num_pages: 195
description: Hidden away in the Admiralty and known only to a few, 40 O.B. was the silent offspring of the Senior Service; its cryptographers were from all-walks of life, tirelessly decrypting German messages and working alongside the forerunner to Special Branch.Acknowledging the constraints of loyalty and the Official Secrets Act, Hoy’s recollections and reflections on the events and personalities he encountered nonetheless display the pivotal role played by 40 O.B.It was in 1917 — when the Allies’ manpower was waning and fear growing that their heroism may be in vain — that the Zimmermann Telegram was intercepted and it was to be 40 O.B.’s master stroke.Despite its tide-turning successes, 40 O.B fell victim to restructuring after the war and was merged with the Army’s MI1b to form the Government Code &amp; Cipher School, an organisation that lives to this day as GCHQ.Hugh Cleland Hoy (1886-1935) was private secretary to the Director of Naval Intelligence at the Admiralty during the First World War.This work has been republished in conjunction to David Boyle’s new book Before The Room 40 Codebreakers of the First World War published by Endeavour Press.Albion Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.
language: English
title: 40 O.B.;: Or, How the war was won
publisher: Albion Press