The Bletchley Girls cover art

The Bletchley Girls

The women of Bletchley Park tell their breathtaking true story of war, secrecy, love and loss

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The Bletchley Girls

By: Tessa Dunlop
Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
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Summary

 The extraordinary true story of the codebreaking women of World War Two

The Bletchley Girls weaves together the lives of fifteen women who were all selected to work in Britain's most secret organisation - Bletchley Park. It is their story, told in their voices; Tessa met and talked to 15 veterans, often visiting them several times. Firm friendships were made as their epic journey unfolded on paper.

The scale of female involvement in Britain during the Second World War wasn't matched in any other country. From 8 million working women just over 7000 were hand-picked to work at Bletchley Park and its outstations. There had always been girls at the Park but soon they outnumbered the men three to one.

A refugee from Belgium, a Scottish debutante, a Jewish 14-year-old, and a factory worker from Northamptonshire - the Bletchley Girls confound stereotypes. But they all have one common bond, the war and their highly confidential part in it. In the middle of the night, hunched over meaningless pieces of paper, tending mind-blowing machines, sitting listening for hours on end, theirs was invariably confusing, monotonous and meticulous work, about which they could not breathe a word.

By meeting and talking to these fascinating secret-keepers, Tessa Dunlop captures their extraordinary journeys into a terrifying world of war, secrecy, love and loss.

A must-read for anyone with an interest in the real stories of World War Two.

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Critical acclaim for The Bletchley Girls:

'An in-depth picture of life in Britain's wartime intelligence centre . . . The result is fascinating, and is made all the more touching by the developing friendships between Dunlop and her interviewees.' Financial Times

'Lively . . . in giving us the daily details of their lives in the women's own voices Dunlop does them and us a fine service.' New Statesman

'Brings the unsung heroines of Bletchley into the limelight and gives them a share of the credit that so often goes to their male counterparts.' The Scotsman

'Candid about the hardships and heartaches of wartime work and its knock-on effects.' The Times©2015 Tessa Dunlop Europe Great Britain Military Women War England Belgium
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All stars
Most relevant
Thank you for telling this story and celebrating the work that the women did. Thank you especially for mentioning in such kind words, my Great Aunty Phoebe Senyard. During her life, she never told us she worked at Bletchley. Nevertheless, she had a huge impact on me. She was my heroine and always will be.

Brilliant. Thank you.

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I loved this book! A wonderful account of 15 very different Bletchley women, but also a great social history of that time.

Loved it

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This is a refreshing perspective on the lives and roles of young women who worked at Bletchley. It provides insights directly from the mouths and recollections of girls who did the work and lived the life. It is refreshing because the experiences of the participants is their reality unfiltered by a third party and unlike so many historical novels , uncoloured by a male perspective. Once read, the book leaves one with a thorough sense of having been there and, what life was like for young women of that time.

The Bletchley Girls - A Review

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Fascinating , so well narrated and attention grabbing and very hard to have to put down, thoughtfully written. Bought to life an era in recent history that was shrouded in secrecy for many years and the day to day thoughts of some of the amazing women who worked tirelessly as part of Britain's war machine. The tip of the iceberg with this book makes me want to discover more fascinating stories of amazing people. Hoping to hear more gems from this author.

One of the best books that I have listened to.

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Fascinating detail of the Bletchley Girls' roles. Not all were stationed at BP; some had never heard it mentioned, but all played a role and kept it secret until the first book was published in 1974.
Highly recommended.

Timely Tribute

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