Muriel Bogush

Anita and Muriel Bogush were sisters, whose family left Stamford Hill in Hackney, London during the Blitz, to live in Bletchley because their father would not send the girls away alone to be evacuated. Their father knew the family of Angel Dindol, a draper and only known Jewish family in the town at the time. Anita (born in 1924) worked in Block A Naval section from September 1941 to March 1946, and Muriel (born in November 1928) in Hut 4 Naval section ( which she remembers being called “HMS Pembroke V”) from 27th April 1943 till 15th June 1945; but neither knew what the other did till many years after the war, such was the secrecy. Muriel got the job after her older sister recommended her to BP recruiters, but unlike Anita was not allowed to work shifts due to her age. They had to learn naval terms, so leave was “liberty” and you got food in “the galley”. Although not in the navy, Muriel always wore a white blouse and naval skirt to work with the WRENS around her. Her manager was Phoebe Senyard, someone whom she much admired and liked. Their parents Rebecca and Phillip, often invited Jewish personnel to the Friday evening Shabbat meal at their home, 27 Duncan Street, and the Ettinghausen brothers, Joe Gillis and Willy Bloom were frequent guests. Muriel well remembers being shown into “The Mansion” on her first day and shown a security film, followed by a lecture and her signing of the Official Secrets Act. The sisters lived close enough to BP to be able to walk to and from work. A messenger at first, she was soon promoted to the Naval section, where she received the coded German messages and placed a cut out template on top; what showed through she had to copy and send by electric tubes (as used in old drapers shops) on to the decoders. The staff sat on high stools around a long table in the centre of the hut. She also recalls the wind-up scrambling phones used by the section leaders of the hut. Her team were taken in secret to London to view the captured U Boat (U 110) whose fate they had plotted, on one occasion, and this caused great excitement and brought home to them the seriousness of their work. Muriel also knew about the entrances to many underground tunnels and working bunkers at BP (see above) and recalls clearly the visits of both Churchill and Anthony Eden to BP. As the girls kept kosher, they always brought sandwiches to work. Socially life was quite active for them and much entertainment was provided in BP itself. Muriel recalls that as lipstick was scarce, they would melt their remnants into a china eggcup, over a saucepan of hot water, and re-pour back into an old lipstick case! Reckitts Blue (used as a washing whitener) was used as eye shadow. On several occasions, American troops invited groups of the women to their base near Bedford for dances – and she remembers being thrilled to hear the great Glen Miller in person. It was all very proper with total escorting to and from BP in army trucks and a strict curfew, under guard. After VE day, the sisters continued work on the Japanese codes until VJ day in August 1945. In 1995, Muriel went to BP to visit the museum and noticed a photograph of herself in the display; she asked the curator, who had sent it in and she was put in touch, amazingly, with a good friend of hers from BP days, Daphne Skinner. In 1996, whilst on a visit with sister Anita, they were in a group touring the hut where they worked and Muriel happened to mention that they had both worked there. Before they knew it, the guide insisted they address the group; it was quite an occasion.