Marigold "Margot" McNeely was born in London, England in 1926. She moved from London to a small seaside resort called Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, England. Her mother raised McNeely and her sister. The two girls had a wonderful childhood. They went to school there. She was 13 years of age and at a convent school in Burnham when World War 2 broke out. One of the funny things she recollects from that period was the gas mask training everyone had to undertake at school. The nuns had to conduct classes while wearing a gas mask. It was hilarious. Although the small seaside resort was not a bomber target, they would still have bombs dropped on them by the Germans. The enemy aircraft returned from Bristol, which was one of their targets, and jettisoned their remaining ordnance while flying over the last part of the English coastline. While going to school, McNeely observed huge bomb craters as well as pieces of farm animals hanging from trees. It was frightening. It was necessary to go into shelters when the sirens went off. Food was scarce since it was rationed. Living in the country, McNeely and her family could have fresh eggs, fruit, and other things they grew. The rations were very minimal. During the war, both males and females reaching the age of 18 years could be drafted. McNeely's sister, Jennifer, was working at Cambridge on a project to develop a pesticide to eradicate locusts eating the crops in Africa. McNeely remembers seeing her sister's nails and fingers being orange in color during her research. McNeely is quite sure that the research involved Agent Orange. Jennifer later died of cancer. During those days, there was no knowledge of those type implications. Jennifer was not in the service but was doing work of national importance at Cambridge University. When McNeely heard about the declaration of war between England and Germany, she was 13 years old. She was not aware of the potential danger associated with the news. She did not know how close Britain came to being overrun. Her mother had a concern that she would have to hide her daughters from the invaders. McNeely's mother worked for the Women's Institute and the Red Cross. She rolled bandages by hand for the troops. Many evacuees, including two girls from Czechoslovakia, came to Burnham. The two girls were sent by their parents in Prague to the convent where McNeely was. They would be safer there. Neither of the Czech girls could speak English. Their stories were interesting. Wartime events were kept up with by listening to the radio every night. After the Americans came into the war, several of them were stationed in Burnham. Two of McNeely's friends were twin girls at the convent. Their parents owned a hotel where some American officers were billeted. All three of the girls became friends with the officers. They spoiled the girls by giving them bananas, ice cream, candy, and other things they had not seen in years. One officer, Captain Richardson [Annotator's Note: no given name provided], had a daughter and McNeely began a pen pal relationship with the American girl. After the war, the Richardsons invited McNeely and her sister to visit them in Houston, Texas. That was how McNeely ended up in America. With the bombings going on in England during the war, air raid shelters had to be used. It was a problem for McNeely since she is claustrophobic. The civilian population had Anderson Shelters that were installed underground with a large mound of mud over them to protect those inside from explosions. Everyone had a shelter, particularly in the big towns. They were damp, but the family stocked them with food and blankets. When the sirens went off, everyone went down into the shelters. The wailing siren sound at the end signaled it was time to exit the shelter. While stationed at Bletchley, McNeely received time off. She went to London even though it was dangerous with the bombings. At night, when they were returning to Bletchley, they had to step over the poor people who had to sleep in the Tubes [Annotator's Note: subway] at night. It was cramped but safe down there. People brought food and blankets for their time in the shelter. Sadly, when they emerged in the morning, their residence may have been bombed and no longer existed. When a raid occurred and McNeely had to drop to the pavement, there was broken glass on top. She had to be careful of that danger. She remembers the barrage balloons, the Ack-Ack [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft fire], and searchlights scanning the skies for enemy planes.

Marigold McNeely knew that she could be drafted into the service at age 18 whether she was married or not. That was the case for all young women and men. The Wrens [Annotator's Note: WRNS or Wrens were Women's Royal Naval Service] was the only service that was all voluntary. While 17 and still at her school at the convent, McNeely volunteered to be a Wren. There were examinations required of the new recruits. Before she left school, she was required to take the Oxford or Cambridge Leaving Certificate. Having completed that, she received the call from the Wrens. She went to Scotland to a place called Tallahune [Annotator's Note: Tullichewan] Castle. Wrens were trained there. The castle was surrounded by Nissen huts for the Wren personnel. The girls had their hair cut and received vaccinations. They were issued awful blue jean type uniforms. Since the girls were volunteers, if they could not take the tough training, they could simply go home or be sent back home. After that, the individual was subject to be drafted by one of the other services. McNeely did not like that prospect so she was determined to stick it out through the rough program of training. One of her chores was to scrub the castle stairs with a type of strong acid. One of her peers must have not liked the way McNeely was doing the work. She kicked over McNeely's bucket. McNeely was then forced to start the job all over again from the beginning. The whole training experience was very tough, but McNeely successfully completed it. [Annotator's Note: McNeely chuckles.] She was then sent to another entry point where she was given multiple psychological tests. After a series of interviews, she was sent to Bletchley. She had no idea of the importance of the work she was doing there. The real story was not revealed to her until years later. [Annotator's Note: There is a pause for a drink of water.]

Marigold McNeely was trained to work on the Bombe machine at Bletchley. It was mandatory to be at least five foot, four inches to reach the top of the machine. She was not aware of the other prerequisites to be assigned at the post. She does remember the interview process as being very thorough. There were background checks. The interviewee had to assure the examiner that she could keep secrets. Those being questioned had no idea why they were asked the different things. After the approval for her to be assigned to Bletchley, McNeely had to sign The Official Secrecy Act. It was a scary event since a pistol was placed on the desk where the document was to be signed. Subsequently, McNeely had training on-site at Bletchley before she was posted at Hut 11 where all the Bombes were. The machines were used to break codes. The machines were the first computers. McNeely was trained how to program them. There were specific menus for the front and the back of the machines. There was extensive wiring on the equipment. Each wire had to individually plugged into a specific receptacle location. The menu defined the specific ports to be plugged for that day or even for the individual watch. The watches ran eight hours on and eight hours off duty. Every few weeks, there would be time off. That was the opportunity for the girls to go rushing off to London or wherever. It was hard work in that the wires had to be plugged precisely as the menu required. An officer would inspect the installation after McNeely completed it. He had to assure conformity with the menu. When the machine was turned on, it made a big racket. The hut where McNeely worked had about ten machines in it. The machines had an aisle in the middle. It was constant work. There was a tea canteen that would come by with buns and tea. The buns were hard as rocks but the workers ate them anyway with the tea. With all the noise of the multiple machines running, if one suddenly stopped, it meant that the code had been broken for that day. Everyone let out a cheer of excitement for their success when that occurred. They did not know exactly what they had done because the information would then go to another hut for decoding. In retrospect, prior to Bletchley, the training in Scotland seemed to be approximately six weeks. It was not preparatory for the work in the future. It merely broke the girls into the Navy routine. McNeely still cannot assess what the psychological tests were probing for prior to her Bletchley posting. The girls were all young. At Bletchley, there were mathematicians, professors from Oxford and Cambridge and of course Alan Turing. McNeely never met Turing but would observe him bicycling around the facility. Everyone knew he was a genius, but he did odd things, too. While bicycling around Bletchley Park, which was quite large, he would chain his mug to the radiator because he did not want anyone to steal it. When he was observed bicycling with a gas mask on, people thought that to be strange. It was discovered that he did that because he felt it would help him with his hay fever. There were interesting people and recreational organizations at the Park. McNeely rode the bus to work every day. She stayed in Woburn Abbey and later was billeted in Crawley Grange. Both were beautifully magnificent old mansions. Crawley Grange had been occupied by Cardinal Wolsey [Annotator's Note: Thomas Wolsey] at one time. At Woburn Abbey, the beautiful wood flooring and paneling remained but all the artwork had been removed prior to it being used as a billet. The large room had about 20 camp beds for the personnel. The beds were separate from the bathrooms. McNeely was fortunate to be in the peaceful country atmosphere. The bus ride to her work took about 20 minutes. Personnel were distributed away from Bletchley because of the desire not to have all personnel lost if an attack on the facility were to occur. The outstations could carry on the work. McNeely would be posted to one of these called Eastcote. The environment changed considerably. The Wrens [Annotator's Note: WRNS or Wrens was the Women's Royal Naval Service] lived on the site in cabins each of which had approximately 30 girls in them. They slept in bunk beds. McNeely has a photograph of the cabin which includes statements from some of the girls written on the back of it. Conditions were not as pleasant as they had been previously in the country. Eastcote was on the Tube [Annotator's Note: subway] line that would enable travel to and from London. Bletchley Park was a huge area. The mansion or main house was owned by a family named Leon. The decor inside was beautiful though much of the artwork and furniture had been removed. The workers were bused there and security was tight. The machines were maintained by RAF [Annotator's Note: Royal Air Force] technicians. When the Americans came in, some of the signalmen came to work at Bletchley. There was a lot of fun when the Americans came. [Annotator's Note: McNeely chuckles.] They livened things up a lot with the dances and entertainment. McNeely was at Bletchley for nine months or a year and then went to Eastcote. Afterward, there was another posting at what might have been Stanwell on the outskirts of London. This was part of the plan to disperse the decoding effort. Churchill [Annotator's Note: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill] said the Wrens were the geese that laid the golden egg but never cackled. He visited Bletchley, but McNeely never saw him. He would receive constant communication from Bletchley while he was in his bunker. McNeely and all the others loved Churchill. He kept their spirits high and motivated the population with his optimism about eventually winning the war. The King and Queen stayed in London, and they were very much admired. Their daughter worked in the ATS or American Transport Service. She maintained and drove lorries, trucks. Buckingham Place was bombed. When there was a large raid, the Royal couple would go among the people in the ruins to comfort them. The populace was very encouraged with their leadership and presence. McNeely was frightened when she saw the gun on the table prior to signing the Secrecy Act before her posting at Bletchley. A few Wrens had breakdowns. It could have been due to the pressure. They could not go home because of the secrecy. They went to mental hospitals instead. McNeely knew two girls who were sent there. It was so sad. She does not the ultimate outcome of their treatment or how long it lasted. The machines at Bletchley had huge discs that were called drums. They had tiny wires that extended from them. As the program was run, the drums rotated and the wires clicked as they went around. The letters of the alphabet were on the machine. The menu defined an exact alignment that was necessary for the program. Going from the top to the bottom, there were about eight layers of them. Next, the wires in the back of the machine had to be plugged up according to the menu. There were vast numbers of wires and plugs of varying colors. On a recent return to Bletchley, McNeely and another Wren, whom she did not know, were requested to give a demonstration on a Bombe that had been built like the original ones. All the originals were destroyed after the war. It was a hilarious experience because the women were shorter than during the war plus the details of what they had done in the war had been lost over time. Following victory, the girls had been told to forget all about their work and not discuss it. When shifts changed, the machines might be carrying on with an unsolved program. In that case, McNeely would merely take over from the other Wren. When the machines stopped, the menu had to be reset to start the machines over again. At the reunion, a menu was provided similar to the ones given to them during the war. Nevertheless, it was so hard to remember how to properly set the machines. The Wrens could not talk about their work after their shift at Bletchley. Their main topics revolved around boys [Annotator's Note: McNeely laughs] and what they were going to do when they were off. McNeely has a friend who worked in another department. She has no idea what the friend did at work. Neither does her friend know what McNeely did. Nothing about the work was even discussed with the people at the same work location. Nothing was talked about at the food breaks. The food was greasy and not very good. There was pressure with the work, but it did not prevent McNeely from sleeping.

Marigold McNeely went to London when she was afforded a long weekend leave. They liked the American canteens because the food and entertainment was much better. She and a friend would bicycle to the dances in their evening dresses. Sometimes an American truck would pick them up. On one occasion, they heard Glenn Miller and his band perform. They did not know who Glenn Miller was but they enjoyed his music. It was a wonderful time. The Americans seemed to be very glamorous. They had much nicer uniforms than the poor Brits did. The British servicemen did not like the Americans because they were stealing the British girls. There was a saying about them being "over there" and "oversexed." McNeely had a wonderful time with them. [Annotator's Note: She laughs.] When the girls went to London, they went to the Palais-De-Danse. It had a huge mirror ball that revolved and flashed beautiful lights. It was a famous place. It would have been a perfect target for a bombing. The sights and smells in London following a bombing were terrible. Coming up from the air raid shelter, there would be bomb craters, barrage balloons and ruins. It was terrible. McNeely heard V-1 and V-2 bombs. When they did, they had to drop to the ground. Those weapons were scary. There was an awful screaming noise as they descended. It could not be predicted where they would hit. When the engine cut off, they were coming down. The ground would shutter when they hit even though London is built on solid ground. McNeely did not know she was claustrophobic prior to those days. She had to go into the shelter and just bear it rather than complain. At one point when she was about 13 years old, her mother urged her to go to the shelter. McNeely refused and said she would rather die in bed. Her family would not allow that. [Annotator's Note: McNeely laughs.] She must have realized at that point that she was claustrophobic. McNeely remembers the big events of the war. D-Day occurred while she was staying with her aunt in Devon. American bases surrounded the location where her aunt lived. [Annotator's Note: Specific location could not be discerned.] Bovey Tracey was where the Americans were located. Unannounced, all the military vehicles were heading in one direction. Troops were not allowed off base. It was strange with all the Americans waving as they departed despite not knowing where they were bound. McNeely had an American friend who was in the Battle of the Bulge. He was taken prisoner. He was a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne. He had something in his pocket that stopped a bullet. The soldier ended up in a hospital in Bristol. McNeely's mother did not want her to visit the hospital because of the sight of all the terribly wounded men. When McNeely visited her friend, she saw some horribly wounded men. No one wanted to talk about their experiences in the war. Her paratrooper friend would eventually be sent back home to the United States. His name was Marshall Prentice. She had met him at a dance. He was not at Bletchley. She has his contact information but never followed up with a subsequent conversation. With all the rationing that was imposed, holiday celebrations often required saving ration stamps over long periods of time so that a cake could be baked. The British had a Christmas fruit cake with marzipan and icing. A tree would be decorated without lights. Holley would be hung. Paper chains and bells would be strung. Young people would go caroling and be invited in for a bite of mince pie and a cup from the wassel bowl. They had been saving their rations forever to provide those treats given in gratitude. Clothing was rationed also. An overcoat would take six months worth of rations. Shoes had to be re-soled multiple times. Folks looked rather raggedy. McNeely did have her uniform. [Annotator's Note: She was a member of the WRNS or Wrens which was the Women's Royal Naval Service]. With all the secrecy of her work, she was still permitted to date. The partners were mainly service people. In London, most of the men residing there were old Home Guard types as well as foreign troops and representatives. McNeely had young friends who were taken from their homes in London and sent to the countryside for their protection. They packed a small bag and brought their gas masks to escape the bombings of the city. They had never seen farm animals before then. It was all rather sad.

Marigold McNeely remembers quite a celebration for the end of the war. For V-E Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945], she was in Cambridge with her sister. It was a wild celebration with everyone getting drunk. Service people were all excited. McNeely was in London for V-J Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day]. The city was crammed with people. It was impossible to move. There was singing and flag waving everywhere. She was close to Buckingham Palace in London for the celebration. Just because the war had ended, she was not released from service. She was sent to Chatham where she worked on secret work down in the tunnels. It was not with the Bombe. McNeely was bused to that work location. She had a friend in the British Navy who managed to get her transferred from that assignment. She wore black shoes with black stockings. She had blisters on her feet from the shoes and the black dye got into them. She ended up with some nasty sores on her feet as a result. That, plus the fact that she was claustrophobic, resulted in her friend, a surgeon, being able to get her a transfer to Horsham. That was known as HMS Royal Arthur and was where the new entries in the British Navy went to be categorized. Her job was in the psychology department giving the paperwork to the young recruits. Some of them were just 14 or 15 year old boys who were about to enter the British Navy after the war. They all said they were claustrophobic despite not knowing what that meant. They did not want to be stokers but, if the Navy needed stokers, many of them became just that. They stoked the fires in the bottom of the ships. For recreation, they [Annotator's Note: McNeely and the other WRENS or Women's Royal Naval Service] played hockey against the British Naval field officers. There were different departments that worked there. They met Prince Philip [Annotator's Note: Prince Philip would become consort of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain] when he played hockey there. They disliked him because he would bash their legs during the competition. They did not realize why he was rushing up and down to London until they received the word that he was courting Elizabeth. Another funny incident occurred on Armistice Day which is 11 November. She and a friend were given boxes of poppies to sell for the occasion. The girls bicycled to the petty officer's mess where they intended to sell poppies. They were given strong Navy rum or sippers. They could hardly remount their bicycles after they left. The next stop was the captain's quarters. She had too much to drink. She tried to put one of the large poppies meant to place on a car in the captain's lapel. She must have smelled of the rum because she was told she had to report to the captain's defaulter. She was sent back home but had to return to see her punishment. A few days later, she was escorted before the captain as the only WREN who had been required to come before a captain's defaulter. She was given the option for her punishment of losing a week's wages or going to the brig. She was crying during the experience but selected going to the brig because she did not want to lose her wages. Nevertheless, she was told that the wages would be garnished because they would not send her to the brig. It was a funny experience. While at Bletchley, McNeely had no other rank beside being a WREN. She wore a patch which designated her as a writer. The WRENS were only allowed to tell their families that they were involved in very important work. The secrecy surrounding their work was justified because of the risk of invasion. If taken prisoner, the WRENS would only be able to explain what they specifically did and not that portion of work in relationship to the overall decoding process. Individuals involved in the project did not know what the others did or how it related to their specific portion of work. McNeely had to wait about a year after the war until her number came up so that she could be discharged.

Marigold McNeely and her sister Jennifer had been invited by an American officer named Captain Richardson [Annotator's Note: no given name provided] to visit his family in Houston after the war. McNeely had planned to be trained in occupational therapy. Her sister was being trained in physiotherapy. McNeely decided to go to America for the visit, but her sister declined the opportunity. McNeely visited with the Richardsons in Houston for six months and got a green card. She obtained a job in a storefront telling time after reading an ad with her British accent. She did this despite not being authorized to work in America. There was a write-up in the paper about her and the job. The immigration people picked up on the story. She was almost deported as a consequence of her working illegally. She was not sent back to England; however, her mother became sick with cancer and McNeely was asked to return to England. She got a passage on a ship called the Doctor Lykes. It was a freighter out of Houston that carried 12 passengers. That was the passenger limit before a doctor was required to be assigned to the ship. It was winter and people were bundled up in their coats with the cold. Friends came to see her off. McNeely's future husband was the first officer aboard the ship. His cousin was the ship's second officer. Richard, McNeely's future husband, pointed her out to his cousin and claimed her for himself. Another young woman was selected by Richard's cousin. The remaining passengers were either elderly or males. For dinner that night, the passengers had removed their coats. Richard told his cousin, Jimmy, that he would not like his selection. The woman Jimmy had picked was pregnant. [Annotator's Note: McNeely laughs.] McNeely and Richard decided on the voyage to get married. They stayed a few days in Liverpool and then McNeely went to see her mother. Her mother never had the chance to meet her daughter's prospective husband. He was on the ship supervising loading whisky. The crew would break bottles and steal the whisky otherwise. McNeely stayed in England for over six months. Richard went to Shanghai and visited McNeely's uncle there. They met and had a good time while he was there. The couple returned to the United States and got married in Holy Rosary Church in New Orleans. That was after they had previously been married by a judge in Chalmette. The earlier ceremony was because the Merchant Marine was not considered part of the military during the war. They had been attacked by submarines and enemy aircraft, but they still were not deemed to be in the military. Consequently, the Army wanted her fiancé. He could only get out of the obligation if he was ill or married. The engage couple decided to go ahead and get married three months before their church wedding so that he would not have to join the Army. It was sad that the Merchant Marine was treated like that. He was a lieutenant(jg) [Annotator's Note: lieutenant (junior grade)] and probably could have gone into the Navy. He wanted submarines but was lucky not to get the assignment. They were married, lived in New Orleans, and raised four children. Her husband became a river pilot. They bought a farm in Waldheim. It was a dairy farm at one time. McNeely lived there while her husband worked on the river. They recently sold the 33 acre property and moved to Covington [Annotator's Note: Covington, Louisiana]. Richard raised cattle and McNeely raised quarter horses and great Danes. She showed both of them. They also had chickens. When the grandchildren came, they had a wonderful time. It took 30 years before McNeely could open up about her experiences at Bletchley. That was because of the Secrecy Act she signed. A friend in England called her and said that a book about Bletchley and what they did had been published. The experiences all came out as people began to talk about it. Her mother never knew what her daughter did during the war. She had passed before the information was released. Bletchley was almost in ruins and the location had been selected as a building site. Now with the publicity, donations, the lottery, and trust funds, the facility is being refurbished. The hut that McNeely worked in, Hut 11, was just being refurbished and painted when she returned there three years prior to the interview. Now it is all up and working as it was during the war. She has a photograph in front of the hut. The wartime wooden huts had all started to rot until the refurbish efforts. McNeely's first return to Bletchley was about five or six years prior to the interview. She took her daughter, niece and granddaughter there. She took another granddaughter there a year before the interview. She plans to return another time. Reunions are limited because of the lack of physical endurance of most of the Bletchley veterans. She looks forward to the trip. She does not worry about any bombs or other risks while she travels. She had to be a fatalist during the war.