A new Blue Plaque was unveiled today by Cheltenham’s Mayor, Cllr Martin Horwood.
The plaque – at ‘Homestead’ in Swindon Village – commemorates the life of Mary Margery Body, a Bletchley Park and GCHQ codebreaker. Her contributions to British intelligence during and after World War II remained unrecognised during her lifetime. But her story has since emerged as a testament to her service and commitment to our national security.
Mary was recruited to Bletchley Park for cypher work by Dilwyn Knox and worked in The Cottage there from 1940, contributing to breaking the German Enigma codes – a critical intelligence effort that helped shorten the war by at least two years. Her work involved long, repetitive tasks that played a key role in intercepting enemy communications – including those related to German submarine movements during the Battle of the Atlantic. Being competent in Italian, she probably worked on Italian traffic too.
After World War II, Mary continued her intelligence work with GCHQ, including a posting to Australia and two detachments to Washington, DC.
Settling in Cheltenham in 1957, Mary bought Homestead in Church Road, Swindon Village, where she developed a garden that became her passion. She was also the first contributor to the Swindon Village History Project, and actively supported local heritage and community engagement. She died in 2001 and was buried in St Lawrence Churchyard, close to her home.
Cheltenham Mayor, Cllr Martin Horwood, said: “Mary’s story is typical of so many that bind Cheltenham to the history of both Bletchley Park and its successor GCHQ, so important both to our town and our country. It’s wonderful that the Civic Society blue plaque now recognises her contribution, which she herself kept dutifully secret for so long.”
Cheltenham Civic Society Chair, Andrew Booton, said: “This Blue Plaque is the first one in the town to mark the contributions made by those who worked at Bletchley Park and GCHQ. Mary Body was one of our town’s many unsung heroes who worked in complete secrecy, and we are honoured to commemorate her life’s work.”
Cheltenham Civic Society has created two Google maps that anyone can use to explore the town to find all of our plaques and learn about the people and events that helped to shape Cheltenham. Links to the maps – for both Blue (people) and Green (events) plaques – can be found on the Commemorative Plaques page on the Society’s website.
