Elizabeth Watkins (writer)
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Watkins is an English
author, brought up in Kenya, where here parents had started a coffee farm outside Nairobi
, and later educated at St Anne's College, Oxford.
In 1941, aged just 18, she falsified her age in order to join up with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
as a cypher officer. Serving in Cairo at the height of the Eighth Army's
she worked at the Heliopolis
signals base and other secret locations translating top secret signals for the British High Command, including relaying intercepted German Ultra
traffic, intelligence considered so secret that it was not even shared directly with the other Allies. Later posted to Kenya
to be with her dying father
, she was then sent to the Seychelles, where she supported the dangerous work of the Catalina
crews of the Canadian
and allied air forces, flying vital anti-submarine missions to protect the sea routes to India. Subsequently volunteering for further active service she was posted to Caserta
to do cyphers for the Allied advance into Southern Italy
.
She now lives in Oxfordshire.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
author, brought up in Kenya, where here parents had started a coffee farm outside Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, and later educated at St Anne's College, Oxford.
In 1941, aged just 18, she falsified her age in order to join up with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
as a cypher officer. Serving in Cairo at the height of the Eighth Army's
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
she worked at the Heliopolis
Heliopolis (Cairo Suburb)
Modern Heliopolis is a district in Cairo, Egypt. The city was established in 1905 by the Heliopolis Oasis Company, headed by the Belgian industrialist Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Empain, as well as Boghos Nubar, son of the Egyptian Prime Minister Nubar Pasha.-History:The Baron Empain, a well known...
signals base and other secret locations translating top secret signals for the British High Command, including relaying intercepted German Ultra
Ultra
Ultra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...
traffic, intelligence considered so secret that it was not even shared directly with the other Allies. Later posted to Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
to be with her dying father
Father
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
, she was then sent to the Seychelles, where she supported the dangerous work of the Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
crews of the Canadian
Canadian Forces Air Command
The Royal Canadian Air Force , formerly Canadian Forces Air Command, is one of three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
and allied air forces, flying vital anti-submarine missions to protect the sea routes to India. Subsequently volunteering for further active service she was posted to Caserta
Caserta
Caserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range...
to do cyphers for the Allied advance into Southern Italy
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
.
She now lives in Oxfordshire.
Books
- Jomo's Jailor - Grand Warrior of Kenya with a forward by Elspeth HuxleyElspeth HuxleyElspeth Joscelin Huxley CBE was a polymath, writer, journalist, broadcaster, magistrate, environmentalist, farmer, and government advisor. She wrote 30 books; but she is best known for her lyrical books The Flame Trees of Thika and The Mottled Lizard which were based on her experiences growing up...
(1993) Mulberry Books. ISBN 978-0952895206- A Biography of 'Wouse' (Leslie Whitehouse) a colonial administrator and the District CommissionerDistrict CommissionerA District Commissioner is an executive post in Malawi for the appointee in charge of the Districts or administrative localities in Malawi. There are 28 Districts in Malawi. The role is similar to that of a governor. The position of DC is appointed by the President of Malawi...
in Turkana, KenyaTurkanaTurkana may refer to:* Turkana people of Kenya and Ethiopia* Turkana language of Kenya and Ethiopia* Lake Turkana in Kenya* Lake Turkana National Parks* Turkana District in Kenya* the fictional world of Turkana IV in a Star Trek Next Generation episode...
in the mid-1950s at the time Jomo KenyattaJomo KenyattaJomo Kenyattapron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation....
was interned by the British in LokitaungLokitaungLokitaung is a settlement in Kenya's Rift Valley Province....
and then LodwarLodwarLodwar is the largest town in northwestern Kenya, located west of Lake Turkana on the A1 road. Its main industries are basket weaving and tourism. The Loima Hills lie to its west. Lodwar is the capital of Turkana District...
. Responsible for holding him safely in captivity, Whitehouse formed a friendship with Kenyatta which subsequently influenced Kenyatta's outlook and relationship with white Kenyans.
- A Biography of 'Wouse' (Leslie Whitehouse) a colonial administrator and the District Commissioner
- Oscar from Africa - The Biography of Oscar Ferris Watkins 1877-1943 (1995) Radcliff press, London. ISBN 1-85043-948-6
- The Biography of O.F. WatkinsOscar Ferris WatkinsOscar Ferris Watkins was a British colonial administrator, Commandant of the East African Carrier Corps in the First World War...
, Colonial Administrator and Commandant of the 400,000 – strong Carrier CorpsCarrier CorpsThe Carrier Corps was a military organisation created in Kenya in World War I to provide military labour to support the British campaign against the German Military forces in East Africa, commanded by Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck....
in the East African campaignEast African Campaign (World War I)The East African Campaign was a series of battles and guerrilla actions which started in German East Africa and ultimately affected portions of Mozambique, Northern Rhodesia, British East Africa, Uganda, and the Belgian Congo. The campaign was effectively ended in November 1917...
in the First World War;
- The Biography of O.F. Watkins
- Olga in Kenya - Repressing the Irrepressible (2005) Pen Press, London, ISBN 1-905203-74-8
- A biography of Olga Watkins, (née GrohmanWilliam Adolf Baillie GrohmanWilliam Adolph Baillie Grohman, was an Anglo-Austrian author of works on the Tyrol and the history of hunting, big game sportsman and Kootenay pioneer.-Biography:...
), a former British debutante from an Anglo-Austrian family who went out to KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
in 1914 to farm. Widowed at 25 when her husband, Douglas Thompson, was killed in the battle of KisumuEast African Campaign (World War I)The East African Campaign was a series of battles and guerrilla actions which started in German East Africa and ultimately affected portions of Mozambique, Northern Rhodesia, British East Africa, Uganda, and the Belgian Congo. The campaign was effectively ended in November 1917...
, she was recruited for her fluent German by the nefarious Richard MeinertzhagenRichard MeinertzhagenColonel Richard Henry Meinertzhagen CBE DSO was a British soldier, intelligence officer and ornithologist.- Background and youth :Meinertzhagen was born into a socially connected, wealthy British family...
to help in intelligence work. An energetic pioneer, farmer and social worker, she became the first woman member of the NairobiNairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
City council, and a member of the Kenya Legislative Council, being elected to take the seat previously held by the murdered Lord ErrollJosslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of ErrollJosslyn Victor Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll and 5th Baron Kilmarnock was a British peer, famed for the unsolved case surrounding his murder and the sensation it caused during wartime Britain.-Early life:Hay was the eldest son of the diplomat Victor Hay, Lord Kilmarnock and his wife...
. As the first director of Women's Education in Kenya she was a staunch advocate of rights and education facilities for African woman.
- A biography of Olga Watkins, (née Grohman
Autobiographical
- Cypher Officer - in Cairo, Kenya, Caserta (2008) Pen Press ISBN 978-1-906206-27-7.
- A first hand account of the author's own experiences in the Second World War as an RAF Cypher officer in the WAAFWomen's Auxiliary Air ForceThe Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
s, using the British version of the Enigma machineEnigma machineAn Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
.
- A first hand account of the author's own experiences in the Second World War as an RAF Cypher officer in the WAAF
See also
- Carrier CorpsCarrier CorpsThe Carrier Corps was a military organisation created in Kenya in World War I to provide military labour to support the British campaign against the German Military forces in East Africa, commanded by Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck....
- Jomo KenyattaJomo KenyattaJomo Kenyattapron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation....
- History of KenyaHistory of KenyaAs part of East Africa, the territory of what is now Kenya has seen human habitation since the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic. The Bantu expansion from a West African center of dispersal reached the area by the 1st millennium AD...
- Richard MeinertzhagenRichard MeinertzhagenColonel Richard Henry Meinertzhagen CBE DSO was a British soldier, intelligence officer and ornithologist.- Background and youth :Meinertzhagen was born into a socially connected, wealthy British family...
- William Adolf Baillie GrohmanWilliam Adolf Baillie GrohmanWilliam Adolph Baillie Grohman, was an Anglo-Austrian author of works on the Tyrol and the history of hunting, big game sportsman and Kootenay pioneer.-Biography:...
- Grandfather