Noarroyo

Gone Girls: The Forgotten Women of Bletchley Park

Introduction

For this assignment I researched five different women who all worked in Bletchley Park during World War II. In this paper I will go in-depth about my experience researching these women, utilizing several academic sources to back my findings. I have decided to only included my most relevant Wikipedia edits in this submission. However, the entirety of my edits for this assignment are available on Wikipedia.

Eleanor Ireland

The first page I managed to contribute to was Eleanor Ireland; an academically excellent child who dreamed of becoming an architect. However, due to the war breaking out, Ireland instead was forced to work in Bletchley Park. In an interview given to her in 2001 she discusses the difficulties she faced when looking to enter architecture school.

I expanded her page by adding more details regarding her early life. The interview I referenced was formatted as a manuscript. On the front page of the document it clearly states that the material is available for research purposes, and it even has the interview pre-cited for those looking to utilize its contents. Below are my contributions:

“At school, Ireland received distinctions in English language, English literature, French, and Biology. After she finished school, Ireland moved to London in hopes of studying architecture. Despite being accepted into Regent Street School of Architecture, she ultimately did not attend because of World War II. Ireland believed it would be a waste of money to attend architecture school and risk being sent to war. She instead chose to work at a friend's philatelic shop on Chancery Lane until 1944.”

I believe my contributions to Eleanor Ireland’s page proved that I have the ability to actively engage in participatory culture. Many scholars debate the importance of participation, stating that individuals who post original ideas and content hold more power than those who simply view content and do not respond. Individuals who monitor media but do not actively alter it are called lurkers. As mentioned in Spreadable Media, “a ‘lurker’ provides value to people sharing commentary or producing multimedia content by expanding the audience and potentially motivating their work.” I do not identify as a lurker. Instead, my altercations to Wikipedia lead me to believe that I am instead an active member of participatory culture.

Rosalind Hudson

The next woman I researched was Rosalind Hudson. Hudson, like Eleanor Ireland, also wanted to become an architect. On her page I expanded the “Early Life” section by giving background her family, as well as her involvements with Bletchley Park in WWII. The first detail I touched on was Hudson’s grandfather. He already had a Wikipedia page because he was the architect who designed the Royal Liver Building. I felt excited to make this connection. Doing this linked together two completely different historical individuals. I was able to find out that Hudson was stationed in both Bletchley Park and Woburn Abbey during the war. However, I was not able to acquire any further information about her experiences because she refused to talk about them.

"Being the granddaughter of Walter Aubrey Thomas, who designed the Royal Liver Building, Hudson also constructed architectural models. [1] Hudson attempted to further her career in architecture at the Liverpool School of Art, but she eventually dropped out during World War II to join the Women's Royal Naval Service. Hudson was stationed in Bletchley Park and Woburn Abbey for the duration of the war."

Audrey Ruth Briggs

I found an image of Audrey Ruth Briggs online but it was copyrighted. I sent a message to the owner and asked him if it would be possible to use his image. I am still awaiting a response.

Margaret Allen

On Margaret Allen’s page I changed the subheadings in order to make her biography flow better. The first altercation I made was under “career”. First I created a subheading and labeled it “Racing Driver”, and then I proceeded to move all of the information about her driving career there. Next, I created a WWII subheading and briefly wrote about her contributions to Bletchley Park.

“During the Second World War she served as an ambulance driver, and was later posted to Bletchley Park.”

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Screenshot of message

Reflection

“Research itself on gender portrayal is replete with masculine bias owning to male-oriented conventions of writing and data collection” (Nowak, Pg. 13, 2010). I believe this quote is extremely relevant to what I have come to realize. After researching the forgotten women of Bletchley Park, I am very aware of the fact that many women did not receive recognition for their services, and gender has everything to do with why.

From a personal standpoint, I believe my contributions to Wikipedia prove that I have the ability to actively engage in participatory culture. Although engagement is a rather arbitrary concept, my involvement is more prevalent than most, or at least it is according to several different authors.

Many scholars debate the importance of participation, stating that individuals who post original ideas and content hold more power than those who simply view content and do not respond. Individuals who monitor media but do not actively alter it are called lurkers. As mentioned in Spreadable Media, “a ‘lurker’ provides value to people sharing commentary or producing multimedia content by expanding the audience and potentially motivating their work.” (Jenkins, Ford, Green, pg 157, 2012 ).

In conclusion, my research has granted me the confidence to make the following statement: I do not identify as a lurker. Instead, my altercations to Wikipedia lead me to believe that I am, in fact, an active member of participatory culture. Adding onto this, I also have realized that women are historically undervalued and that we must be more aware their excellence.