We meet again

Nearly ninety Veterans of the Government Code and Cypher School and its many outstations attended their Annual Reunion at Bletchley Park Sunday 6 September.

After a summer of 70th anniversary commemorations, it was a chance for people who worked in secret at both Bletchley Park and its outstations to remember their contribution. They took the opportunity to bring their friends and families to soak up the atmosphere back in the very buildings where they did their vital war work. There were also plenty of chances to reminisce with people who worked in different sections. The Veterans are now free from the obligations of the Official Secrets Act and can discuss the details of their work, in stark contrast to the strict rules to which they all adhered during the dark days of World War Two.

Florence Cole was a WAAF Teleprinter Operator based at Chicksands from 1943 to 1944. She said “All these years, I’ve never considered myself important enough to talk about it. I’ve never felt I was very special but I can look back now and think maybe I did contribute a little bit.”

Margaret Wilson was a WAAF Morse Slip Reader at Bletchley Park from 1944 to 1946. She attended the Veterans’ Reunion with her daughter Kay Tonks (left), granddaughter Amy Brennan (right) and great grandson, Caelan Brennan (on Margaret’s lap). Image ©ShaunArmstrong/mubsta.com

You can hear more from the Veterans at the reunion in a special episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast, out on 10 September.