Art, Espionage and Professor A.D. Trendall

Explore the intriguing world of wartime intelligence and uncover the extraordinary career of Professor A.D (Dale) Trendall (1909–1995) – classical scholar, cryptographer, and art historian.

Dale Trendall, a contemporary of the five English spies at Cambridge University in the 1930s, moved to the University of Sydney before the Second World War. During the war, he used his expertise in ancient Greek vase painting to decode Japanese messages, directly contributing to the Allies’ success in the Pacific theatre of war.

When it was revealed that Japanese forces had intercepted Australian ciphers in Timor, Trendall devised his own code—Trencode—which was used by the Australian military from 1942 to 1946.

Join archaeologist and Director of the Trendall Research Centre Dr Gillian Shepherd for a lecture uncovering the story of Trendall’s life and work and exploring the unexpected connections between wartime intelligence and ancient art.

About the speaker

Dr Gillian Shepherd is Director of the A.D. Trendall Research Centre for Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Senior Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at La Trobe University. She completed her undergraduate degree in Classics and Fine Arts at the University of Melbourne and her doctorate in classical archaeology at Trinity College, Cambridge. Her research interests focus on ancient Greek burial customs, but through her position at La Trobe University she has discovered intriguing new avenues to explore, including A.D. Trendall’s work in cryptography and its profound influence on wartime intelligence.

This lecture is presented in collaboration with La Trobe University’s Trendall Research Centre.