by Hayley Robinson

A medal and certificate have been presented to a pensioner for
her help in breaking German military codes during the Second World
War.

Doris Nicholls was presented with the items by MP Derek Wyatt at
her home in Barkers Court, Sittingbourne.

The former Wren's involvement with the Engima decoding project
only recently came to the attention of ward councillor Ghlin Whelan
and local Labour chairman Roger Truelove.

But it was a parliamentary question put down by Mr Wyatt which
confirmed that Mrs Nicholls was entitled to national recognition
for the part she played in deciphering the codes.

The 86-year-old received training in Headingley in Leeds before being sent to an outpost station for supporting the decoding Enigma machine at the now famous Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes.

Security around the enigma project was so great that the Wrens
would arrive for work in the presence of guards with loaded
pistols. There were about 400 Wrens working on the project - all of
whom worked in pairs and in shifts so the information was fed to
Bletchley 24 hours a day via a teleprinter.

The decoding was so important to the war effort, that Winston
Churchill deliberately recruited some of the country's outstanding
brains, especially those with a university education in German, to
use the enigma machines to decode German war plans.

Some of the information, such as the bombing of Coventry, was so
sensitive that the Government was forced to disguise the fact that
they could decode German plans.

The breaking of the codes is also credited with reducing the
number of casualties at sea from German U-boat attacks.

Speaking of her award, Mrs Nicholls said: "I was very proud to
receive them - it's been long overdue.

"It really is a very nice badge. I will wear it and get a frame
for the certificate and hang it in my living room.

"My friend in Leicestershire who was also a Wren is due to
receive her medal and certificate and she's over the moon about it
too."

---

Enigma facts:

The Enigma cypher was the backbone of German military and
intelligence communications.

Invented in 1918, it was initially designed to secure banking
communications, but it achieved little success in that sphere.

However, the German military were quick to see its potential and
they thought it to be unbreakable, and not without good reason.

Typing in a letter of plain German into the machine sent
electrical impulses through a series of rotating wheels, electrical
contacts and wires to produce the enciphered letter, which lit up
on a panel above the keyboard.

By typing the resulting code into his own machine, the recipient
saw the deciphered message light up letter by letter. The rotors
and wires of the machine could be configured in many, many
different ways.