF, reaching the rank of

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

. Pilley was first stationed at

RAF Aldergrove Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove or more simply JHC FS Aldergrove is located south of Antrim, Northern Ireland and northwest of Belfast and adjoins Belfast International Airport. It is sometimes referred to simply as Alde ...

in Northern Ireland, where he flew with No.245 Squadron. He was later transferred to

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

, where he remained for the duration of the war. At Bletchley, he worked in the Air Intelligence section in Hut 3, translating, classifying and prioritising

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

signals, which had previously been intercepted and then decoded using Bombe and Enigma machines.

Conference interpreting

During the post-war years, Pilley became a renowned linguist and conference interpreter. He interpreted principally between French (his

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

) and English, and vice versa; in addition, he was competent in both German and Dutch, and could also converse in several other European languages. Pilley was well known as an organiser and recruiter of simultaneous-interpreting teams for major international conferences worldwide, operating as the ''International Conference Secretariat''. In the 1950s, before conference venues had proper facilities for interpreters, Pilley developed portable equipment, consisting of microphones, headphones, wiring and associated electronics; this equipment could be moved from place to place, to provide temporary facilities for simultaneous interpreting during international conferences; Pilley named this equipment ''Archie'', after the famous ventriloquist's dummy. Pilley was a co-founder of the

International Association of Conference Interpreters The International Association of Conference Interpreters - AIIC (AIIC – Association Internationale des Interprètes de Conférence) was founded in 1953. It represents over 3,000 members present in over 100 countries. Overview AIIC is the only ...

, and of the

Institute of Linguists Founded as the Institute of Linguists in 1910, the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) received its Royal Charter in 2005, and is a professional association for language professionals. CIOL supports linguists throughout their careers, and pro ...

. He was also the owner and principal of The Linguists’ Club, a language and social club in London. At The Linguists’ Club, Pilley established ''working parties'', an educational tool used to teach aspiring interpreters. Participants were first screened to establish both their language proficiency as well as their aptitude to the work; successful applicants were then trained in the art of professional interpreting. In his later years, Pilley was recognised as an ''Officier d’Académie'' by the French Government, for his services to France.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilley, Teddy 1909 births 1982 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Interpreters Bletchley Park people Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Royal Air Force personnel of World War II 20th-century translators 20th-century linguists Linguists from France French emigrants to the United Kingdom