Bletchley Circle on PBS

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Old 01-05-2019, 11:10 AM
Boomer Boomer is offline
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Not everyone fought on the front lines, and even if a woman wanted to she was denied. Just because they worked behind the lines doesn't mean they should not be honored for the work they did in winning the war. How about all those men who sat home and did nothing at all because they were CO, or flat feet, or some other ailment. These woman actually contributed to our victory. Every war has casulties, and every war has heroes, these woman were heroes.
Thank you, John W.

The women pilots of WWII did not get the recognition they deserved. In fact, tragically, sometimes they were sabotaged by insecure men who were supposed to be serving alongside them.

There is a book called “Yankee Doodle Gals: Women Pilots of World War II” by Amy Nathan. It is a book for YA (Young Adult) readers but it is something anyone interested would like. Excellent photos.
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Old 01-05-2019, 12:07 PM
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Thank you, John W.

The women pilots of WWII did not get the recognition they deserved. In fact, tragically, sometimes they were sabotaged by insecure men who were supposed to be serving alongside them.

There is a book called “Yankee Doodle Gals: Women Pilots of World War II” by Amy Nathan. It is a book for YA (Young Adult) readers but it is something anyone interested would like. Excellent photos.
WASP - Women Pilots of World War II
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  #18  
Old 01-05-2019, 04:44 PM
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About 50 women who were in the a Royal Canadian Army were picked to take a course in Ontario, based on a test of some kind they had done. About twenty of them were chosen to go to Bletchley, which is outside a London, about 30 miles or so I think. My mother was good in math and puzzles. She had also worked for the phone company as a switchboard operator before the war. The only musical ability was that she played a wicked harmonica. I could go on forever but from what I know, which isn’t as much as I would like, it was an experience of a lifetime. As a point of interest, her father was a Major who served in both world wars, was wounded twice in the first nine, had two brothers killed in the first war. She had two brothers who were both air crew in the second war. When I asked her brother a few years ago if he knew about her working at Bletchley, he told me that he did know about it and also that he himself was a commando during the second war and was shot when he was parachuting out of a plane on a mission. I was the first person he had told that and he was 90 when he told me. There are other military stories about her family but I have gone on long enough. All the best to everyone.
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Old 01-05-2019, 05:32 PM
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Thank you, John W.

The women pilots of WWII did not get the recognition they deserved. In fact, tragically, sometimes they were sabotaged by insecure men who were supposed to be serving alongside them.

There is a book called “Yankee Doodle Gals: Women Pilots of World War II” by Amy Nathan. It is a book for YA (Young Adult) readers but it is something anyone interested would like. Excellent photos.
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Old 01-05-2019, 05:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Harleyman View Post
About 50 women who were in the a Royal Canadian Army were picked to take a course in Ontario, based on a test of some kind they had done. About twenty of them were chosen to go to Bletchley, which is outside a London, about 30 miles or so I think. My mother was good in math and puzzles. She had also worked for the phone company as a switchboard operator before the war. The only musical ability was that she played a wicked harmonica. I could go on forever but from what I know, which isn’t as much as I would like, it was an experience of a lifetime. As a point of interest, her father was a Major who served in both world wars, was wounded twice in the first nine, had two brothers killed in the first war. She had two brothers who were both air crew in the second war. When I asked her brother a few years ago if he knew about her working at Bletchley, he told me that he did know about it and also that he himself was a commando during the second war and was shot when he was parachuting out of a plane on a mission. I was the first person he had told that and he was 90 when he told me. There are other military stories about her family but I have gone on long enough. All the best to everyone.

Thank you and thank you to your family.
  #21  
Old 01-05-2019, 07:21 PM
villagerjack villagerjack is offline
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Originally Posted by John_W View Post
Not everyone fought on the front lines, and even if a woman wanted to she was denied. Just because they worked behind the lines doesn't mean they should not be honored for the work they did in winning the war. How about all those men who sat home and did nothing at all because they were CO, or flat feet, or some other ailment. These woman actually contributed to our victory. Every war has casulties, and every war has heroes, these woman were heroes.
Never suggested that they should not be honored. They indeed played a very important part in the war effort. But so did all the women who stayed home including my mom who had 4 kids in a one bedroom apartment Living on an Army allotment and ration stamps. No stories about them because it does not fit the subliminal Agenda that entraps many. Point is that these great women were treated unfairly but so were a lot of other veterans who were spat upon and called baby killers. My FIL. Was shot down over Ploesti and was a POW under very bad circumstances but he amazingly never complained or thought he was special. This story could have been about their achievements but PBS prefers to dote on victimization. Life is not always fair but that is true for all genders.
  #22  
Old 01-05-2019, 11:17 PM
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Last edited by John_W; 04-17-2019 at 03:06 PM.
  #23  
Old 01-06-2019, 08:01 AM
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Please return to the topic....the PBS TV show. Getting sidetracked ....

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  #24  
Old 01-06-2019, 10:11 AM
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I am sure I am not alone in saying that I enjoyed the personal connection from Harleyman. I felt it added to this thread and to all of our general information. He is another lucky fellow in his choice of mothers.

Are you a year rounder in The Villages, Harleyman? It would be lovely to hear you talk about your mom at length.

I think how amazing it was that people kept mum about this secret. It showed the stiff upper lip and the moral fiber of the people in that generation.
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Old 01-06-2019, 03:13 PM
Harleyman Harleyman is offline
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Thanks Gracie. Of all the people who post on this site there about six or seven that I would like to meet and you are at the top. We are from Nova Scotia and have owned for eight years. We spend about four and a half to five months a year at our house.. We will be back hopefully in mid Feb until mid April. I would love to get together with you and tell you some more of the story. My mother wrote us a letter about her war times but she would not actually tell us about Bletchley. They all signed a sixty year oath of secrecy and she took most of the stuff to her grave. I will send you a note when we get back. Perhaps we can arrange to get together for a chat.
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