Margaret Rock facts for kids

Margaret Rock (born July 7, 1903, died August 26, 1983) was a brilliant mathematician. She was one of many women who worked at Bletchley Park during World War II. Her amazing math skills helped her decode secret messages from the German Army. This work was top secret for a long time. Because of the Official Secrets Act 1939, much of what she did was not known until after her death.

Early Life and Family

Margaret Rock was born in Hammersmith, London. Her parents were Frank Ernest Rock and Alice Margaret Simmonds. She went to Edmonton elementary and North Middlesex School. Her father was a surgeon in the Royal Navy. He often sent letters to his children, especially before World War I.

In 1917, Margaret, her mother, and her brother settled in Portsmouth, London. They had moved around a lot for three years. Margaret attended Portsmouth High School. This was a private boarding school just for girls. Her father died when his ship, HMS Laurentic, sank. It hit two mines placed by a German U-boat. Margaret's father had encouraged her to study hard. His letters inspired her to succeed in the future. Her brother, John Frank Rock, became a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers.

Education and Early Career

Margaret passed the London General School Exam in June 1919. In high school, she was excellent in French, mathematics, and music. She then went to Bedford College, which is part of the University of London. In 1921, she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree.

After college, Margaret worked as a statistician. She was employed by the National Association of Manufacturers. Her job was to predict how the economy would change. She also looked at how different businesses would react to the market. In her free time, Margaret and her brother loved to travel. They visited many countries, including Italy, France, Switzerland, and Sri Lanka.

World War II and Codebreaking

When World War II began, Margaret and her mother moved from London to Cranleigh, Surrey. Margaret left her job. She wanted to help with the war effort. At that time, many women were expected to stay at home. But Margaret was recruited for a new job at Bletchley Park on April 15, 1940.

She worked for Admiral Hugh Sinclair, who was the head of the Government Code and Cypher School. Margaret trained with other mathematicians and professors. Their goal was to break and decode enemy messages. These messages were sent using a machine called the Enigma.

Margaret worked closely with Dilly Knox and Mavis Lever. Knox believed that women were very skilled at codebreaking. Margaret became a very important cryptographer. By August 1940, Knox thought she was one of the top five workers on the Enigma staff. She was especially good at breaking German and Russian codes. Codebreaking helped find out which people were double agents. These agents would give false information.

The German military thought their Enigma codes were impossible to break. But Margaret and her team worked very hard. She was promoted and earned a higher salary. On December 8, 1941, the team at Bletchley Park decoded a German Enigma message. They used a special manual method called "rodding," which Knox had found. This huge success gave Britain a big advantage. It helped them plan the D-Day attack, which was a turning point in the war.

After the War

After World War II, Margaret Rock continued to work for the government. She worked for the Government Communications Headquarters. She retired in 1963. Because of the Official Secrets Act, Margaret never spoke about her work. Even later in her life, when Bletchley Park and codebreaking became famous, she kept her contributions a secret. She never talked about her work on the Colossus computer. Margaret Rock died on August 26, 1983, in Ronkswood Hospital, Worcester.