Audrey Ruth Briggs (1920–2005) was a

cryptanalyst Cryptanalysis (from the Greek ''kryptós'', "hidden", and ''analýein'', "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic sec ...

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Background

Ruth Briggs was the youngest daughter of Rev. Canon

George Wallace Briggs George Wallace Briggs (1875 – 30 December 1959) was an English hymn writer and Anglican clergyman. Career Briggs was born in Nottingham, the son of George Briggs and Betsy Ann Hardstaff, and educated at Loughborough Grammar School and Emmanuel ...

and Constance (née Barrow). She had two sisters and two brothers, one of whom,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, became Headmaster of

King's College School, Cambridge King's College School is a coeducational independent preparatory school for children aged 4 to 13 in Cambridge, England, situated on West Road off Grange Road, west of the city centre. It was founded to educate the choristers in the King's ...

. She graduated in Modern Languages from

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicent ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and from 1942 to 1945, as an expert in German, worked at Bletchley Park as a member of the Z Watch, which translated the decrypted messages. She worked variously in Huts 4 and 5, Block A(N), and Naval Section NS I - German Cryptography. Briggs's work has been recognised in breaking codes used by the Axis powers during the war. About 75% of the Bletchley Park staff were women but few female codebreakers were recognised for their work. In 1946 she married former SOE Officer Major

Oliver Churchill William Oliver Churchill, (1914–1997) was a Special Operations Executive (SOE) officer during the Second World War. Shortly after the Italians had switched allegiance to the Allies in September 1943, he was parachuted into German occupied Cor ...

DSO MC in

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified ...

where her father was a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

, and she had three children,

Toby Toby is a popular, usually male, name in many English speaking countries. The name is from the Middle English vernacular form of Tobias. Tobias itself is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew טוביה ''Toviah'', which translates to ''Good i ...

, Simon, and Flora.

References

1920 births 2005 deaths Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge British cryptographers Bletchley Park people Bletchley Park women {{cryptography-stub