Phyllis Kershaw - obituary

The Guardian
Wednesday 28 September 2011

Phyllis Kershaw - obituary
--------------------------

Lillian Stevenson

For the greater part of her life, my mother, Phyllis Kershaw, who has died 
aged 90, devoted her time and energies to being a wife and mother, raising 
a family of four during the 1950s and 60s. Like many others, she kept her 
second world war work secret.

She was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, a tiny baby who was not 
expected to survive. The family moved to Collyhurst, Manchester, and in 
1931 Phyllis won a scholarship to Fairfield high school, Droylsden. In 
1940, during the Manchester blitz, Phyllis and her parents had to rush 
down to the cellar during an air raid, and her mother fell and died from 
her injuries.

Phyllis worked as a Comptometer operator, then joined the Auxiliary 
Territorial Service from which she was recruited into the Y Service
( wireless intelligence ). She was posted to the Isle of Man for six 
months for special morse-code training. Her intelligence and her love of 
crosswords and logic puzzles helped her to pass the stringent exams.

Phyllis was posted to Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire and to the wireless 
station Beaumanor Hall in Leicestershire, intercepting enemy messages 
which were taken to Bletchley Park for decryption. It was an enjoyable 
time for Phyllis, and she was preparing for a posting to India when the 
war ended.

For many years she never told anyone about her work in the war, including 
her husband, Jack, whom she married in 1951. In 2009, the government 
formally recognised the importance of the work and presented Phyllis with 
a commemorative medal..../snip/


http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2011/sep/28/phyllis-kershaw-obituary

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/9/28/1317228978862/Phyllis-Kershaw-007.jpg