and majored in the Latin and Greek Classics while also tutoring other students in math and physics in his spare time.

Pulleyblank graduated in 1942 at the height of World War II. Noticing his aptitude for both mathematics and foreign languages, one of Pulleyblank's professors offered him a chance to do "secret war work", which he accepted. On February 22, 1943 Pulleyblank joined the Examination Unit in Ottawa. This Unit was the civilian