Ruth Pemberton

Third Officer Ruth Pemberton served in the Women's Royal Naval Service at Bletchley Park, the secret code-breaking centre housed near Cambridge. A mathematics graduate of Newnham College, she worked in Hut 8 on naval Enigma decryption under Alan Turing. Her work breaking German U-boat communications helped turn the tide of the Battle of the Atlantic. She kept her wartime service secret for decades until the Bletchley Park story was officially declassified. She was awarded a Mention in Despatches and later received an honorary doctorate from Cambridge.