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 in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, 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 Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

, and served in the Atlantic, the Channel and the Dardanelles before joining the Naval Intelligence Division ( Room 40) from 1916-19. 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 television production in a

Teresa Deevy Teresa Deevy (21 January 1894 – 19 January 1963) was an Irish dramatist and writer, who was deaf from the age of 19. Best known for her works for theatre, she was also a short story writer, and writer for radio. Early life Teresa Deevy w ...

play "In Search of Valour". He joined the Naval section at

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 ...

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

Bombe The bombe () was an electro-mechanical device used by British cryptologists to help decipher German Enigma-machine-encrypted secret messages during World War II. The US Navy and US Army later produced their own machines to the same functi ...

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 family ...

, 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 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 the ind ...

'' (1937) - Vicar * ''

Double Exposures ''Double Exposures'' (A.K.A. ''Alibi Breaker'') is a 1937 British crime film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring David Langton, Julien Mitchell and Ruby Miller. It was made at Shepperton Studios as a quota quickie. (David Langton is c ...

'' (1937) - Kempton * '' Twin Faces'' (1937) - Ben Zwigi * '' Victoria the Great'' (1937) - Sir Charles Dilke * ''

Jennifer Hale Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-American 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'', ''Overwatch'', and '' Sta ...

'' (1937) - Sharman * '' The Academy Decides'' (1937) * '' Who Goes Next?'' (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'' is a 1952 British mystery film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Cesar Romero, Lois Maxwell and Bernadette O'Farrell. It is based on a BBC serial by Lester Powell as scripted by Orville H. Hampton, . It was made by Lipper ...

'' (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 British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, 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 {{England-actor-stub