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Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Baroness Trumpington, Bletchley Park codebreaker and longtime politician, dies at 96

Her son Adam Barker broke the news on Twitter on Monday, writing that "she had a bloody good innings."
Baroness Trumpington served for 37 years in the House of Lords, the second chamber of the British parliament, only retiring in 2017.
Prior to that she also served as a Conservative government minister and party whip, whose role is to maintain party discipline, according to the UK's Press Association.
Baroness Trumpington (left) smoking a cigar with Lord Pendry in 2006
During WWII, she was one of the so-called "Land Girls", who worked to maintain food production during the war, and also worked at the famous Bletchley Park code-breaking facility in naval intelligence.
Fluent in several languages, she helped in cracking messages from Nazi submarines.
After the war she rose through British politics and carved out a reputation as a colorful character.
In 2011 she was recorded making an obscene gesture at another member of the House of Lords.
The incident, apparently provoked by a comment about her age, only added to her reputation as something of a one of a kind.
"I thought I'd been terribly discreet," she said during a 2014 interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "I've never yet discovered where the cameras are in the House of Lords."
News of her death resulted in a wave of tributes, including a tweet from former UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
"So very sad to hear that Baroness Trumpington has passed away. She was one of a kind - they simply don't make politicians like that anymore. She will be sorely missed in Westminster but long remembered for her outstanding ability and great humour. RIP Trumpers," he wrote.

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