Codebreaking veteran, 106, on secret to long life

Joan Mace was born in 1919 and worked at the site where the Nazi Enigma code was cracked

A woman who worked at the Bletchley Park codebreaking centre during World War Two is celebrating her 106th birthday.

Joan Mace worked as a teleprinter operator at the site where Alan Turing cracked the Nazi's Enigma code.

Staff at the Cloverleaf Care Home in Lincoln, where Mrs Mace now lives, said she had led a remarkable life.

She has also worked as an Easter egg decorator at Woolworths and ran a 20-bed guest house in Devon.

Joan Mace said her secret to a long life was cycling everywhere and avoiding alcohol

Born on 26 June 1919, Mrs Mace was one of 13 children but grew up in a two-bedroom cottage in Essex.

After she turned 21, she joined the RAF.

She met her husband, Ron, a driver in the Army, in an air raid shelter while she was living in Essex.

She went on to work at Bletchley Park, the Buckinghamshire code-breaking centre, where staff were responsible for decrypting enemy codes.

When asked what her secret to a long and healthy life was, Mrs Mace said, "No alcohol, and cycling as I never learnt how to drive a car."

However, she admitted her "guilty pleasure" was a Marks & Spencer chocolate trifle.

She joined the RAF when she was 21 and went on to work at Bletchley Park

Care home manager Jill Packwood described the birthday girl as "amazing".

"She came to us about a month after her 100th birthday, so we've had the pleasure of celebrating five big birthdays with her, and she absolutely loves all the attention," Ms Packwood said.

She said Mrs Mace was proud to have been involved in operations at Bletchley Park, but remained "very guarded" about what went on there.

"Even at 106, she is not giving away any national secrets," she added.

Ms Packwood said Mrs Mace had a great sense of humour, and was fiercely competitive when it came to bingo.

Ms Packwood said they were planning an afternoon tea party to celebrate her birthday, but the big day also coincided with a Glastonbury party at the care home, featuring a local singer and a "legend's stage".

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