Rozanne Colchester facts for kids

Rozanne Felicity Hastings Colchester (born November 10, 1922 – died November 17, 2016) was a British woman who worked in a secret government job during the 1940s. She helped her country by decoding secret messages during World War II.

Early Life and Important Meetings

Before World War II began, Rozanne met two very famous leaders: Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler.

Her Secret Work

Joining Bletchley Park

In 1941, Rozanne joined a super secret place called Bletchley Park. This was a top-secret center where Britain worked to break enemy codes during World War II. Her father, Charles Medhurst, who also worked in intelligence, helped her get this important job. Because Rozanne spoke Italian, she joined the section that worked with messages related to the Royal Air Force (RAF). After a successful interview, she was hired right away and received two days of training from Leonard Hooper.

Decoding Enemy Messages

Bletchley Park was one of Britain's most secret organizations. The main job there was to decode and organize thousands of secret enemy messages. Rozanne played a huge part in this work, along with many other women. Her skills in decoding helped to uncover patterns in enemy communications. She also helped confirm important information about their supplies and movements.

Challenges of the Job

In an interview, Rozanne said that working at Bletchley Park was "very hard." She described the work as "monotonous" (meaning repetitive) and "sluggish" (meaning slow). However, she also said that over time, she began to understand the codes better and better.

After the War

After World War II ended, Rozanne continued her secret work. She joined the Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6. Her exact role there is not known to the public. She worked in places like Cairo, Egypt, and Istanbul, Turkey. While there, she helped investigate a "double agent" named Kim Philby. A double agent is someone who secretly works for two opposing sides at the same time.

Her Family Life

In 1946, Rozanne married Halsey Sparrowe Colchester. He later became a vicar, which is a type of priest, in two villages in England: Great Tew and Little Tew. Before that, he worked as a diplomat for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and was in charge of personnel at MI6. Rozanne and Halsey had four sons and one daughter.