The Bletchley Girls
War, Secrecy, Love and Loss: The Women of Bletchley Park Tell Their Story
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The Bletchley Girls
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Narrated by:
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Anna Bentinck
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By:
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Tessa Dunlop
About this listen
Historian and broadcaster Tessa Dunlop tells the story of the women of Bletchley Park through exclusive and unprecedented access to the women themselves. The Bletchley Girls weaves together the lives of 15 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 eight million working women, just over 7,000 were handpicked 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 female secret keepers who are still alive today, Tessa Dunlop captures their extraordinary journeys into an adult world of war, secrecy, love and loss. Through the voices of the women themselves, this is a portrait of life at Bletchley Park beyond the celebrated code breakers; it's the story of the girls behind Britain's ability to consistently outsmart the enemy and an insight into the women they have become.
©2015 Tessa Dunlop (P)2016 Hodder & StoughtonWhat listeners say about The Bletchley Girls
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 22-04-2023
The Bletchley Girls - A Review
This is a refreshing perspective on the lives and roles of young women who worked at Bletchley. It provides insights directly from the mouths and recollections of girls who did the work and lived the life. It is refreshing because the experiences of the participants is their reality unfiltered by a third party and unlike so many historical novels , uncoloured by a male perspective. Once read, the book leaves one with a thorough sense of having been there and, what life was like for young women of that time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Fiona O'Connell
- 11-02-2017
Loved it
I loved this book! A wonderful account of 15 very different Bletchley women, but also a great social history of that time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matgood Toothews
- 11-03-2017
Brilliant. Thank you.
Thank you for telling this story and celebrating the work that the women did. Thank you especially for mentioning in such kind words, my Great Aunty Phoebe Senyard. During her life, she never told us she worked at Bletchley. Nevertheless, she had a huge impact on me. She was my heroine and always will be.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anne
- 26-02-2016
One of the best books that I have listened to.
Fascinating , so well narrated and attention grabbing and very hard to have to put down, thoughtfully written. Bought to life an era in recent history that was shrouded in secrecy for many years and the day to day thoughts of some of the amazing women who worked tirelessly as part of Britain's war machine. The tip of the iceberg with this book makes me want to discover more fascinating stories of amazing people. Hoping to hear more gems from this author.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marjo
- 29-05-2017
Timely Tribute
Fascinating detail of the Bletchley Girls' roles. Not all were stationed at BP; some had never heard it mentioned, but all played a role and kept it secret until the first book was published in 1974.
Highly recommended.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Katelyn
- 23-10-2017
Underwhelmed
With the content and research it should have been an interesting listen. However the writer was so intent on forcing her point that women were underrated, undervalued and underestimated that the actual story gets blurred behind a kind of women's rights push. A women myself, I fully understand and appreciate the importance of the role women played in the way but don't like to feel that I'm being indoctrinated.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 🦋 Percyville 🦋
- 10-06-2018
"Highly Recommend"
I loved this book, well researched & well narrated.
15 Veterans accounting their involvement in the Second World War reflecting the importance of the role they played which is part of our history today.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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- Lauren Wilson
- 09-07-2022
Very sketchy
Could not get into this book. Did not hold my interest considering the subject. Did not finish the listen.
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