CALGARY – Marion Booth was just 17 years old when she began her work as a decoder in the Second World War, and was celebrated Tuesday with the Bletchley Park Commemorative Badge in recognition of her “vital, secret service,” as an employee of Britain’s Government Code and Cypher School.
In 1944, Booth joined the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (the “Wrens”) in Ontario. In spring 1945, she began intercepting Japanese radio messages—typing code on a Japanese typewriter.
When the war ended, Booth was sent to Russia, and sworn to secrecy for 25 years. There, she gathered and interpreted information obtained from the Soviet Union. Despite her pivotal role in two major conflicts, Booth remains very modest.
“I don’t think I ever really knew what my work ended up, where it ended up or why,” she said. “But I knew somebody somewhere was taking care of it.”
Booth moved to Calgary in 1972. She has three children and says none of them really asked about her work–so she never had to lie to them.
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