French honour for Bletchley Park wartime codebreaker
Midland pensioner, 99, was at heart of secret base to crack enemy cyphers
ONE of the heroines of the Bletchley Park wartime codebreaking HQ has been presented with France’s highest honour.
Betty Webb MBE officially received the insignia of Chevalier in the Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur at Edgbaston Park Hotel, near the University of Birmingham, at the weekend.
The ceremony was carried out by Colonel Patrick Bryant, Air and Space Attaché at the French Embassy.
It follows a 2014 announcement by then president François Hollande that all British veterans who took part in military operations in France from 1944 to 1945 would be honoured with the distinction.
Since then, more than 6,000 medals have been awarded to veterans throughout the UK.
Mrs Webb, from Wythall, Worcestershire, was just 18 and an ATS volunteer when she arrived at Bletchley Park, a sprawling mansion which was home to British mathematicians working around the clock to break the Nazi’s “unbreakable” Engima code.
It housed the Government Code and Cypher School, and it is believed the work of those stationed there may have shortened the war by up to two years.
As a fluent German speaker, Mrs Webb was tasked with handling enemy messages which had been intercepted by allied signal stations across the world.
“It was a huge organisation – there were 10,000 people there, with dons from top universities,” said Mrs Webb, now 99.
“We were mostly all very, very ordinary people who were sworn to the utmost secrecy. It was in the country’s interests to keep everything to ourselves.
“We weren’t allowed to say anything about our work outside the immediate office we worked in, so none of us knew the whole story then.
“It is only now after meeting people who were there and doing a lot of reading that we have been able to put the whole picture together.”
When the war in Europe was over Mrs Webb, who also handled translated Japanese messages, still had work to do.
Officials selected her for a further secret posting to the Pentagon in Washington DC.
“I took 30 hours on a Sunderland flying boat to get to America,” Mrs Webb recalled.
“I carried out similar duties for a few months in Washington after the atomic bomb was dropped.
“It was a fantastic experience, working alongside 32,000 other people. I won’t ever forget it.”
After her wartime adventure, Mrs Webb joined the Territorial Army in 1955 and became the recruiting officer in the West Midlands.
In 1975, she was finally allowed to reveal to her husband her real job during the war. Up until then, she had been tied by the Official Secrets Act.
She said: “The work at Bletchley was hugely important. Not just for the war, but the birth of the modern computer. Without it, we wouldn’t have been blessed with that technology.”
Mrs Webb actually received the French honour last month before this week’s official ceremony.
It arrived at her home with a letter from the French Ambassador which stated: “I offer you my warmest congratulations for this high honour which recognises your military engagement and steadfast involvement in the liberation of France during the Second World War.
“As we contemplate this Europe of peace, we must never forget the heroes like you who came from Britain and the Commonwealth to begin the liberation of Europe by liberating France. We owe our freedom and security to your dedication, because you were ready to risk your life.”
The pensioner added: “I was absolutely bowled over when it came through the post – I was completely surprised and, of course, delighted.”
Mrs Webb has given many talks to schoolchildren and community groups and has written a book on her Bletchley experience.
Last year, President Emmanuel Macron awarded the city of London the Légion d’Honneur for the steadfast support Londoners gave the French Resistance, allowing the capital to become a refuge for General Charles de Gaulle.
A spokesperson for the French Embassy said: “This further highlights the depth of our bilateral ties, as France and the UK have supported each other through many chapters of our history.”
We were mostly all very, very ordinary people who were sworn to the utmost secrecy Betty Webb