Publisher's Synopsis
æWhen we codebreakers left Bletchley Park we found on our Certificate of Discharge a warning. This is what it said. ôYou are hereby reminded that the unauthorised communication by you to another person of any information you may have acquired whilst in His MajestyÆs Service which might be useful to an enemy in war renders you liable to prosecution under the Official Secrets Act.öÆ - - Bletchley Park, or 'Station X', was home to the most famous codebreakers of the Second World War. The 19th-century mansion was the key centre for cracking German, Italian and Japanese codes, providing the allies with vital information. After the war, many intercepts, traffic-slips and paperwork were burned (allegedly at Churchill's behest). The truth about Bletchley was not revealed until F. Winterbotham's The Ultra Secret was published in 1974. - However, nothing until now has been written on the German Air Section. In Cracking the Luftwaffe Codes, former WAAF (Women's Auxiliary Air Force) Gwen Watkins brings to life the reality of this crucial division. In a highly informative, lyrical account, she details her eventful interview, eventual appointment at the 'the biggest lunatic asylum in Britain', methods for cracking codes, the day-to-day routine and decommissioning of her section. - - -
