Newnham codebreakers cited in GCHQ lecture
The Director of GCHQ Anne Keast-Butler talked about the enormous contribution of Newnham wartime codebreakers, as she lauded the foresight of the team who assembled them, in a lecture at Bletchley Park last week.
During the GCHQ Annual Lecture, she said Bletchley was hallowed ground. “Where a determined team turned codebooks into catalysts, changed the arc of technological history, and altered the course of history. Three quarters of that team were women, many with fascinating stories and I heard some of those stories a couple of years ago at an exhibition about the undergraduates of the all-women Newnham College in Cambridge.
“What struck me most was not just the individual tales of dedication and quiet service but a pair of faded letters from January 1939 between the head of Newnham and Alastair Denniston, the very first Director of GCHQ. Denniston could see the way the world was going and asked Newnham to identify their best talent. He wanted to be ready for what lay ahead.
“Months later, Denniston moved operations to Bletchley Park and assembled the smartest minds from across the country. Codebreaker Joan Clarke and linguist Elizabeth Reed from Newnham as well as other gamechangers like Gordon Welchman, Emily Anderson, and Alan Turing, to name but a few.
“Denniston’s actions – his foresight, his practicality, and his focus on partnerships – really struck a chord with me.”
In the speech, she went on to outline the threats that the country faces, from contested geopolitics and rapidly changing technology. As well as the focus on tech sovereignty and cyber security in response. She concluded that history teaches that we stay safe by harnessing technology, being prepared and staying together.
It was a sobering analysis but important to note that Newnham’s Bletchley Park research continues to have such an impact.
- Full speech: GCHQ annual lecture
- Coverage included this Guardian article