A Bridge of Allan family are mourning the death of a much-loved matriarch and veteran of the Allied code-breaking operation during World War Two.
Adelina ‘Lena’ Ferguson, nee Irvine – who started work as a cryptographer at Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, aged 24 – died on April 23 aged 103.
She had moved to the Bield Sheltered Housing in Bridge of Allan aged 99 from her home in Jordanhill in the west end of Glasgow, where she had lived for most of her life, to be closer to family.
Her daughter Ruth, son-in-law Don Rae, granddaughter Karen Rae and great grandson Ethan Aldridge all live in the town.
Lena’s other granddaughter Jacqui McAlpine, who lives in Fife, with husband Kenny and their three children Jasmine, Lachlann and Charlotte, said: “My gran sadly passed away on the fourth birthday of her great granddaughter Charlotte Adele McAlpine, her namesake. So it was a very special, but sad day.
“She was a much loved mother to Ruth, gran to myself and my sister Karen and great gran to Ethan, Jasmine, Lachlann and Charlotte.
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“Adelina had a happy marriage to my grandfather, James Ferguson, till he passed away in 2002.
“She was active and engaged in the world till the very end of her long life and passed away peacefully at home.
“She really enjoyed her final years in the Bield and was a much loved resident and made some good friends there.”
Adelina’s brother George, one-and-a-half years her senior, a pilot in WW2, was shot down over Normandy in 1940 aged 21, and is buried in France. Adelina, a WREN, was at Bletchley Park for two years.
Jacqui added: “At the time she said they had run out of men to recruit and started looking for women with Highers, particularly Maths and German, which my gran had.
“She loved crosswords and puzzles so the post really suited her and she was excited to be part of the war effort.
“She had to sign the secrets act so didn’t speak of her experiences for a long time. It wasn’t until she was 90-years-old that she finally received a medal and certificate from the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, in 2009.
“She spoke about the whirring drums that would produce the letters and the huge Colossus machine and just how she was one little part in the many processes that went on.
“She spoke fondly of the Nissen huts she stayed in with the other WRENs, saying it was great fun and they often snuck into each other’s huts for a tipple after lights out.
“Apart from when one of the huts was bombed and they all had to go without hot water for a week in winter.”
After the war Lena worked for WD&HO Wills, the tobacco merchants, in Glasgow, where she met her husband Jimmy.
They married in 1948, and daughter Ruth was born in 1954. Lena became a ‘housewife’, baking, knitting, sewing. In 1958 they moved to Jordanhill,
Jimmy died in 2002, and Lena stayed on in the house until 2019, when she moved to the Bield sheltered complex in Bridge of Allan to be near Ruth and Don and where her great-grandchildren were regular visitors.
Jacqui said: “Lena loved getting out and visiting charity shops. She especially enjoyed going to Dobbies and meeting up with friends Graham and Morag.
“She will be remembered for her great sense of humour and sharp wit. She enjoyed cake, company and sharing a laugh with friends.”
