School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of Science FACULTY OF ARTS Blurred Lines: Interception and secrecy in World War One telecommunications Dr Elizabeth Bruton, Postdoctoral Researcher, “Innovating in Combat: Telecommunications and intellectual property in the First World War”, University of Leeds. Twitter: @WWITelecomms / @lizbruton [email protected]IEEE History Center, 23 October 2013
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School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of Science FACULTY OF ARTS Blurred Lines: Interception and secrecy in World War One telecommunications Dr Elizabeth.
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School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
Blurred Lines: Interception and secrecy in World War One telecommunicationsDr Elizabeth Bruton, Postdoctoral Researcher, “Innovating in Combat:
Telecommunications and intellectual property in the First World War”, University of Leeds.
• Symmetrical use of wireless & telephone in Russo-Japanese War (1904-5).
• Counter-measures taken against security risks: defensive and offensive.
• In UK outbreak of war on 4 August 1914 & armistice on 11 November 1918 both announced by wireless signals – Marconi
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
Transcript of wireless message sent from Marconi station at Poldhu on 4 August 1914.
Image courtesy of Burton-upon-Trent Amateur Radio club.
Cable Telegraphy before World War One
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
1891 Telegraph Cable map. Image available in public domain.
Telegraphy and “Cable Wars”
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
Left: Segment of Borkum cable. Image courtesy of PorthcurnoTelegraph Museum.
Right: Map of the action between HMAS Sydney and SMSEmden on 9 November 1914 at the Cocos Islands.
Images available in the public domain.
“Cable Wars”: The attack on Cocos Islands
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
The two severed ends of the “dummy” cable after the attack.
Image courtesy of Porthcurno Telegraph Museum.
“Cable Wars”: The attack on Cocos Islands
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
The destroyed wireless mast after the attack. Image courtesy of Porthcurno Telegraph Museum.
“Cable Wars”: The attack on Cocos Islands
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
The instrument room on Direction Island, as left by the Germans.Image courtesy of Porthcurno Telegraph Museum.
“Cable Wars”: German attack on British-Norwegian cable, 1915
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
Left: The message left by the Germans that attacked theCable.Right: The two ends of the severed cables with the“mysterious apparatus” still attached.Both images courtesy of BT archives.
“Cable Wars”: Zimmermann Telegram
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
Left: The encrypted version of the Zimmermann telegram obtained from Mexican telegraph office. Right: A portion of the Telegram as decrypted ‘Room 40’.Both images are available in the public domain.
Telephones the Trenches
‘In the summer of 1915 the enemy did suddenly appear to be extraordinarily well informed of all that was going on behind our lines. This was manifested in many ways…
Carefully planned raids and minor attacks were met by hostile fire, exactly directed, and timed to the minute of the attack.
One day, even, a well-known Scotch battalion took over its new front to the strains of its regimental march, exceedingly well played upon a German cornet’
Major R.E. Priestley, The Signal Service in the European War of 1914-18 (France) 1921, pp.98-99
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
Wills’s cigarette card from 1915 showingCorporal Cyril Bassett, Divisional Signals, New Zealand Engineers, laying telephone lines at Chanuk Bair, Gallipoli on 7 August 1915.
Image available in the public domain.
Response: Fullerphone•Developed in 1915 by Major Algernon Clement Fuller
•Response (sort of) to problems with frontline telephone communication
•Who was Fuller?
•Army Wireless Co, Aldershot in 1910: amplification technique of “Dynaphone”
•1915-16: Claimed unaware of the insecurity of trench communications at battlefront
•Invented privately in ‘cottage’: technique of chopped up tiny telegraph signals
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
Fuller being awarded the Royal Signals Institution’s Princess Mary medal 1966.
Image courtesy of the Royal SignalsInstitution
Fullerphone•Anti-interception telegraphic device by Major A. Clement Fuller in 1915-16
•Miniscule earth currents of signal transmuted to ‘noise’ - very difficult to intercept.
•Claim for telegraphic ‘Fullerphone’ to Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors, 1920
•Claimed £21,899 – but only awarded £3,500, due to limited originality, & patent benefits
•Instead made OBE 1922 and CBE 1941, promoted to Major General
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
Fullerphone mark III (1916-1917) with earphones.Image available in the public domain.
Wireless Telegraphy – Marconi Company•Marconi company innovations in wireless point to point communication: 1897 & 1900
•1914: British Marconi Co. patriotically offers wireless operators & training to services.
•Company allowed government ‘censors’ to monitor all wireless communications – code-breakers in Admiralty’s secret ‘Room 40’.
•Impact on long-distance wireless stations?
•No upfront demand for payment. in summer 1915 Marconi’s General Manager complained “not one penny-piece has yet been refunded to us.” BT Archives POST 30/4162
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
Marconi Wireless Station, Poldhu, c.1910.
Image available in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Wireless Telegraphy – Marconi Company
Map of routes of Zeppelins made by Marconi direction-finders on English east coast, 1916,
Marconi Archives, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. Image courtesy of Bodleian Library, Oxford.
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of ScienceFACULTY OF ARTS
Marconi Company case for reward?•Key role in intercepting hostile communications, and “direction finders” tracking German navy and airships
•Marconi Company entered legal dispute with UK government over unpaid patent royalties in 1920.
•Protracted discussions on six-figure royalty claims: devolved to a private adjudication.