Alison Robins

Alison Robins (nee Gerrish) (3 March 1920 – 15 October 2017) was most known for being a Wren, for the WRNS, at Bletchley Park as part of the "Y-Service" [1] in World War II.

Early life

Robins (nee Gerrish) was born in Fleet, Hampshire on 3 March 1920. She was daughter to a servant, who was her father, Edward Arthur Gerrish (28 April 1878 – 7 November 1960), who later married the daughter of the house, Alison Kellie-McCallum (29 September 1887 – 23 May 1975). She grew up attending eight different schools in a vast amount of areas due to her parents' dysfunctional relationship.[2] Alison finally finished her educated where, in 1938, she became certified as a riding instructor [1], as part of the Pony Club. She left school with nearly no qualifications but was said to be "very intelligent" by her daughter, Jill, because of capability to understand both morse and German.

Bletchley Park

As one of the WRNS, Robins was one of the last surviving members [3]of the 'Y-Service' listeners to help take down the Nazis at Bletchley Park. During the Second World War, Robins was said to have been bored serving food at the Royal Navy College, so she taught herself morse code as well as later reading books to be able to teach herself to be able to understand German. Her husband, Maurice, also could speak German and was sent away to Germany in preparation for translating during the Nuremberg Trials.[4] Robins was then recruited by Bletchley Park to work as a 'listener' who was in control of passing the messages from the Nazis onto Station X.

Personal life

Alison met her husband, John Maurice Usher Robins (5 January 1918 – 21 October 1987)[5], on D-Day, when she was working with the WRNS and as he was waiting at the docks, in Folkestone. They had 4 children together: Beatrice Anne, Elizabeth Jill, Rosemary Gay, and Marguerite Suzanne (5 July 1953 – 10 July 1953)[6] who died five days after childbirth. By her death, she had 7 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "Alison Robins, Wren who worked for secret wartime listening service – obituary". 8 November 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2018 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  2. ↑ "Elizabeth-J-Hazell - User Trees - Genealogy.com". www.genealogy.com. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Bletchley Park 'listener' dies". Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "Last Surviving Bletchley Park 'Listener' Dies Aged 97". Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "Elizabeth-J-Hazell - User Trees - Genealogy.com". www.genealogy.com. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "Elizabeth-J-Hazell - User Trees - Genealogy.com". www.genealogy.com. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
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