Meet Jan
Jan Slimming is an award-winning author and former publishing professional in the British educational and international publishing industry. CODEBREAKER GIRLS: A Secret Life at Bletchley Park is her first book, followed by CODEBREAKER GIRLS: The Secret Life of an American Codebreaker and CAPTURED AT SINGAPORE: A Diary of a Far East Prisoner of War. As Director of three companies, she chaired committees and fund-raising initiatives in aid of children’s education before delving into historical research. Born in London, she was six when she first heard about Bletchley Park, but it was decades later that secrets about this wartime facility were revealed, and she was compelled to research and write about this little-known part of her mother’s life. Jan is a member of Atlanta Writers Club (Est.1914) and an active member of her community in local events and WWII matters, of which she also writes with her twin sister. Jan has first class-qualifications from the Royal Society of Arts in English, Business and Publishing from Wimbledon College and the University of the Arts (formerly London College of Printing and Graphic Arts). She lives in Atlanta, GA, with her husband and growing family.
About the Book
“What would it be like to keep a secret for fifty years? Never telling your parents, your children, or even your husband?”
Codebreaker Girls: A Secret Life at Bletchley Park tells the true story of Daisy Lawrence. Following extensive research, the author uses snippets of information, unpublished photographs and her own recollections to describe scenes from her mother’s poor, but happy, upbringing in London, and the disruptions caused by the outbreak of the Second World War to a young woman in the prime of her life.
The author asks why, and how, Daisy was chosen to work at the Government war station, as well as the clandestine operation she experienced with others, deep in the British countryside, during a time when the effects of the war were felt by everyone. In addition, the author examines her mother’s personal emotions and relationships as she searches for her young fiancée, who was missing in action overseas. The three years at Bletchley Park were Daisy’s university, but having closed the door in 1945 on her hidden role of national importance — dealing with Germany, Italy and Japan — this significant period in her life was camouflaged for decades in the filing cabinet of her mind. Now her story comes alive with descriptions, original letters, documents, newspaper cuttings and unique photographs, together with a rare and powerful account of what happened to her after the war.
