Cambridge college unmasks alumnae who were Bletchley Park codebreakers

Names of 77 ex-students of women-only Newnham College who worked at Bletchley Park are revealed for first time

They worked day and night during the second world war, deciphering Nazi messages, breaking Enigma codes and analysing top-secret military documents. But until now it was not known just how many of the intrepid female codebreakers who worked at Bletchley Park had studied at the same place, forming a hidden network of scholars who secretly changed the course of history.

The names of the 77 alumnae of Newnham College – a women-only college that is part of Cambridge University – who were recruited to intercept, decrypt and translate military messages for Bletchley Park during the war have been revealed for the first time, in a college exhibit and roll of honour.