Mavis Batey,  a unique biography,  delves into the life of one of Britain’s best female codebreakers, taking the  reader through the war and to the arrival of peace, when Mavis turned her attention from breaking codes to the conservation and  preservation of gardens. Mavis became an important figure in conservation, becoming President of the Garden History Society, which,  under her watch, became an academic society and campaigning force for the protection of landscapes, parks, and gardens of  historic interest. She also lobbied Parliament, fighting threats of encroachment and misuse of land. Acts of Parliament were passed,    English Heritage was established, and grants were introduced. Historic gardens became officially recognised as essential components  of European culture and her National Register of Historic Gardens came to fruition. Mavis’s passion was writing and she wrote many  books.

Mavis was finally awarded the RHS Veitch Memorial Medal and the MBE for Services to the preservation and conservation of historic  landscapes. Mavis never did retire:   her final project was to inspire an American Garden Trail for Bletchley Park which she signed off just  a few months before her death in November 2013.