Fearless World War Two woman spy who slipped into occupied Norway aboard a submarine before becoming Bletchley Park codebreaker dies aged 91

• Received Bletchley Park Badge and The Freedom of Bletchley Park honour for her 'vital work' in Second World War
• Kept code-breaking work secret - even from her family - until last year
• Operations helped famous sabotage attack by 'Heroes of Telemark', immortalised in 1965 film
• After mission was over Sigrid Green walked from Norway to Sweden
• Escaped back to Britain in empty bomb bay of Mosquito aircraft

Sigrid Green led an ordinary life in Darwen, Lancashire. She had been active in the local Conservative party and had volunteered at her local hospital.

Few knew the 91-year-old had spent the Second World War infiltrating German sea patrols before cracking codes at Bletchley Park - home of the Enigma decoder.
Miss Green, who died on Friday, was so determined to keep that 'difficult' part of her life private, even her parents and two brothers, one of whom was an RAF pilot, died without ever knowing the truth about her wartime experiences.

Recognition: Former World War Two codebreaker Sigrid Green, left, holds up her Bletchley Park Badge and certificate received before her death on Friday and right, in uniform after joining the Women’s Auxilliary Air Force in 1942

But last year Miss Green decided to reveal her extraordinary story after watching a documentary about undercover agents in France.
She also received a Bletchley Park Badge and The Freedom of Bletchley Park in the post, along with a letter from David Cameron thanking her for her 'vital service', after she was nominated for the top honour by a historian.

 

Miss Green whose mother was Norwegian joined the Women’s Auxilliary Air Force in 1942 but was seconded to the Norwegian resistance after Army chiefs discovered her bi-lingual background.

Codebreaker: Few knew the 91-year-old had spent the Second World War infiltrating German sea patrols before cracking codes at Bletchley Park - home of the Enigma decoder

Incredible journey: Miss Green went by submarine to Telemark, in German occupied Norway. After her mission she WALKED to Sweden before escaping back to Britain in the empty bomb bay of a Mosquito aircraft

Proud: Last year Miss Green received a a certificate, left, from David Cameron and Bletchley Park Badge  in honour of her 'vital service' during the Second World War

THE VITAL ROLE BLETCHLEY PARK PLAYED IN WWII

Winston Churchill called them ‘The geese that laid the golden eggs and never cackled’.
Indeed the importance of the code breakers at Bletchley Park cannot be underestimated.

Intelligence from Bletchley played a vital part in the defeat of the U-boats in the six-year Battle of the Atlantic, British naval triumphs in the Battle of Cape Matapan in 1941 and the Battle of North Cape off the coast of Norway in 1943.
By 1944 British and American commanders knew the location of 58 out of 60 German divisions across the Western Front. In addition, a great deal of information was decrypted about General Erwin Rommel’s Nazi forces in North Africa.
Bletchely was a 24-hour operation. Codes came in at all times and were colour-coded depending on which branch of the German military they involved.
The code was then sent to relevant sections to be deciphered. Initially this took time but with the advent of the Bombe computers - an ingenious device that enabled Bletchley staff to crack the German military's Enigma code - codes could be cracked within hours.
Once broken, the codes were translated into English.

She was taken to German occupied Norway in a submarine, having refused to be dropped by parachute. At the time, women were not allowed on submarines, so she had to pretend to be a boy.
She was assigned to give key information on a heavy water factory being developed by the Germans for energy purposes.
Her operations helped in the build up to the famous sabotage attack by the so called Heroes of Telemark, immortalised in the 1965 film.
After her mission was over, she walked from Norway to neutral Sweden, and escaped in the empty bomb bay of a Mosquito aircraft.
She went on to help at Bletchley Park when German codes were famously broken with the help of Enigma machines.
There she listened to Morse code from the German High Command for up to 15 hours at a time, passing the details to specialist decoders.
In an interview last year Miss Green said: 'The work at Bletchley Park did shorten the war by several years and saved many lives, but it’s very upsetting for me to talk about that time and I’d rather forget it.
'It was a horrible time and I don’t enjoy thinking about it. I had kept quiet, but I spoke out because I watched a programme on television about a girl who worked as an agent in Belgium.
'Before that I just didn’t tell anybody what I had done during the war.
'It wasn’t how they paint it at all, with all this romance. I never even knew I was listening to the German High Command. It could be a boring job, sitting for 15 hours at a time, taking down the codes.

Documents: Miss Green kept her Air Force log book but did not tell anyone of her war experiences - even her family - until last year

Mission: Miss Green, whose mother was Norwegian, was seconded to the Norwegian resistance after Army chiefs discovered her bi-lingual background

Journey: She was taken to German occupied Norway in a submarine, having refused to be dropped by parachute. At the time, women were not allowed on submarines, so she had to pretend to be a boy

'I didn’t know who I was listening to, it was a secret even to us. But there are some parts of my experiences which are best left buried that I will never talk about. I learnt the meaning of the phrase man’s inhumanity towards man.'
She added: 'I understand why a lot of young people aren’t interested in the war - I used to think stories about the Second World War were boring.
'But if knowing about it can stop it happening again, with the terrible acts and degradation, it’s worth it. I’m certainly no one’s hero and it’s silly to think of it that way.

Role: Miss Green's operations helped in the build up to the famous sabotage attack by the so called Heroes of Telemark, immortalised in the 1965 film

Thought provoking: Miss Green's log book also provided space for her last will and testament. She died at a residential care home in Darwen, Lancashire, on Friday aged 91

'During the war thousands of people did extraordinary things they never dreamed they could do. Some more than others, but that’s life.'
Family friend Dr David Grimes, who knew Miss Green for more than 20 years, said: 'She was an extremely difficult person. She had arguments and rows with everyone.
'But I had a real soft spot for her. She could be very charming. She was a true character. Anyone who met her would never forget her. She had been through a variety of illnesses, but seemed indestructible as she had conquered them all.
'In the end, she died of old age. Nobody lives forever.'