We are saddened to learn that long-time HSO member and WWII veteran Elsa Lessard has passed away at the age of 103.

A “WREN”, a member of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service, and Bletchley Park “Secret Listener” during WWII, Elsa has been described as a national treasure” by the CBC’s Adrienne Arsenault and by Admiral Topshee, Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy.

Read the Ottawa Citizen obituary.

Listen to a CBC interview with Elsa.

Read more about the story of the WRENs in Bytown Pamphlet #104: Our "Capitol" Wrens.

Read about Ottawa's Bletchley Park in Bytown Pamplhet #100: Canada’s Bletchley Park: The Examination Unit in Ottawa’s Sandy Hill 1941–1945.