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The codebreaking work these women did was top secret for decades after the war (the files were only declassified after 1974 in the UK and 1996 in the US. What does that say about these women’s sense of duty and loyalty? What do you think about the fact that the heroic efforts of women at Bletchley Park went completely unnoticed for so long?
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I think the fact that many of them kept the secret for their entire lives is admirable. Of course, they all signed the Official Secrets Act, so the consequences for sharing their secrets/experiences was punishable by jail or death! So there were both positive deterrents (their loyalty and duty to their country and the war effort) and negative ones too. I heard an amazing true story of two code-breaking sisters – Pat and Jean Owtram – who only shared what they did during the war with each other 30 years after the war ended!
It’s a bit sad that the women’s role at Bletchley wasn’t highlighted for so long. I certainly didn’t learn much about women’s roles during WWII at school other than a number of women worked in the factories, but I’m glad their contributions and work has increasingly come to light.
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I think everyone who worked at Bletchley Park ( except a possible traitor) must have had a deep sense of loyalty, both during their grueling work there and afterward. As difficult as it might have been for women to maintain their secrecy, it would have been more taxing for the men, it seems, since they were often despised for not enlisting. Harry is a good example of this in the book. Still, that effort during the war must have instilled a sense of pride for helping to lead the Allies to victory.
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These were heroic women. I can imagine how incredibly difficult it was to keep their activities secret.
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