‘Incredibly proud’ Bletchley veteran from Ferndown turns 100

10 November 2025

Marcus White & Patrick HughesSouth of England

BBC Pat Shepherd has white hair and glasses. She sits on a beige sofa and smiles at the camera. — Pat Shepherd kept her work secret from her family until she was in her 50s

A veteran of Bletchley Park, where German, Italian and Japanese codes were broken during World War Two, is celebrating her 100th birthday.

Pat Shepherd, from Ferndown, Dorset, helped to run the Bombes – code-breaking machines – at the secret Buckinghamshire base.

She said she was “incredibly proud” of her work but did not tell her family about it until later in life.

In August, Bletchley Park said only about 350 veterans remained around the world.

Ms Shepherd was 18 when she joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service

Family photo A black and white photo shows a smiling Pat Shepherd in naval uniform with "HMS" on her cap above short, dark hair. — Ms Shepherd was 18 when she joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service

The work at Bletchley Park, led by computer pioneer Alan Turing, was vital to the war effort.

Turing’s Bombes processed coded enemy messages, including those revealing the position of U-boats that were inflicting heavy losses on Allied convoys in the Atlantic.

Ms Shepherd said she was posted to Bletchley at the age of 18 after joining the Women’s Royal Naval Service.

Alan Turing’s Bombes helped the work of code breakers at Bletchley Park

Reuters A British Turing Bombe machine is seen functioning in Bletchley Park Museum in Bletchley, central England, September 6, 2006. The machine consists of a regular grid of exposed wheels or cogs, most with letters around the circumference. — Alan Turing’s Bombes helped the work of code breakers at Bletchley Park

She recalled: “Once you’d got it set up on your wheels on these huge machines, push the button, they all started turning.

“[It] would take about an hour, perhaps, per run, to try all the combinations of those letters you’ve been sent.

“And then if your machine stopped, it was either a fault or it might have been an answer they were looking for.”

Ms Shepherd said she was never told whether her machine had made a breakthrough.

Her son Tim Shepherd said he was “absolutely staggered” when she revealed her secret work in her 50s.

He said: “What was especially interesting for me was to actually go to Bletchley with Mum last year as an honoured visit.

“I wasn’t aware that Bletchley had been so significant in allowing the British Intelligence to actually redirect false information to actually send the Germans to the wrong area in France, which saved many, many lives in Normandy.”