Cecily Giles

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Cecilia Elspeth Giles
Cecily giles.jpg
Born18 September 1922
Dumfries
Died19 April 2020 (2020-04-20) (aged 97)
Edinburgh
NationalityUnited Kingdom

Cecilia Elspeth Giles CBE (18 September 1922 – 19 April 2020) was a British university administrator and a Bletchley Park veteran.

Life[]

Giles was born in Dumfries to Dr and Mrs Falconer Giles. She went on to St Trinnean's girls' school before going on to Queen Margaret's, Scarborough. She liked this school and remained in the old pupils' association serving as an honorary vice president.[1][2]

She gained a place at Edinburgh University to study history. Someone at the university must have spotted her talents as she was invited to attend an interview for an unspecified job. The interview was in London and there she learnt that she was being recruited to work at Bletchley Park. She was interviewed by the Director of Military Intelligence.[1] A fellow student of History at her university, Ailsa Maxwell, also accepted a similar offer.[3]

The SIXTA team at Bletchley Park - names unknown

She was enrolled in the ATS and sent on a six-week course where she learned about cryptography and the Enigma Machine. She was on the course with the top graduates in the country and she came out on top.[1] She worked there, but the staff never discussed their work with anyone outside, or even with each other. The Official Secrets Act 1939 was in force, and very important.[4] She rose to be a sergeant and worked in the SIXTA team who evaluated the messages that the cryptographers had cracked. She lived to the age of 97.

At the end of the war she was moved to Eastcote in London where GCHQ was being formed. The new unit consisted of experienced codebreakers like herself who had worked in the United Kingdom, and others returning from the front.[1] She left in 1946 and went back to work at Edinburgh University. She visited her brother in Africa and then she was based at Khartoum University for an academic year helping with administration. She returned to her alma mater where she spent the rest of her career organising their administration.[1]

In 2017 she was an honorary vice-president of her alma mater's students' association.[5]

Giles died in Edinburgh in 2020.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Obituary: Cecily Giles CBE, wartime codebreaker and university secretary". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  2. ^ "Old Margaretians | Alumna of Queen Margaret's". Queen Margarets. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  3. ^ "Obituary: Ailsa Maxwell, historian and Enigma codebreaker, who witnessed Nazi surrender message". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  4. ^ a b "Cecily Giles obituary". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  5. ^ "University of Edinburgh Journal" (PDF). St Andrews University. 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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