Baroness Trumpington, the former World War Two codebreaker and British politician, has died at the age of 96.
Her son Adam Barker broke the news on Twitter on Monday, writing that “she had a bloody good innings.”
Baroness Trumpington served for 37 years in the House of Lords, the second chamber of the British parliament, only retiring in 2017.
Prior to that she also served as a Conservative government minister and party whip, whose role is to maintain party discipline, according to the UK’s Press Association.
During WWII, she was one of the so-called “Land Girls”, who worked to maintain food production during the war, and also worked at the famous Bletchley Park codebreaking facility in naval intelligence.
Fluent in several languages, she helped in cracking messages from Nazi submarines.
After the war she rose through British politics and carved out a reputation as a colorful character.
In 2011 she was recorded making an obscene gesture at another member of the House of Lords.
The incident, apparently provoked by a comment about her age, only added to her reputation as something of a one of a kind.
“I thought I’d been terribly discreet,” she said during a 2014 interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “I’ve never yet discovered where the cameras are in the House of Lords.”
News of her death resulted in a wave of tributes, including a tweet from former UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
“So very sad to hear that Baroness Trumpington has passed away. She was one of a kind – they simply don’t make politicians like that anymore. She will be sorely missed in Westminster but long remembered for her outstanding ability and great humour. RIP Trumpers,” he wrote.
