World War II code break hero Hugh dies aged 98
Signaller helped uncover enemy secrets
A LEGENDARY Scots wartime code-breaker has died at the age of 98.
Hugh McKinley’s heroics helped Britain find out enemy secrets during World War II.
A signaller and bagpiper, Hugh taught German, Italian and Japanese code-breaking to troops and was a hero of Bletchley Park, Britain’s secret wartime code-busting centre.
In December, Army pipers and signallers paid homage to Hugh ahead of his 98th birthday.
Among his many roles, Hugh was at the Kiel Canal at Rendsberg, Schleswig-Holstein, intercepting enemy information and sending it back to Bletchley Park via dispatch rider, when he heard the German Navy surrender in 1945.
We previously reported that Captain Jimmy Scott, director of bagpipe music for the Royal Signals, visited Hugh at his favourite haunt – the Knightswood Royal British Legion Club in Glasgow.
Hugh said: “I am very proud of my service in the Signals.”
He was a proud recipient of the Roll of Honour of Bletchley Park as he played such a major role in the communications world during World War II. Joining the Territorial Army when he was 20 as a bandsman, Hugh also trained as a wireless operator in the 62nd Lowland Division Royal Signals.
He was called up two days before war was declared and was sent to Trowbridge, where he trained in the Special Signals Training Battalion.
As a result of the heavy bombing of London, his unit were moved to the Isle of Man, where he taught German, Italian and Japanese code-breaking.
He said: “Japanese was pretty difficult because the signals were coming from both directions and so it was like receiving an echo.”
Former corporal Hugh was discharged from the Army in 1946 and returned to his apprenticeship as a compositor in Glasgow and continued to work in newspapers, including the Daily Express and Glasgow Herald, until he retired in 1985.
In December, Hugh paid tribute to his fellow veterans. He said: “The Royal British Legion have been my life since my wife died 12 years ago – they keep me going and are always there when I need help. Although I am beginning to slow down a bit now.”