The Bletchley Girls

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

By: Tessa Dunlop

Narrated by: Anna Bentinck

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

'Nothing has breathed life into WWII in the same way as this truly engaging portrait of life at Bletchley Park sharing the memories of the women who worked at the code breaking coal face' - READER REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Beautifully written . . . Dunlop manages to do two things: she both lets these women's voices sing - showing their individual characters and backgrounds - and she provides us with an astute perspective on events unfolding.' - READER REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'So refreshing to read the story from the perspective of the women who were actually there. So many books have been written on this subject, but few are able to capture the atmosphere of that time as Tessa Dunlop has' - READER REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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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

interesting history

This is non- fiction. It's a talk-umentary of live older ladies who were actually there, at Bletchly Park. They were of a generation and social class that had morals, rules, and education. They were wholesome, romantic diligent, and super dedicated to the War Effort. I learned how they were brought up, how they courted, danced, and how they lived during their time at BP. It's a vignette of that era. I couldn't tell who was who but I got the gyst of the group. Thank you for your service, ladies.

Outstanding!!!

Simply Outstanding!!! The story, the writer, the narrator, but most of all, the women of Bletchley Park are simply outstanding!

Wonderful story about the ladies of BP

This is a story about the young girls who were thrusted into adulthood during WWII. They worked on one of the most top-secret things during that time, and continued to be kept confidential only until recently. This book is not about the enigma or Bletchley Park. It’s about those women their wives before during, and after in the hardships standard truly inspiring.

Fantastic story

I thought that the interviews with the Bletchley Ladies was well done and informative. I had started the Lee Jackson World War II “After Dunkirk” series recently and was pleased to find this story on the Bletchley ladies and the importance of their part in the war effort. I especially enjoyed that this story showed how much it cost them in not being able to say what they were doing.

Please post a schedule of the talks at BP

A life changing read.
To learn their story is to get a lesson on how to live life. We owe them so much!