Joyce Aylard facts for kids

Joyce Ethel Aylard (born Baker, 1925 – 16 October 2022) was a brave British codebreaker during World War II. She worked at Eastcote, which was a secret outpost of Bletchley Park. Her important work helped the Allies win the war by cracking enemy codes.

Early Life and War Service

Joyce Aylard was born in 1925. She grew up in London, in areas called Canning Town and Ilford. When World War II began, many children were moved to safer places away from cities. This was part of a plan called Operation Pied Piper. Joyce was evacuated from London to Ipswich, and later to Blaengarw in Wales, in 1939–1940.

In 1943, Joyce joined the Women's Royal Naval Service. The women in this service were often called Wrens. She was then sent to work at Eastcote, a top-secret location.

Working as a Codebreaker

At Eastcote, Joyce Aylard became an operator of the Bombe machine. This amazing machine was designed by the famous codebreaker Alan Turing. The Bombe machines were used to break secret codes.

Joyce was part of a team of operators, many of whom were women. They worked in shifts, day and night. Their job was to test many different combinations to break the codes used in the Cryptanalysis of the Enigma. The Enigma was a special machine used by the Germans to send secret messages. The Bombe machines were very loud. This noise might have even caused some hearing loss in one of Joyce's ears.

Impact of Codebreaking

The work done by Joyce and other Wrens was incredibly important. When they successfully broke a code, someone senior would shout "job up!" This meant they had cracked the secret message. They would then move on to try and break another code.

Their efforts had a huge impact on the war. For example, decoding one message helped the Allies find the Scharnhorst. This was one of Germany's most famous battleships. Because of this decoded message, Allied forces were able to attack and defeat the ship. This happened in the Battle of the North Cape, near Norway.

After the war ended in Europe, Joyce continued her code-breaking work. She was reassigned to help break Japanese encrypted messages.

Life After the War

After the war, Joyce Aylard went to study at the London School of Economics. She then became a teacher, teaching economics at Queens Girls School.

Joyce Aylard was the mother of Richard Aylard. He became a Royal Navy officer and was once the Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales. For her important work during the war, Joyce was honored with two special medals. She passed away on 16 October 2022, at the age of 97.