J.R.R. Tolkien… apparently had the linguistic capabilities to become a Nazi codebreakerTelegraph.co.uk has posted an interesting article that was certainly news to me–and after being a Tolkien fan for 25 years, and running this site for 10+ years, that’s certainly saying a lot!

Seems that the good professor was, for a short while, on the path of becoming a Nazi codebreaker!  Here’s an excerpt from their article:

According to previously unseen records, Tolkien trained with the top-secret Government Code and Cypher School (GCCS).

He spent three days at their London HQ in March 1939 – six months before the outbreak of the Second World War and just 18 months after the publication of his first book, The Hobbit.

But although he was ”keen”, Tolkien – a professor of English literature at Oxford University – declined a £500-a-year offer to become a full-time recruit.

The reasons behind his decision are not known.

Click here for the entire article.