Bristol artist honours female codebreakers

Antipodean Andy · Oct 23, 2008

Redland artist's Bletchley Park tribute| Bristol news| This is Bristol

Artist Jayne Abbott has produced a series of portraits commemorating women who helped break German codes during World War II.
Jayne, 51, of Redland Road, Redland, was commissioned to draw six portraits from wartime photographs of women who served in secret at Bletchley Park.
The portraits form part of Jayne's first day cover envelope design, which incorporates photos of six other "Women of Distinction" as stamps.
They are suffragist Millicent Garrett Fawcett, £1 stamp; MP Barbara Castle, 81p; Claudia Jones, founder of the Notting Hill Carnival, 72p; MP Eleanor Rathbone, 56p; author Marie Stopes, 50p and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain, 48p.
Bletchley Park, also known as Station X, in Buckinghamshire, was the UK's code breaking centre and housed the Enigma machine.
"This is a fantastic tribute to all the ladies at Bletchley Park who worked tirelessly throughout the war time years," said the Bristol artist.
"Without their input we may never have won the war.
"I have always been interested in numbers, I love fiddling with crosswords and was interested to see what they did.
"The fact that the activities at Station X have been used as the foundation for a series of famous novels and books only add to the importance of Bletchley Park as a valued piece of Britain's Heritage."
Ian Fleming used the secret background of the war at Bletchley Park as inspiration for his James Bond novels.
Throughout the war Fleming acted as liaison officer between Bletchley Park and the Director of Naval Intelligence, Rear Admiral John Godfrey.
The Royal Mail stamps have been added and cancelled using a special Bletchley Park postmark.
Only 1,000 will be issued and the set costs £15.
Terry Mitchell of Bletchley Park Post Office said: "The last time we did this the complete issue sold in days raising much needed funds.
"If anybody ever decided to let one go it will probably fetch a hundred pounds plus now.
"Jayne's superb artwork has made this one even more collectable."
To purchase the Bristol artist's set go to Bletchley Park.
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