Codebreaker Girls: A Secret Life at Bletchley Park

Codebreaker Girls: A Secret Life at Bletchley Park tells the true story of Daisy Lawrence, who kept her wartime work secret for fifty years—never disclosing it to her parents, children, or husband. Using extensive research, unpublished photographs, and her mother's recollections, Jan Slimming describes Daisy's modest but happy upbringing in London and how her life was disrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War. The book explores how and why Daisy was selected to work at the Government war station and the clandestine operations she undertook with others in the British countryside during wartime. Slimming examines Daisy's personal emotions and relationships, including her search for her young fiancée, who was missing in action overseas. The three years at Bletchley Park served as Daisy's education, but after 1945, her significant work involving Germany, Italy, and Japan remained hidden for decades. The narrative is supported by original letters, documents, newspaper cuttings, and unique photographs, along with an account of Daisy's life after the war.