Bletchley Park's female codebreakers featured in new tribute stamp set

A new set of stamps paying tribute to women's contributions during World War Two will feature a rare photograph of female codebreakers.

The image shows the women at Bletchley Park where they operated complex cryptographic machinery.

Royal Mail said the "bravery and sacrifice" of women in WW2 was "often overlooked".

A spokeswoman for Bletchley Park said it was "proud" the women had been honoured as part of the new collection.

A set of ten stamps, available from 5 May, shows the huge range of work women undertook during the conflict, including ferry pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary - known as the Spitfire Women.

Codebreakers based at the home of the Government Code and Cypher School in Buckinghamshire fed crucial information to Allied forces, especially in the days and weeks leading up to D-Day in 1944.

Experts believe the work done at the site may have shortened the war by up to two years.

However, it was not until wartime information was declassified in the mid-1970s that the story of the work done at the centre began to emerge.

At its height there were 9,000 staff at the site, with about 75% women.

Other stamps in the set show military nurses, the Women's Royal Naval Service, the Women's Land Army and the Women's Voluntary Service.

A spokeswoman for Bletchley Park said: "Such were the numbers [of women] that the work of Bletchley Park would have been impossible without them, however the prevailing attitudes of the 1940s meant that very few occupied senior roles in the organisation, which was managed largely by men.

"Bletchley Park feels proud that the women who worked here are honoured as part of this new stamp collection. Without them, the vital work which was carried out at Bletchley Park and ultimately helped to the to turn the tide of World War 2, would not have been possible."

David Gold from Royal Mail said: "These stamps are a tribute to the millions of women who contributed to the war effort and the Allied victory.

"Their bravery and sacrifice is often overlooked, but their work helped to drive some of the post-war social changes that eventually saw equal opportunities and equal pay legislation.

"We must also remember the women who supported the war effort at home, managing households despite the unceasing demands of total war."

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