RUTH RECALLS HOW SHE HELPED CRACK ENIGMA..

CLEVER Ruth Bourne's work was so secretive her mum never knew how she helped to win the Second World War.

- BY LUCY THORNTON

As a teenager, Ruth was chosen to work at top-secret Bletchley Park, set up to decode Nazi messages.

She took her role in the war very seriously, so when her mum said: “You can tell me, I'm your mother.” Ruth decided against it: “I thought, ‘Right, if I tell my mother, it will be all over Birmingham in 20 minutes!’”

Ruth, now 98 and living in North London, kept silent about her important work for decades long after the demands of the Official Secrets Act were lifted.

She said: "I'm proud we kept the secret. My parents died and never knew what I did.

“We did what we were told, you know. I told them it was confidential secretarial work.”

Ruth only told her husband Stephen Bentall in the 1970s.

In recognition of her service, Ruth was awarded the Legion d'honneur in November 2018.

Ruth had studied French, Spanish and German at school and turned down a place at university to join up with the Women's Royal Naval Service aged 17.