Code-breaker Ruth Bourne dies aged 99

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These out-stations were also sites for Britain's code-breakers during the war, in this case only staffed by WRENs, and Ruth lived on-site in custom built barracks. Her role, with others, was to operate the 'Bombe' machines. These electromechanical code-breaking machines were initially designed by Alan Turing to decipher the equivalent of 36 'Enigma' machines - sometimes in as little as 15 minutes - which the Germans used to send secret messages. These decrypts were then sent to Hut 6 at Bletchley for interpretation and onward despatch to leaders at the battle fronts.

The WRENS were not, themselves, code-breakers. They were technicians who did not know what was in the German messages that were de-crypted and then sent to translators. Officials decided how the information should be used.

Ruth was a Bombe machine operator and checker responsible, with many others, for fixing the circuits and changing the drums on the ‘Bombes’, which mimicked the 'Enigma' rotors. It was pressurised, demanding labour that required complete accuracy. Hundreds of 'Bombe' operators worked eight-hour shifts, 24 hours a day. (Some 'Bombe' machines were located in nearby outstations where Ruth was posted, as well as at Bletchley Park.)

As with most Jewish veterans, Ruth overheard quite a bit of antisemitism. Once, after returning from a social event at the Balfour Club and asked about the visit, two WRENs opined that “you would not have liked it; it was full of Jews”.

Overall there were about 8,000 people involved in code breaking with 4000 support staff. At the end of the war, Winston Churchill ordered that the 'Bombe' machines be dismantled and Ruth found herself destroying the machines she had spent so long working with. It has been universally acknowledged that the intelligence produced at Bletchley Park shortened the war by two to four years. After decades of secrecy, the contribution of all those working there has now been publicised , (Jews at Bletchley Park’ by Martin Sugarman).

Ruth Henry was born in Salford Manchester to Dr Isaac Henry, formerly Isaacson, of Dublin and Sarah née Pollecoff, from North Wales. They were a Jewish family and Ruth remained true to her Jewish roots all her life. After some time in Birmingham the family evacuated to North Wales in 1939,

where Ruth went to school till 1944 at Caernarvon County High. She studied french, German and Spanish at school and won a place to read languages at London university, but turned it down to join the WRNS.

In December, 1946, Ruth was demobbed and married Stephen Bentall formerly Blumental, a Czech who had served in the RAF during the war and was mentioned in despatches twice, and the couple had two sons, John, and David. Later she and Stephen separated and she changed her name to Bourne.

In civilian life, Ruth opened a launderette in north London, wryly commenting: “There I was sitting in front of 12 machines with the drums going round - it literally was a home from home”. In the 1960s she trained at London University as a special needs teacher, and as a bereavement and family counsellor in the Jewish community.

But Ruth never lost her connection with Bletchley Park and was a volunteer tour guide there for 24 years. She demonstrated a rebuilt 'Bombe' machine to ever increasing visitors to the museum and met the late Queen in 2011 when she came to unveil a long-overdue memorial. In 2009, the Government finally recognised the contribution made by Ruth and other surviving BP veterans by presenting them with a commemorative badge engraved with the words: 'We also Served'.

She was also awarded the Legion d’Honneur from France, and was interviewed on the BBC in 2019 at the Albert Hall British Legion commemorations. She was an Ajex member and was in a previous parade advertisement campaign. She also appears in the book, Jews in Uniform by Michael Greisman, on the contribution of the British Jewish community to the Second world War conflict.

She once said: “A lot of people say if it wasn’t for Bletchley, we’d be speaking German. That’s possibly true. I’m proud to have been chosen to participate. It was quite a privilege, really.”

She gave talks on her wartime work at the Jewish Museum, on Saga cruises and for various charities. She donated her WREN cap several years ago to the Jewish Military Museum. Her grandchild, Bee Bentall said: “My grandmother was such a bright spark: intelligent, creative and witty. She was always delighted to give her time to educating others about her

code-breaking contributions at RAF Eastcote. She lives on in books, in her pottery and in art and in our memories.”

Dan Fox of AJEX said of her: "Sometimes wars are won on battlefields, and sometimes far away from the frontlines. Women like Ruth Bourne applied their intelligence and

persistence in anonymous huts, to decipher the Nazi enemy, saving countless lives and supporting operations that turned the tide of WWII towards allied victory. We owe them everything. They were also heroes."

Ruth Bourne: born May 23 1926 . Died December 17, 2025