‘Moneypenny with more power’: book celebrates UK’s forgotten female spies

Kathleen Pettigrew, who oversaw communications to Bletchley Park and attended secret wartime meetings with Winston Churchill. Photograph: Dr Richard Warner

For decades, their work has been hidden from view, their names missing from the history books.

Now, a new book is seeking to shine a light on the secret and unacknowledged contributions of female spies who worked for MI6 in the early 20th century, and establish their place in history using previously classified evidence and newly unearthed documents.