CODER'S REQUIRED SKILLS

* Coding Instructions
* Coding Practical
* Buzzer Receiving

Below is an actual  history sheet  for a Coder and Leading Coder.

This History sheet indicates the required passing grades for the Coder and Leading Coder trades. Click on image to enlarge.

Coder and  Ordinary Coder badges	Leading Coder badge
Badge images courtesy "For Prosteritys Sake" web site.

 During the Second World War, Sheila Elizabeth Whitton was a Coder for the Royal Canadian Navy. Whitton was sent to England in preparation for D-Day in order to work on coding machines instrumental to the Allies’ success. She says:

"I was a Coder. We took over mostly from civilians who had been doing the communications work for the Navy, so we did work with civilians for a while. Our training was all on the spot, but it wasn’t difficult once you had learned how to use the code books. We used coding books which  were very heavy. They contained  four letter "insignia" [1] for a word. Usually, you were coding a message in letters and sometimes in numbers, but mostly in letters when we were still in Halifax.

When I was sent to the UK, we worked on coding machines that had rotors [2].. That was new. It didn’t take long to become familiar with those machines. [3] We didn’t know much at the time about those coding machines but they were around the size and shape of a fairly large typewriter and they contained rotors.  The rotors would increment one "step" as the keys on the keyboard were pressed.  There were 4 rotors in each machine. Each day,  we operators had to set up a new daily key and place the rotors  into the machine in a specific order.

When I first went overseas, there were six WRENs that went to the UK to be coders. As the weeks went by, more and more were sent over. We were sent basically to be there for D-Day. I can’t remember exactly how many but I don’t think there were more than 21 or  22 of us all together. We were working 24 hour  shifts. In  other words, one week you’d be working day shifts, and then the next week you might be working the afternoon to midnight, and then midnight to 8 in the morning. We were pretty well, kept to ourselves, except when we had occasion to eat with the British WRENs. We were all a very close knit group. And, you really associated with the people who were on your shift".
 

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Andy Barber served aboard HMCS HAIDA in 1951-52. Here, he expands on the responsibilities of the Coding trade.

"There were two parts to our Coding course. The first one “Coding Instructions” refers to the theory and exercises used to rate our Coders. You had to have a complete understanding of what coding was about including the history of Coding and reference materials that were available to help you out if a problem arose that you were not familiar with or hadn’t been covered extensively during the course.

The second one “Coding Practical” which consisted of setting up the Typex encryption/decryption machine and performing both coding and decoding of sample messages under the supervision of the instructor. You had to prove that you could do this rapidly and accurately.

As for the “Buzzer Transmitting”, we were required to be very efficient in using the Morse code for our job as Visual Communicators. However, the reception and transmission of coded messages were done by the radio telegraphist (Sparker). I was not allowed to be in the Sparker’s chairs as I was a Visual Signalman.

This division of duties was also a way to prevent breeches in security as one trade, supposedly, didn’t know how the other trade worked in coding. The coded messages were received by the Sparkers and given to the Coders who in turn used a typewriter-type tape machine to input them into a daily configured Typex coding machine. This allowed the message to be either decoded upon receipt or coded for transmission by reversing the procedure".

Tyypex with CCM adapter installed. Note that there are no plugboards in this machine. Not every Typex was fitted with left and right plugboards. Some had only one while others didn't have any. All RCN ships fitted with Typex had the CCM adapter,, (Photo ocourtesy National Cryptologic Museum)

FOOTNOTES:

1) The word “insignia” most likely refers to the group of numbers and letters that the Sparker receives or transmits in coded messages. If a character was missed when copying a coded message, a  dot (.) is inserted in the copy rather than have the message repeated.

2) It is believed that that the WREN might be describing a 5 rotor, Typex coding machine fitted with the CCM. Typex was normally fitted with five rotors and one  reflector. In WWII the Allies did not use any 4 rotor crypto machine Perhaps the passage of time clouded the recollection. .

3)  The WRENS may have been “learning on the spot” but most visual and radio ratings had to go through their courses in St Hyacinth Quebec before they could ply their trade aboard a ship. It probably was an accelerated course of about 8 weeks or so versus the 7-month course that  coders  normally took.,
 

CREDITS:

1) 1769matelots(at)gmail.com
2) http://www.forposterityssake.ca/RCN-TRADE-BADGES.htm
3)  Andrew Barber     < andrew.barber(at)sympatico.ca>
4) Canadian Encyclopedia article on Sheila Elizabeth Whitton
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mpsb-sheila-elizabeth-whitton-primary-source
 

Apr 18/23