Dilly The Man Who Broke Enigmas

The highly eccentric Alfred Dillwyn Knox, known simply as ‘Dilly’, was one of the leading figures in the British codebreaking successes of the two world wars. During the first, he was the chief codebreaker in the Admiralty, breaking the German navy’s main flag code, before going on to crack the German Enigma ciphers during the Second World War at Bletchley Park. Here he enjoyed the triumphant culmination of his life’s work: a reconstruction of the Enigma machine used by the Abwehr, the German Secret Service. This ensured the British were fully aware of what the German commanders knew about the Allied plans for the invasion of Europe, allowing MI5 and MI6 to use captured German spies to feed false information back to the Nazi spymasters. Dilly’s codebreaking skills played a vital part in the deception operation that ensured the success of the D-Day landings.

Mavis Batey launches her book, Dilly: The Man Who Broke Enigma at Bletchley Park Enigma Reunion

Mavis Batey, Part 1 from Mr Nat Higginbottom on Vimeo.

Reviews

This first publication off the new “press” of Biteback is very impressive

Catherine Flinn, History Today

Very impressive: historically significant and worthwhile reading for both historians and anyone interested in problem-solving, codebreaking and certainly the Second World War.

History Today

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