A SKILLED wartime code breaker has been honoured for her crucial role in cracking secret German and Italian battle instructions.

Jean Perrin was presented with a commemorative badge by Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire Michael Brinton at Pershore Hospital last week, where she is currently residing due to problems with ill health.

The 87-year-old, from Pershore, is one of only two surviving ‘Dilly Girls’ the name given to those who worked under legendary code breaker Dilly Knox at Bletchley Park in the 1940s.

Mrs Perrin was part of a team which broke Italian codes using the famous rodding system, which told the British forces where the Italian fleet were stationed; helping them to win the Battle of Matapan.

She also played a major part in the capture of German spies after deciphering codes on the Abwehr Enigma machine.

After the Second World War, Mrs Perrin continued to work for GCHQ at Eastcote and Cheltenham before marrying her husband Kenneth in 1947 and retiring shortly afterwards.