Grace Emily Wilson

Grace Emily Wilson, 94, passed away peacefully on September 1, 2022, in her London home. Gracie, as she was affectionately known, was one of Britain's last surviving 'Bletchley Park girls' the women who worked as codebreakers during World War II. Born in Coventry, she was recruited straight from Cambridge University in 1943 for her extraordinary mathematical abilities. For decades, Gracie's work remained classified, and she never spoke of it even to family. Only after the Bletchley Park files were declassified in the 2000s did her grandchildren learn of her crucial role in breaking German naval codes work historians credit with shortening the war. In her later years, she gave occasional talks to historians but remained characteristically modest about her contributions. She is survived by her two children, five grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren. Her family discovered after her death that she had been donating most of her pension to charities supporting women in STEM fields. As she wrote in a rare interview: 'We weren't heroes; we were just doing what needed doing. The real heroes never came home.' Her quiet courage and brilliant mind leave a lasting legacy.