The Women Codebreakers in Bletchley Park

The women who broke Colossus !

The Colossus computer was a series of programmable electronic computers developed by British codebreakers during World War II to crack the Lorenz cipher, a complex encryption used by German high command. These computers were designed to be used by the British Royal Air Force, but they were not used for long. The women in the picture were hired by British intelligence agency to crack the code used by the Germans to communicate with each other.

In the picture to the left, clockwise from top left: Betty Webb, Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, Joan Joslin, Joyce Aylard, the Colossus codebreakers in 1945, and Betty Webb at 91 years.

Photography: Courtesy of Bletchley Park, Mirrorpix, Getty Images, Rex/Shutterstock. Taken from 'The Gaurdian'.

The Recruitment

The heads of Bletchley Park next looked for women who were linguists, mathematicians, and even crossword experts. In 1942 the Daily Telegraph hosted a competition where a cryptic crossword was to be solved within 12 minutes. Winners were approached by the military and some were recruited to work at Bletchley Park, as these individuals were thought to have strong lateral thinking skills, important for codebreaking.

When successful, their codebreaking efforts could have a monumental impact on the war effort. The decoding of one of the messages led to the location of the Scharnhorst, one of Germany's most famous battleships to be revealed. Allied forces were then able to attack and defeat the ship in the Battle of the North Cape, off Norway.

The Picture to the left, Bletchley Park, inside and out. Photography: Rex/Shutterstock, Getty Images. Taken from 'The Guardian'.

Selected Women

1) Mavis Batey - Recruited as a codebreaker in Bletchley, she was responsible for helping to work out the wiring of Abwehr Enigma, an Enigma machine previously thought to be unbreakable.

2) Jean Valentine - Jean Valentine was an excellent cryptanalyst and operator of the bombe decryption device in Hut 11 at Bletchley Park in England, designed by Alan Turing and others during World War II.

3) Joan Clarke - She was one of the few women employed at Bletchley as a full-fledged cryptanalyst and played an important role in breaking the Enigma machine.

The Picture to the left, A Colossus Mark 2 computer being operated by Dorothy Du Boisson (left) and Elsie Booker. Photo credit: Wikipedia.

"The Turing effect"

One of the most influential person in the history of cryptography was Alan Turing. He was a brilliant mathematician and cryptanalyst who cracked the Enigma machine during World War II. Turing's work on the Enigma machine led to the development of the modern-day cryptography. He was helped by various women who worked at Bletchley Park, including Joan Clarke, Dorothy Du Boisson, and Elsie Booker. Breaking the Enigma machine was a feat that is said to have shortened the war by more than 2 years. The movie, 'Imitation Game', showcases Alan Turing's genius and the impact of his work at a time when computers were still in their infancy.

The picture to the left, the Lorenz SZ42 German cypher machine and Alan Turing. Photography: Alamy, taken from 'The Guardian'.