The Woman Who Censored Churchill

by Ruth Ive

During World War II, the only way Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt could communicate was via a top-secret transatlantic telephone link—all other Atlantic telephone cables had been disconnected to prevent the Germans from intercepting information. Ruth Ive, then a young stenographer working in the Ministry of Information, had the job of censoring the line, and she spent the rest of the war listening in to the conversations across the Atlantic, ready to cut the line if anything was said that might compromise security. Ruth was sworn to secrecy about her work, and at the end of the war all documentation proving the existence of the telephone line was destroyed. It was not until 1995, when Churchill’s private files were finally declassified, that Ruth was able to research her story. Now, for the first time, one of World War II's key workers describes the details of her incredible story, and the private conversations of two of the war’s most important players can be revealed.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2009

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming and interesting glimpse of a sliver of WWII history. There must have been thousands of women like Ruth Ive who did vital, high-security work during the war and were promptly forgotten afterwards. Bound by the Official Secrets Act and I suspect by natural modesty, so many women, like those at Bletchley Park, didn't speak about their war work for decades afterwards. Bravo to this author for having the tenacity to search the official records for any sign of recognition of the existence of the highly important service she and the Radio Telephone Service provided, and for the narrative skill to turn her story into this enjoyable short book. It's a unique little slice of London life in the war years for a working woman, told by someone with unique and oblique access to the voice of a beloved wartime Prime Minister. Having bought it in the bookshop at Chartwell, it gave a really personal sense of connection to that fascinating period. (The author has been disappointingly let down by poor editing and proofreading in this edition.)

[Cillian Flood · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's no real shocking revelations that redefine or reveal anything about history in this book. It does have a lot of charm however, by showing the war from the perspective of a relatively ordinary (British) person. Short, comfortable and interesting read. Like the author herself, I'd be interested in hearing more about the opposite sides of the war to compare and contrast against this account.

[PastAllReason · Rating 4 out of 5]

One woman's very personal memoir of her life and work experience in London during WWII. This relatively short book is paced well. She offers glimpses of boring work during the war - reading letter after letter after letter for inappropriate content that would have to be censored. She also brings to life the daily routine of ordinary people during the blitz; this contrasts with her work during the latter part of the war as the "the woman who censored Churchill". In this job, Ive monitored the calls on the wireless telephone line established between Canada, the US and Britain for use by high government officials, and on occasion, royalty living overseas.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, interesting read, but really could have done with an extra going-over. Some of the sentences I had to read two or three times to understand.