Clara Grace Thornton CBE MVO (1913–1987) was a British diplomat, an academic, a translator and a code-breaker at Bletchley Park.
[1] In 1945, aged 31, she went to the British Embassy in Copenhagen as press attache, a post for which her knowledge of Scandinavian languages and culture were crucial.
[2] The Times obituary reports "In the tense autumn of 1963 with civil unrest widespread, she called for the immediate evacuation of 166 civilians, British nationals among them, trapped at the Shell oilfields at Balakpapan in east Borneo.
[4] This was the official advisory body founded in 1969 to ensure that UK Government policy took account of women in matters of public interest.
The Times obituary notes that "Its scope had hitherto been confined to national issues, but its new secretary was keen to widen its horizons."
Convinced as she was of her own abilities, she had no time for 'liberated' females in search of 'an identity', explaining that she did not have to fight male opposition in the Foreign Office - 'they soon learned we didn't lose the keys or get seduced by South Americans'.
Yet her exacting standards were tempered by a great kindliness and sympathy and by an enormous sense of fun.... Incisive in Committee, witty in conversation, she is remembered above all for her generous involvement and the warmth of her personality.