Helene Aldwinckle | |
---|---|
Born | Helene Lovie Taylor 26 October 1920 |
Died | 24 April 2020 | (aged 99)
Alma mater | University of Aberdeen |
Known for | Codebreaking at Bletchley Park |
Awards |
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Helene Aldwinckle (née Helene Lovie Taylor) (26 October 1920 – 24 April 2020), was a Bletchley Park codebreaker during the Second World War.
Helene Lovie Taylor was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1920, to Alexander and Helen Taylor (née Trail). [1] Her father was a salesman. She grew up in Footdee, and attended Ashley Road Primary School [2] then Aberdeen Academy, and eventually won a scholarship to study French and English at the University of Aberdeen. [1] Taylor married John Aldwinckle, an RAF flight lieutenant, in February 1945. They had four children: Richard, Linda, Pamela, and Lady Diana Browne. John Aldwinckle died in 2012. [1]
Helene Taylor joined Bletchley Park after completing a three year degree in French and English at Aberdeen University. [3] She was recommended by Aberdeen University Principal William Hamilton Fyfe [4] [5] to the Foreign Office, in part because of her extraordinary memory and interest in languages. [1] [6] After two rounds of interviews with the Foreign Office in London and Aberdeen, Helene was selected by senior codebreaker Stuart Milner-Barry to become a permanent Foreign Office Civil Servant and was sent to live at Bletchley Park in the summer of 1942. [4] [6] [7] During the first round of interviews, Aldwinckle was not aware of what she was being interviewed for, believing it to be a general civil service role. [3] [5]
Helene was initially based in Registration Room 1 (RR1), where she worked on encrypted signals. [4] She became responsible for leading a training programme for American service personnel in 1943. [4] [8] [7] [5] When the programme was complete, Helene went to work in Quiet Room (QR) in Hut 6, the section of Bletchley Park tasked with deciphering Enigma codes. [4] [6] [7] There she brought the knowledge and skills she developed training American personnel to longer term and more complicated encryption problems, including identifying Enigma radio networks and radio signals. [4] [6] [7] After the Second World War ended, Helene stayed for a short time at Bletchley Park to help write the history of the work of Hut 6 but she had to leave the Foreign Office in 1945 due to a policy that said women could not stay employed after marriage. [4] [6]
Aldwinckle lived in Cologne and Berlin, accompanying her husband John in his role at MI6, moving initially in the 1950s. [1] She worked for both the British Forces Network and Westdeutscher Rundfunk as a cultural events reporter. [1] She continued her interest in amateur dramatics (having been involved in her youth in Aberdeen) [5] joining the Berlin Amateur Dramatic Society. [1] She accompanied John on subsequent postings to France, Germany and Britain, and they also lived in Rome, Brussels, and Mons. [1]
Aldwinckle had a varied career post-Bletchley, becoming a translator for Thames and Hudson in 1967; and a gallerist at the Medici Gallery at the age of 54. [1] She later worked at the Oxford Gallery, and in 1979 became the manager of the Medici. [1]
Aldwinckle was awarded a Knight in France's Legion of Honour on 19 July 2019 in a ceremony in London's French embassy. [8] [6] [7] Theresa May thanked her, in May's final Prime Minister's Questions. [1] A blue plaque honouring Helene Aldwinckle was unveiled at 76 Farquhar Road, Dulwich, on 4 September 2022. [9]
Helene Aldwinckle | |
---|---|
Born | Helene Lovie Taylor 26 October 1920 |
Died | 24 April 2020 | (aged 99)
Alma mater | University of Aberdeen |
Known for | Codebreaking at Bletchley Park |
Awards |
![]() |
Helene Aldwinckle (née Helene Lovie Taylor) (26 October 1920 – 24 April 2020), was a Bletchley Park codebreaker during the Second World War.
Helene Lovie Taylor was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1920, to Alexander and Helen Taylor (née Trail). [1] Her father was a salesman. She grew up in Footdee, and attended Ashley Road Primary School [2] then Aberdeen Academy, and eventually won a scholarship to study French and English at the University of Aberdeen. [1] Taylor married John Aldwinckle, an RAF flight lieutenant, in February 1945. They had four children: Richard, Linda, Pamela, and Lady Diana Browne. John Aldwinckle died in 2012. [1]
Helene Taylor joined Bletchley Park after completing a three year degree in French and English at Aberdeen University. [3] She was recommended by Aberdeen University Principal William Hamilton Fyfe [4] [5] to the Foreign Office, in part because of her extraordinary memory and interest in languages. [1] [6] After two rounds of interviews with the Foreign Office in London and Aberdeen, Helene was selected by senior codebreaker Stuart Milner-Barry to become a permanent Foreign Office Civil Servant and was sent to live at Bletchley Park in the summer of 1942. [4] [6] [7] During the first round of interviews, Aldwinckle was not aware of what she was being interviewed for, believing it to be a general civil service role. [3] [5]
Helene was initially based in Registration Room 1 (RR1), where she worked on encrypted signals. [4] She became responsible for leading a training programme for American service personnel in 1943. [4] [8] [7] [5] When the programme was complete, Helene went to work in Quiet Room (QR) in Hut 6, the section of Bletchley Park tasked with deciphering Enigma codes. [4] [6] [7] There she brought the knowledge and skills she developed training American personnel to longer term and more complicated encryption problems, including identifying Enigma radio networks and radio signals. [4] [6] [7] After the Second World War ended, Helene stayed for a short time at Bletchley Park to help write the history of the work of Hut 6 but she had to leave the Foreign Office in 1945 due to a policy that said women could not stay employed after marriage. [4] [6]
Aldwinckle lived in Cologne and Berlin, accompanying her husband John in his role at MI6, moving initially in the 1950s. [1] She worked for both the British Forces Network and Westdeutscher Rundfunk as a cultural events reporter. [1] She continued her interest in amateur dramatics (having been involved in her youth in Aberdeen) [5] joining the Berlin Amateur Dramatic Society. [1] She accompanied John on subsequent postings to France, Germany and Britain, and they also lived in Rome, Brussels, and Mons. [1]
Aldwinckle had a varied career post-Bletchley, becoming a translator for Thames and Hudson in 1967; and a gallerist at the Medici Gallery at the age of 54. [1] She later worked at the Oxford Gallery, and in 1979 became the manager of the Medici. [1]
Aldwinckle was awarded a Knight in France's Legion of Honour on 19 July 2019 in a ceremony in London's French embassy. [8] [6] [7] Theresa May thanked her, in May's final Prime Minister's Questions. [1] A blue plaque honouring Helene Aldwinckle was unveiled at 76 Farquhar Road, Dulwich, on 4 September 2022. [9]