Speaker: Helen Fry
Topic: Women in British Intelligence
Venue: Ondaatje Lecture Theatre, Radcliffe Centre
Time: 12:00-13:00 Saturday 16 September
Talk Summary:
The rich and varied work that women undertook during the First and Second World Wars, both as civilians and in uniform, included running spy networks and escape lines, working behind enemy lines, and interrogating prisoners. At Bletchley and Whitehall, the vital administrative work that kept the British war engine running was often the work of women.
Helen Fry is the foremost authority on the ‘secret listeners’ who worked at special eavesdropping sites operated by British Intelligence during the Second World War. She is the official biographer of MI6 spymaster, Colonel Thomas Joseph Kendrick, and has written extensively about the 10,000 Germans who fought for Britain during the conflict. Her latest book is Women in Intelligence: the Secret History of Two World Wars.