E183 - 'Ladies & gentlemen, go your ways!'

About this episode

This episode explores the personal experiences of Bletchley Park workers after the end of World War II through their testimonies.

September 2025 In 1945, Britain celebrated VE Day in May and VJ Day in August, as the war - first in Europe and then the Far East - came to an end. For the staff of GC&CS and its larger worldwide network, this meant that the vital and exhausting work they'd been doing suddenly stopped. The lives of all of them had been changed forever, but each person's experience was different. Bletchley Park's Oral History archive is a treasure trove of Veterans' testimonies. In this It Happened Here episode, we will be digging into our sound archive to focus on how the workers reacted and what happened to them once peace was declared, in their own words. Our guide through these stories is Bletchley Park’s Research Historian Dr David Kenyon. This episode features the following Veterans’. Nora Copleston Miriam Myland Mary Kenyon Ron Unwin Betty Lawrie John Statham Betty Flavell Fay Gold Joan Smeaton Gwen Page Dot Tuffin Kenneth Nicholson John Moseley Jimmy Thirsk Rena Stewart Mary Every Daphne Canning Betty Webb Lady Marion Body Margaret Thomas Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust 2025 #BPark, #Bletchleypark, #WW2, #Enigma, #VEDay80, #VJDay80,

People in this episode

Host: Dr David Kenyon

Guests: Nora Copleston, Miriam Myland, Mary Kenyon, Ron Unwin, Betty Lawrie, John Statham, Betty Flavell, Fay Gold, Joan Smeaton, Gwen Page, Dot Tuffin, Kenneth Nicholson, John Moseley, Jimmy Thirsk, Rena Stewart, Mary Every, Daphne Canning, Betty Webb, Lady Marion Body, Margaret Thomas

Topics covered

• World War II
• Veterans' testimonies
• Bletchley Park history
• Oral history
• Post-war experiences
• GC&CS

Keywords

• Bletchley Park
• VE Day
• VJ Day
• World War II
• Oral History
• Veterans
• GC&CS
• post-war
• testimonies
• history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bletchley Park, GC&CS

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