Denis Geoffrey Oswald (12 November 1910 – 5 February 1998) was an English first-class cricketer, educator and a codebreaker at Bletchley Park.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Full name | Denis Geoffrey Oswald | ||||||||||||||
Born | 12 November 1910 Stanley, Falkland Islands | ||||||||||||||
Died | 5 February 1998(1998-02-05) (aged 87) Uppingham, Rutland, England | ||||||||||||||
Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||
1931 | Oxford University | ||||||||||||||
1931–1932 | Hertfordshire | ||||||||||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 7 July 2019 |
Oswald was born at Stanley in the Falkland Islands to Louis and Lillian Oswald. He left the Falklands for England with his family when he was 8 years old aboard the SS Inca.[1] He was educated in England at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, before going up to Wadham College, Oxford.[2] While studying at Oxford, he made two appearances in first-class cricket for Oxford University in 1931, playing against Leicestershire and the touring New Zealanders at Oxford.[3] In addition to playing first-class cricket, Oswald also played minor counties cricket for Hertfordshire in 1931 and 1932, making a total of nine appearances in the Minor Counties Championship.[4] After graduating from Oxford in 1932, Oswald took up the post of languages teacher at Uppingham School.[5]
Oswald served in the Intelligence Corps during the Second World War, initially as a private. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in June 1941.[6] In Autumn 1942, Oswald, alongside Ralph Tester, Jerry Roberts and Peter Ericsson, founded the Testery section at Bletchley Park.[5]