Hugh Foss
Encyclopedia
Hugh Rose Foss was a British cryptographer.
, Japan, where his father the Rt Revd Hugh Foss was a missionary bishop, and he learned Japanese.
He was educated at Marlborough College
and Christ's College, Cambridge
.
In December 1924 he joined the Government Code and Cipher School in 1924. He recalled learning of two models of the Enigma machine
in 1926: the large non-reciprocal typing B model, and the small index C model. In 1927 Edward Travis
gave him a small (reciprocal) machine to examine, and he wrote a paper, "The Reciprocal Enigma", on solving the non-plugboard Enigma. The small [C Model] Enigma was developed by the German services; the standard World War II
British Typex
machine was also developed from it. In September 1934 Foss and Oliver Strachey
broke the Japanese naval attaché cipher.
8 May 1940, he broke German enigma code, and is "Foss's Day" in honour of Hugh Foss, the cryptanalyst who achieved the feat.
At Bletchley Park
in World War II, Foss headed the Japanese Naval Section (Hut 7) from 1942 to 1943. In December 1944 he went to Washington and worked with U.S. Navy cryptographers on Japanese ciphers. A sandal-wearer, he was known as "Lend-lease Jesus". Gordon Welchman
was told that Foss was highly esteemed by the Americans, and says that "before the war he was one of the most brilliant of the professional cryptographers of the Government Code and Cypher School".
Foss' paper "Reminiscences on Enigma", written in 1949, is included as chapter 3 in Action this Day.
Foss devised many Scottish country dance
s, including Fugal Fergus, John McAlpin, Polharrow Burn and The Wee Cooper O'Fife.
He retired from GCHQ in 1953 and died in St. John's Town of Dalry
, Scotland, in 1971.
Life
Foss was born in KobeKobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Japan, where his father the Rt Revd Hugh Foss was a missionary bishop, and he learned Japanese.
He was educated at Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
and Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
.
In December 1924 he joined the Government Code and Cipher School in 1924. He recalled learning of two models of the Enigma machine
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
in 1926: the large non-reciprocal typing B model, and the small index C model. In 1927 Edward Travis
Edward Travis
Sir Edward Wilfred Harry Travis KCMG CBE was a British cryptographer and intelligence officer, becoming the operational head of Bletchley Park during World War II, and later the head of GCHQ.-Career:...
gave him a small (reciprocal) machine to examine, and he wrote a paper, "The Reciprocal Enigma", on solving the non-plugboard Enigma. The small [C Model] Enigma was developed by the German services; the standard World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
British Typex
Typex
In the history of cryptography, Typex machines were British cipher machines used from 1937. It was an adaptation of the commercial German Enigma with a number of enhancements that greatly increased its security....
machine was also developed from it. In September 1934 Foss and Oliver Strachey
Oliver Strachey
Oliver Strachey , a British civil servant in the Foreign Office was a cryptographer from World War I to World War II....
broke the Japanese naval attaché cipher.
8 May 1940, he broke German enigma code, and is "Foss's Day" in honour of Hugh Foss, the cryptanalyst who achieved the feat.
At Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
in World War II, Foss headed the Japanese Naval Section (Hut 7) from 1942 to 1943. In December 1944 he went to Washington and worked with U.S. Navy cryptographers on Japanese ciphers. A sandal-wearer, he was known as "Lend-lease Jesus". Gordon Welchman
Gordon Welchman
Gordon Welchman was a British-American mathematician, university professor, World War II codebreaker at Bletchley Park, and author.-Education and early career:...
was told that Foss was highly esteemed by the Americans, and says that "before the war he was one of the most brilliant of the professional cryptographers of the Government Code and Cypher School".
Foss' paper "Reminiscences on Enigma", written in 1949, is included as chapter 3 in Action this Day.
Foss devised many Scottish country dance
Scottish country dance
A Scottish country dance is a form of social dance involving groups of mixed couples of dancers tracing progressive patterns according to a predetermined choreography...
s, including Fugal Fergus, John McAlpin, Polharrow Burn and The Wee Cooper O'Fife.
He retired from GCHQ in 1953 and died in St. John's Town of Dalry
St. John's Town of Dalry
St. John's Town of Dalry, usually referred to simply as Dalry, is a village in Dumfries and Galloway, formerly in Kirkcudbrightshire. It is located sixteen miles from Castle Douglas along the A713 road, and is at the southern terminus of the A702 road...
, Scotland, in 1971.
Sources
- Dictionary of National BiographyDictionary of National BiographyThe Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
Updated and extended version of Action This Day: From Breaking of the Enigma Code to the Birth of the Modern Computer Bantam Press 2001 New edition updated with an addendum consisting of a 1986 paper written by Welchman that corrects his misapprehensions in the 1982 edition.