September 2015

Nearly ninety Veterans of the Government Code and Cypher School and its many outstations gathered at Bletchley Park on Sunday 6 September, to reminisce and meet old friends and new.

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 share memories 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.

Listen in as we speak to five Veterans making their first appearance on the Bletchley Park Podcast, some speaking publicly for the very first time. Japanese Naval Section Wren Margaret Thomas, Dennis Underwood of the 14th Army, Hollerith Operator & decoder Joan Joslin, Hanslope Park Engineer Bartram Robinson and finally Florence Cole, 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. "

Many thanks to roving reporters Sarah Langston and Kerry Howard.

Picture: ©shaunarmstrong/mubsta.com 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).

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