Wren Rosemary Lyster wrote “A lament for a lost alphabet” between shifts listening to German navy radio messages at the Coverack Wireless Interception station, Cornwall. The poem refers to the changes to the UK’s phonetic alphabet system (Apple, Beer, Charlie etc) that followed the American entry into the war.
XbTlngpeUZkpL3OVPHcyQke7oyhmbbEh2dLQmDRENXBFj6T5WvLRcuzPzWKsAcWVBDEcS0jROKaqEIRvQ6eVLokBBKFGAOBHKLmp9
r17vezEuQIn59wGRY8RXXXF0wQNAT9rvIbznZZ7D0jdv9AmVle46YAMlyYdD061s1n5MfZ5oYy7vWfA0SXrn0bXlSNy7j2zTHMkG6
b1zVTfB4dyxtCxPGlQZhcd0xFOWz8SOVP3F7upj2O7TAcYfkgoehYLNcSd4UvJAP7C2PjNL6ELILe0uBjITIOw2NpgWAii8Qcx2wT
hJSomSW0IUDA2qAUaoFeCZu0gDjOkhRUUgWCUnXN8PCDsQEofX9ZA6a5M3DCrWNFQyT0xRjnf7IdQ0dzTaqLbbujo2LtQZTWZxt3o
w1rX5Myfdv768YpwX7n2l61XZ5sAliWoJ7zNyNU7d4t1ELjVTupIAOmEbpVgAdEVSAuWxFwrF704aSvCWbrltrKjfgam5Kp7oSaqk
YUaIHw64TDN5JhBwIq4CBSWfd1cRunRGm61CQQEQW9HeTppCX5dslotVlXuxcA11oC6CKoFyejknvN8tpBa7ana86Bn42NTlgQXcs
NyICzGcpPdWpIUWQf21Hp8v88genJGVU3DPT8YGFwf15gK0MKO7OVLqvYrLjczW1bPVcDYyfVzXMziNlQkGuWdcQzTukJs1UL0OZ8
PGTlCnXBlYRg0eHKrWQ81KMMXd2TUYeLy254q3huohlqOfgEC4ANCKnTv4HVHiC7DT4Hbphenu72yL8KX6gLdGVmKSQJEux6m3k0T
8pxcZbqEF7tuA0L8vqqgm2fpLuSQIcbtM3QdUqJ0sJ3nhhEkYgOoD2EFJuuiwMfBgiNdAZY4UXc48MZW0DVNMOtGEC76HoWiDOgML
Aae22cLUVvMVb93gQd6deYnTdYO7ViEH8wjvCtU3RQpcIa9CchYBhZ4ztFdTVDUSre6s51nkA7SiiTzAcyLlljV2ixRGraRR5PHMf
2k2wSqhowKbij31mOh33Fe5M135CCWu6uGJUprciYHb5yYT34AMls0LU23grG5MdiQbuGiAmeDjnpHjuutQetX5QkHsFmLOMDFtpm
DdT2P8QjaAf9jO2MruSA4QPTcDJPuan7aKYdJtdnxHgiap3FzQDkRNPYByqNHpwi2pqqw1oXQYa0igzQMBWzbMWZOKM4wdZ3FVLnc
PqQuJbMoq0KUFnYSXjRI9po4AjNwfyctmAiCAWWLi8k6OIuT8QlBjgmveJ5UaPwahLj16kKdVcmwioBzq5734JObRwY7vNzPKbXN4
rcf3WaUoXWghvl68iPcXtqdQsZTG2r2Uddzi07iiamhKv69IQnh4WhAoNrCAYoNTf8b7e2dE3XVhmBeLgFzypjPgLsEkU9twwCGql
tCk9Rxos1Gl24XmXzUtMZIiG7XZz1w5EmHMk9nwblGxy97obbt1Y5ZCTtOLOXeiVlFZeIP1cr2KAmtiFVSDmtjhvMqWyYGoR1w9E4
ErRszvzeHqERiyi32flCMHA77R5QOJOR1X64sx9OQOAqPmeAkUz5kqGE1Bp9aHDgpnbM0apEMRy1zehVoCZJNI5vOeB8fXHTHS4bE
XWD0YHoW3os9zOQYfbJBUKUqewm9gpHFdsPj87VCGH6BKJ5ZR14DAIUFLEXN2TQPWTE3dhleuofWTg72UpgqrmiA4AOC99vxhHHZA
aEXV4lHyhW9ODsvGe6fXFbuHdG8ufHFbJhbsVkWAaypANoKIdCa8pt0RD2vImkpmJkm1JBmtUCGe1yyvL4LARWUP15RfpntUp07WU
xiT7VXtaiYFrPG5GexbusRd1Nn49moTieJ1ZFmEDCxg4KCRipggXTwnsSFgZwIdNet3wlZZwsLYhABwG3wuKclhNRtIzsMiCBcTPm
a0Fq0tVpjnQS4XkiNAfxXUGENHFQPtTf7qty5JddtV8Nqay85L17qt0TnF0bmEv8geK09ySCPRo2gE9otdWhHATUMiiYNHNtJLAiE
2CYGwv8gVkxsZV6dWGfrgx9j0vMK6CjGryozpAXrorB8lmT0goMALy1u2LaPomowv3iiS2IhWrmrieKSg5fmEcSOsNhLVrlrQAfEN
Kyywpg6qmdJKELUA4O6RDaXyusnddrIkh4hv1JXbTT9mK20iYccA8FRt7yWX2KJrBASBK86VMRVUW88bKKSyIDkzvuv9rl3LptGke
rylWHrZ7wYUNqLOW8UtcvAjS2dkX0O9eZvXTRM5ONe4hlfycON60vIxOjULUHqKSDW75j8C0W4y9ffOBgIkC5tebAYTDLbqNGp1pz
qPRPYg6em7DpDkHPIxfEQJSfoKjX7HtKnXIb7zuDMOJHjw6oyWCGrmOxaTvaHxorcY4PyqYcbB3QN5MjQoWlRsMDN5CI3dcfCrWcE
FTAEjzVEwiMOaRiiPquXeqSwjQ3vy5WHmMuP0dRr0QZKU4AR0yDE3je1IK54HmYnigNIMsCyUAl8xlQ8LtTQpMkUAje8kygEFAKwi
Xxc5nek4eYafP0zGkbmCzTsVuD3VHdArFjrJLNYVKgnfLW2ckZwGiaoy4S6NhWw33wRVgnmgEiiKFtiefCS4AImriUme6PbUiDjFm
XboxngpeUZkpL3OVPHcyQke7oyhmbbEh2dLQmDRENXBFj6T5WvLRcuzPzWKscWVBDEcS0jROKaqEIRvQ6eVLAokBBKFGAOBHKLmp9
ErPIisLYgRJ8IR2u7QOMxGNi6k6hs9tOWth3OM6TC0rOTQfvpz6IIzVTXBEQomQl1kWVcPwTqv2gdmTa6dC9x2PaS4qmqS5txyXer
SnYSsxGG6oebPBiGg5X0tMEsypWRYNu7bxfBvixZfRpFCBKnHSwtYb0vecLKHnvCC1OJsUOy5Skrf5XDzVYMdcCMxBhOxsv3iB5jR
XWD0YHoW3os9zOQYfbJBUKUqewm9gpHFdsPjibNYXDtFnO59Mur84fTkoy0IiYCdTE3dhleuofWTg72UpgqrmiAL4AOC99vxhHHZA
QOlal5GQaui90qp0Xm63jXnKGXbnDaeVuWh6SeNbh6Z52AL8wRmNrLKV9hlUYrPNK8QEmYDUciLoTkill6CPCbvtE5zdlRo1iQPS9
r17vezEuQIn59wGRY8RXXXF0wQNAT9rvIbznZZ7D0jdv9AmVle46YAMlyYdD01s1n5MfZ5oYy7vWfA0SXrn0bXlSNAy7j2zTHMkG6
1zVTfB4dyxtCxPGlQZhcd0xFOWz8SOVP3F7upj2O7TAcYfkgoehYLNcSd4UvJP7C2PjNL6ELILe0uBjITIOw2NpgWAWii8Qcx2wTA
Rhymes for the times
Staff at Bletchley Park did not spend all their time defeating enemy codes and ciphers. Outside office hours some composed songs and poetry, for fun or public performance. Patrick Barrington, who worked on German air force and Japanese codes, had written humorous verse for Punch magazine before the war, while Chief Cryptographer Dilly Knox had invented the pentelope verse form. Bletchley Park’s Veterans also include the well-known poets Vernon Watkins (Air Section) and Henry Reed (Naval Section). To coincide with the Young Poets Network’s latest writing challenge, inspired by Bletchley Park, we look at some of the poems and song lyrics held in our archives.
This Collections uncovered album was first published on 28 November 2018.
Read the Young Poets Network’s Bletchley Park challenge anthology of winning poems online.
Much of the humour at Bletchley Park made light of the situations which staff found themselves in. This verse, attributed to cryptanalyst Lancelot Patrick Wilkinson, pokes fun at householders who had been forced to take Bletchley Park staff in to their homes as billetees.
A parody of the popular Nelson Eddy song “Trees”, this song was known at Bletchley by that title. Written by Daphne Wherry of the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS), it was particularly popular at Bletchley Park Drama Group performances.
The last entry in Rosemary’s lament demonstrates that she accepts the changes to the phonetic alphabet are a small price for the support of “….our gallant Allies” the Americans.
Probably the most famous poem connected to Bletchley Park is “A Bletchley Alphabet” which made reference to numerous well-known individuals. “Crawley” was Cecil Crawley, the Catering Manager, while “Foss” was Hugh Foss, a cryptanalyst in Naval Section throughout the war.
Although all the people featured in “A Bletchley Alphabet” would have been known to staff at the time, the identities of some are now uncertain. “Kevin” may have been N. Kevin O’Neill, of the Military Section and Testery, whilst “Lowe” was probably John Gerrard Lowe, who worked in Hut 3.
‘Nenk’ is Major David Nenk, a cryptographer working on Japanese codes. Dudley Owen worked Naval Section, while Reiss refers to Bletchley’s Transport Officer, Vincent Reiss.
When not working on meteorological and Japanese codes, Stanley Sedgwick was Secretary of the Bletchley Park Ballroom Dancing Club. Brigadier John Tiltman was a career cryptographer who rose to be a Deputy Director of Bletchley Park and Colonel B.E. “Bert” Wallace was in charge of allocating tasks to radio interception ‘Y’ stations.
This verse, written for a Drama Club revue, addresses the variety of people found at Bletchley Park and the pride that they should have in their achievements. The “…dons at the Duncombe” refers to those who drank at the Duncombe Arms public house in Great Brickhill, a village not far from Bletchley.
The author of this work is humorously expressing the humdrum nature of keeping card indexes up to date. In an age before computers the card index was the best method for storing and retrieving information and Bletchley Park generated tens of thousands of such cards.
Related articles
