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GCHQ’s first leader recognised in new biography

Published on: 20 Sep 2017

A new biography about the first head of GCHQ has been published.

Written by Dr Joel Greenberg, ‘Alastair Denniston: Code-Breaking from Room 40 to Berkeley Street and the Birth of GCHQ’ charts the career of the first person to lead the organisation that became GCHQ.

The book recently received its official launch at GCHQ’s own museum amongst artefacts from Mr Denniston’s life.

Invited guests included members of Alastair Denniston’s family including his niece Libby Buchanan and his grandchildren, as well as senior representatives from Bletchley Park and GCHQ.

The Denniston family said they were thrilled that their relative’s achievements had been given such grand recognition.

GCHQ added that Alastair Denniston holds a special place in not only the history of the organisation but also the history of the entire country.

A statement from GCHQ went on to say: “Mr Denniston’s vision for signals intelligence, the culture he fostered, and values he wanted his workforce to display - ingenuity, teamwork and integrity - not only enabled the team at Bletchley Park to break the Enigma cipher, but also laid the foundations of today's GCHQ.”