Betty Webb, Bletchley Park codebreaker and tireless advocate, dies aged 101
Betty Webb, one of the last surviving women to serve at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, has died at the age of 101.
A key figure in Britain's wartime intelligence effort, she worked in strict secrecy, transcribing decrypted enemy messages – a job that contributed to the liberation of France and eventual Allied victory.
It wasn't until 1975, when the Bletchley operation was declassified, that she could even tell her family what she had done during the war.
Born in 1923, Mrs Webb was recruited into the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1941 and later posted to Bletchley at the age of 18.
When the war ended in Europe in May 1945, she went to work at the Pentagon after spending four years at Bletchley.
Mrs Webb was the only member of the ATS to be sent to Washington to work on the Pacific Front, where she paraphrased and transcribed decoded Japanese messages.
On her return to the UK, she worked as a secretary at a school in Shropshire, having to keep her wartime work a secret for the next three decades until it was officially declassified in the 70s.
She was appointed an MBE in 2015 and later awarded France's highest honour, the Légion d'Honneur, in 2021.
Mrs Webb remained active in public life well into her later years, becoming well-known for the legacy of the work carried out at Bletchley.
When she turned 100 in May 2023, she returned to the Buckinghamshire site to celebrate.
A Lancaster bomber flypast marked the occasion.
The Bletchley Park Trust released a statement paying tribute to her decades of advocacy.
"The Trust was very sad to learn of Betty's death. She will be remembered, not only for her work at Bletchley Park during World War Two, but also for her efforts to ensure that the story of what she and her colleagues achieved is not forgotten," said Iain Standen, CEO of Bletchley Park Trust.
"She was an unrivalled advocate and supporter of the heritage site that Bletchley Park is today.
"Whether through media interviews, events or books, Betty has been involved in spreading the word about Bletchley Park for many, many years."
Betty Webb's death marks the passing of another link to a vanishing generation – and to a world forever changed by war.
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