What was this Code?

[mmm45]

Hi

Am reading Bales history of 4th Batt WRR and it mentions some confusion over a signal sent using a BAB? code.

Is this some kind of morse or an actual code like the old BATCO from military use of not so long ago?

Cheers

Ady.

[Guest geoff501]

Hi

Am reading Bales history of 4th Batt WRR and it mentions some confusion over a signal sent using a BAB? code.

Is this some kind of morse or an actual code like the old BATCO from military use of not so long ago?

Cheers

Ady.

Was it a Trench Code? There were 2 or 3 letter codes originally used over telephone lines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_code

[Guest geoff501]

Checked my copy of The Codebreakers (Kahn, published Macmillan 1968). There is a short reference to trench codes and Ovillers-la-Boiselle is mentioned. Could not find any reference to the message system you mentioned. It may have been a code-book name.

[DaveBrigg]

I found a telegram with the following message in an officer's file at Kew

'KA 1037 F. SIMLA 31/26 SV 6 GOVT -

TROOPERS IN -

12181/4MS1A UNSILVERED NO 12181/2MS1A

SIVERGOD LARDCOOLER H R VANCE VEHUYTOYTOY

AND H IBBOTSON VEBAKUS REDUCETTY RADIAFORM

CANARYWOOD ODDITIES YUXDRIPON AND ODIATRICE

YUXDROLFAG RETEM - CHIEF

Translation below....

[DaveBrigg]

Lts H R Vance Worcester Reg and H Ibbotson 3rd ??? Relinqd rank a/capt Oct 12 1919 and Oct 21 1920 respectively.

[Steven Broomfield]

Bizzarely, while looking-up something else in the history of the 33rd Division, I found this entry (page 154):

"The Division suffered great loss....in the death through shell fire of Lt Col B A B Butler, of the Divisional Artillery. Lt Col Butler will always live in history as the author of the B A B Code, universally used throughout our army during the war as the official secret trench code, and thus named from his own initials. He had served in the field from Mons until the end, a very gallant and brilliant officer."

He was born 6.5.78, and entered the RA 23.12.97. DSO LG 1.1.18, Bar LG 16.9.18, died of wounds 23.10.18.

Doesn't say what the code was, though.

[Guest geoff501]

Bizzarely, while looking-up something else in the history of the 33rd Division, I found this entry (page 154):

"The Division suffered great loss....in the death through shell fire of Lt Col B A B Butler, of the Divisional Artillery. Lt Col Butler will always live in history as the author of the B A B Code, universally used throughout our army during the war as the official secret trench code, and thus named from his own initials. He had served in the field from Mons until the end, a very gallant and brilliant officer."

He was born 6.5.78, and entered the RA 23.12.97. DSO LG 1.1.18, Bar LG 16.9.18, died of wounds 23.10.18.

Doesn't say what the code was, though.

I have just found a link, with some (very little) info on a BAB code.

http://www.codasaurus.com/trench.htm

[Steven Broomfield]

I have just found a link, with some (very little) info on a BAB code.

http://www.codasaurus.com/trench.htm

Wonder how often some porr hard-pressed signaller used '730'

[Guest]

A little late, but I found this: "BAB CODE. A system of encryption first issued in the Army Telephone Code Book. The official trench code (see Adjutant’s Nightmare), also known by the initials B.A.B. The code was devised by Lt-Col B.A.B. (Bernard Arnold Barrington) Butler DSO, a brigade commander in the British 33^rd Divisional Artillery, and was named after his initials. He was wounded in the final British offensive of the war, and died of wounds on 23^rd October 1918."

[MaureenE]

The link in post 7 no longer is valid, here is an archived link

https://web.archive.org/web/20080220073318/http://www.codasaurus.com/trench.htm

An extract 

Here are a few of the codes and their corresponding phrases:

017 Asphyxiating shells
025 Lachrymatory shells
117 Creeping barrage
139 Our artillery is shelling us
185 Minenwerfers
186 Flammenwerfers
237 Gas
367 Tank approaching ...
390 ... will sweep "no man's land" in front of ... subsector between (hours)
730 I have not got the code

 

Cheers

Maureen

 

Edit Three pages of the Manual on Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/59794062@N02/albums/72157626113047310/

 

 

and an US Army publication about US Army codes in WW1 but includes some general history re French, German  and to a limited extent British codes

https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/70/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/friedman-documents/publications/FOLDER_267/41784809082383.pdf

Edited 2 January , 2020 by Maureene