Born into an aristocratic family in 1922, Jean Barker cracked codes in the Second World War and was a socialite in 1950s New York. She was mayor of Cambridge in 1971-72, joining the House of Lords in 1980. The Daily Mail called her “the game-show-loving, Nazi code-breaking, sex pest-defying peer”.
What’s your earliest memory?
Childhood was not my happiest time. I led a nursery life, with mother and father sweeping in to say goodnight, all dressed up to go out for the evening with their friends in the Prince of Wales’s set. I remember seeing the magnificent R101 airship flying over Hyde Park with my brothers, my nanny and my dog. I was seven years old and it was very exciting.
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