Jan Slimming
Contact Information
(404) 428-7170
Bio
After twenty-five years in the British publishing industry, I often thought I would like to one day write a book, but felt I had nothing to write about. Now I have three. It started in 2012 when I met Janice Martin Benario - A WAVE during World War II and an American Codebreaker. She encouraged me to fully research my mother's secret World War II story at Bletchley Park - known as the home of the British Codebreakers.
My mother, Daisy Lawrence, worked there, I discovered, from 1943 to the end of 1945. She was part of a codebreaking and message analysis team where intercepted enemy messages were read. As well as manual calculation, logic and luck, the codebreaking process included working with the faster computer inventions of Alan Turing and other brilliant mathematicians, cryptologists and engineers. The most famous German cipher to be broken during that time is Enigma, but there were other secret ciphers.
The continuous work at Bletchley Park led to various inventions including the first electronic computer in the world. Because the work was so secret, few knew of the achievements, or that Bletchley Park's codebreaking and analysis also aided America and helped to shorten the war by more than two years. Their work saved countless lives, including that of my father who was a Far East Prisoner of War from 1942-1945. His secret diary has been recovered and after additional research, is now published in a third book, written with my twin sister, Jill Robertson.
CODEBREAKER GIRLS: A Secret Life at Bletchley Park
CODEBREAKER GIRLS: The Secret Life of an American Codebreaker
CAPTURED AT SINGAPORE: A Diary of a Far East Prisoner of War
Presentation: "Jan Slimming's HIDDEN SECRETS COLLECTION OF WORLD WAR II"
CODEBREAKER GIRLS: A Secret Life at Bletchley Park
CODEBREAKER GIRLS: The Secret Life of an American Codebreaker
CAPTURED AT SINGAPORE: A Diary of a Far East Prisoner of War
Run time: Each of three listed presentations above 40 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes - depending on questions.
Technical Requirements
Microphone, Power point screen connected to my laptop.
Locations and Travel
Main base: Atlanta, USA; Toronto, Canada; London or Manchester UK; Sydney, Aus; Auckland or Queenstown NZ. If traveling to an event where an additional overnight stay is necessary, a contribution is appreciated.