International Women's Day: Portsmouth High School reveal a plaque for Bletchley Park's Margaret Rock

A plaque was today (March 8) unveiled at Portsmouth High School to mark the work of Margaret Rock, one of 8,000 female mathematicians who played a pivotal role decoding enemy messages using the Enigma machine.

The former student of the private girls’ school was recruited by the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park in 1940, where she trained and worked alongside mathematicians and professors to break and decode enemy messages with the Enigma machine. She was considered by Dilwyn Knox, chief cryptographer, to be one of the best in the whole Enigma staff and 'as useful as some of the professors'. Margaret received a promotion to the grade of 'linguist', the closest a woman could get to being called a codebreaker and was awarded an MBE in 1945. Her life is commemorated in Kerry Howard's book Dear Codebreaker. She died in 1983.

Portsmouth City Council and Portsmouth High School joined up to celebrate her pioneering work.

A blue plaque has been officially unveiled at the old entrance of the school which pays tribute to Margaret, her work and her history with the city. The event was attended by Portsmouth City councillors, students, the headmistress and those who wanted to mark Margaret’s achievements through her life, as well as acknowledging the importance of International Women’s Day.

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City councillor and Portsmouth High School alumna, Suzy Horton, said: ‘I genuinely wonder what women like Margaret Rock would make of International Women’s Day. I was just reflecting on what an absolute extraordinary achievement this was and I am reminded of the importance of education – opening doors and creating life chances and creating opportunities for girls, even today.

‘I am so proud of the fantastic events around the city to celebrate the incredible women in our society and to inspire those of all ages. Whether you're five or 50, you should believe in your capabilities and know that you can achieve anything you put your mind to, regardless of your gender. There is still a lot more to do, we still have a long way to go.’

Headmistress Jane Prescott said: ‘We are very proud, we feel really happy to be chosen as the place to have this plaque for Margaret.

Of course we are very proud to have the association with Margaret because she was a pioneer. She lost her father and brother during the war and never married which was what happened to a lot of women at that time, they lost the men in their lives – It probably pushed her at that time to pursue a career.

‘They got into jobs and industries that they got fascinated with and that then became their lives.’

Krysia Butwilowska, chair of governors at Portsmouth High School, added: ‘I feel very very proud to be part of a successful and forward thinking school and Margaret really embodies that.’

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