'Remarkable' Bletchley Park code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/01/remarkable-bletchley-park-code-breaker-betty-webb-dies-aged-101

‘Remarkable’ Bletchley Park code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

Veteran lauded for helping preserve history and legacy as well as vital role played during Second World War

Jamie Grierson
Tue 1 Apr 2025 10.29 EDT

The Bletchley Park code breaker Charlotte “Betty” Webb has died at the age of 101, the Women’s Royal Army Corps Association (WRACA) has confirmed.

Arriving at Bletchley from the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) aged just 18, Webb spent four years during the second world war at the code-breaking centre working in various roles.

Webb, from Wythall in Worcestershire, intercepted German police messages, which revealed the beginning of the Holocaust, and paraphrased decoded Japanese messages for the Pentagon in the US.

Confirming her death, the WRACA said on Facebook: “Betty inspired women in the army for decades and we will continue to take pride in her service during WWII and beyond, and as a champion of female veterans.

Speaking to the Guardian in 2018, Webb admitted she was unaware of the significance behind the complex codes she was breaking.

“The messages were in groups of five letters or figures in morse code – nothing was clear at all. Some dates appeared. It was total gibberish, but you had to register everything, so senior people could call on a date or message at any time. We knew very little of what was going on. We really were in the dark.”

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