Died 1994 | ||
Benjamin deForest "Pat" Bayly (born June 20, 1903-1994) was a Canadian electrical engineer and a professor at the University of Toronto. During World War II he invented a cypher machine called the Rockex and handled communications at the secret intelligence base Camp X. He later ran an engineering company in Ajax, Ontario, and was the first mayor of that town. A street there is named after him.
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Early life and education
Bayly was born in London, Ontario, son of Benjamin Moore Bayly and Alice Seaborn. He grew up in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where his father worked as a medical health officer. He studied electrical engineering at the University of Toronto, and lectured there on radio communications before graduation. He graduated in 1930 with a BA in Science.
Career
After graduation Bayly was hired as an assistant professor in the University of Toronto's Department of Electrical Engineering, lecturing on radio communication, and later became a professor there.
During World War II, Bayly enlisted as a lieutenant-colonel in the British Army. He set up the telecommunications centre at Canada's secret intelligence installation, Camp X, near Whitby, Ontario. He set up a wireless station called HYDRA which was a coordination point for Allied radio signals from around the world. Encryption using existing equipment was very slow, so Bayly invented a much faster machine for the purpose, labelled the Rockex.
After the war, Bayley returned to work as a professor at the University of Toronto until 1950, when he set up his own company, Bayly Engineering Works, in the newly formed town of Ajax, Ontario. Soon after, Bayly served as the first Mayor of the town. As well as having a street in the town named after him, in 2016 a statue commemorating his life was commissioned by the town.
Bayly later sold his company and retired in California. A book about his life, Benjamin de Forest (Pat) Bayly the Unknown Canadian, has been written by Bill Parish.