“For they could not love you, but still your love was true. And when no hope was left in sight on that starry, starry night, you took your life, as lovers often do. But I could have told you, Vincent, this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.”

Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor & Park

Bletchley Park World War II code-breaking enclave in the English countryside of Buckinghamshire. Thousands of women were employed here to decipher encoded German signals and secret communication sent between Nazi generals. Far from being a group of experienced decoders, however, the estate’s recruits mainly consisted of young teenage military personnel, a smattering of crossword whizzes who had been able to compelete the Daily Telegraph’s puzzle in less than 12 minutes, and numerous 18-year-old girls plucked from their quiet home towns.

"It was the middle of the war when I recieved a call saying I was to go into war work to support Britain’s efforts from home," explains 88-year-old Margaret Bullen, a machine wire operator who served from 1942 until the end of the war. A letter from the Foreign Office then arrived saying I had an interview - but I had no idea what it was for, and two weeks later, I was told I’d be off to Bletchley." "Before starting work we were told to sign the Offical Secrets Act, which was a rather frightening experience for someone as young and naive as I was," says 90-year-old Becky Webb, who joined the war effort at age 18 in 1941. "I had no idea how I’d comply with it!" "I never knew what any of my coworkers were doing, and vice cersa and my parents never knew a thing of it" reflected Ruth Bourne who also joined the war effort at age 18.