Leslie Lambert: enigmatic Bletchley Park code-breaker
Leslie Lambert was a founding member of The Magic Circle in 1905. But, he disappeared from the magic community just before World War One. Years later, he reappeared, as a B.B.C. broadcaster, under the pseudonym A. J. Alan. Members of The Magic Circle recognised his voice, and knew the real identity of this popular radio storyteller. But what they didn't know, was that Lambert had another career... as a code-breaker.
A founding member of The Magic Circle (the premier magic society in the U.K.), Leslie Harrison Lambert (1883-1941) was a well-regarded magician. He appeared several times at the 'Home of Mystery', St. George's Hall, London and at numerous Magic Circle events, becoming one of the society's Vice Presidents. He was known as a "bright star" in the magic community, commended for his sleight of hand ability and originality. He performed especially at society events, and appeared before Queen Mary and The Prince of Wales (Edward VIII) twice. But, in around 1912, Lambert gradually moved away from the magic scene, until he finally just disappeared.
A promotional headshot for Leslie Lambert
(Source: The Wizard, February 1908)
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Fast forward to 1940...
An island nation under siege, the United Kingdom was struggling to hold back the Nazi menace in the early years of the war. Most of Europe had been occupied by German forces, there had been defeat at Dunkirk, London and other major cities were enduring the Blitz, and Hitler was preparing to invade.
In the Atlantic, the activities of the German U-boats were inflicting heavy losses on Allied shipping, severely hampering crucial supply lines, and forcing the British people to use all their resourcefulness to cope with the shortages. By mid-1940, the situation was dire.
Atlantic convoy in World War Two
(Source: Creative Commons licence)
But, unknown to most, a secret collective of code-breakers at Bletchley Park, north of London, were working day and night to break the German naval codes and give the Allies the upper hand in the Atlantic. Unfortunately, for the British, the German armed forces used a sophisticated enciphering machine to send messages securely. It was called the Enigma.
Enigma machine
(Source: Creative Commons Licence)
Lambert was one of Bletchley's senior code-breakers. He worked in Hut 8, headed up by Alan Turing. Together, the staff in Hut 8 carried out cryptanalysis of German naval signals. Their efforts were greatly aided by Alan Turing and fellow code-breaker Gordon Welchman's invention of the Bombe, an electro-mechanical device which eventually enabled the Bletchley teams to translate 3,000 enemy messages a day. This meant that Allied convoys could be directed away from the U-boat 'wolf-packs'. Hut 8's work was pivotal in helping the Allies during the Battle of the Atlantic.
Government Code & Cypher School, Bletchley Park metal sign
(Source: Bletchley Park)
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Educated at Rugby public school, Leslie Lambert settled in the London area and worked as a civil servant in the Foreign Office from 1909. At the same time, he showed an early interest in the new invention of radio, becoming a 'radio ham'.
Leslie Lambert
(Source: The Wizard, May 1908)
When World War One began, Lambert volunteered to work at a coastguard station in Norfolk which was a centre for intercepting German radio transmissions. By November 1914, just a few months later, he was employed by the cryptanalysis section of Naval Intelligence, working in Room 40 of the British Admiralty in London. The team in Room 40 played a critical role in the war, intercepting German radio signals and deciphering coded messages.
After the war, Lambert stayed with the staff at Room 40, when it became part of the new Government Code and Cypher School (G.C. & C.S.)). The role of the G.C. & C.S. was to protect British Government communications, but it had a secret side mission to decrypt messages sent by foreign countries. This developed into studying the origin, destination and frequency of enemy signals. Lambert was still working there, as a Morse code and traffic analysis specialist, as World War Two loomed.
In 1938, he was a member of Captain Ridley’s Shooting Party. This was a codename for the G.C. & C.S. team which visited Bletchley Park in the summer to assess its suitability as a war station. It was led by Captain William Ridley R.N., Head of Admin for the Secret Intelligence Service.
Lambert was one of the very first people from G.C. & C.S. transferred to Bletchley Park when it was set up in 1939. By this time, he was an important official in naval military intelligence. As the organisation was quite small at this time, Lambert worked from the library in the main country house on the Bletchley Park estate.
Bletchley Park's library, the early home for the G.C. & C.S. Naval Section
(recreated furnishings, as this photo was taken in 2021)
(Source: Author)
As Bletchley grew (to around 10,000 staff by 1945), Lambert's Naval Section moved from the main house to Hut 8. This famous hut, led by Alan Turing for the first half of the war, produced intelligence reports from German Navy Enigma decrypted signals. They also decrypted and produced intelligence reports from non-Enigma naval ciphers, including Italian and Japanese.
Hut 8, Bletchley Park
(Source: Author)
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Despite his highly secretive job, Lambert had a less secretive life, as a short story writer, and broadcasting whimsical stories on the B.B.C.
Aside from his cryptography work and his interest in magic, Lambert wrote short stories. In the 1920s, he contacted the British Broadcasting Company (before it became the British Broadcasting Corporation, or B.B.C.) to suggest he might tell one of his own short stories on their fledgling radio service (started in 1922). This was accepted and so, as A. J. Alan (a pseudonym), he broadcast My Adventure in Jermyn Street, on 31 January 1924. Following the immediate success of this broadcast, Lambert quickly became one of the first, and one of the most popular, radio personalities of the time.
Alan, A. J., 'Good Evening Everyone!' (1928)
(Source: Public Domain)
He went to considerable trouble over writing each story, taking a couple of months over each one, and only making about five broadcasts a year. He carefully constructed an apparently extemporary, conversational, style making his stories seem like anecdotes concerning strange events that had happened to him. The endings were whimsical and unexpected. When turning up at the B.B.C. for the broadcast he wore full evening dress, bringing his own candle and matches in the event of a studio lighting fault.
Letter from A. J. Alan to a fan of his radio broadcasts
(Source: Author's collection)
Many of his stories were subsequently printed in newspapers and magazines and were published in two anthologies, 'Good Evening Everyone!' (1928) and, the appropriately named, A. J. Alan's Second Book (1933).
Alan, A. J., A. J. Alan's Second Book (1933)
(Source: Public Domain)
Leslie Lambert, under his nom-de-plume A. J. Alan, was one of the great radio broadcasters of the pre-war years; the first nationally popular storyteller. Few people ever had his total control of the microphone. Lambert's short stories, over 40 of them, were enjoyed by millions of listeners in the 1920s and 1930s, and his later broadcasts kept up public morale when the nation was at war. He made his last broadcast on 21 March 1940.
To listen to some of A. J. Alan's broadcasts, click here.
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Leslie Lambert died on 13 December 1941, a week after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and America’s entry into the war.
A true enigma, he was by turn a society magician who performed in front of royalty, a secret government cryptographer (in both world wars), and one of radio's first personalities.
Historians estimate that the work of the thousands of cryptographers at Bletchley, and particularly the cracking of the Enigma code, shortened the war by two years, saving many thousands of lives.
Hut 8, main corridor
(Source: Author)
*** This article was updated in December 2021. ***
Related article: Magic over the airwaves, a blog about magicians appearing on the radio during World War Two, including Leslie Lambert (as A.J. Alan). Blog link.
Related article: 'Don't Panic!': magicians in the Home Guard, which includes a section on Bernard Brown, a Home Guard officer and magician tasked with guarding Bletchley. Blog link.
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