Anne Asquith

Anne Mary Celestine Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (; 14 November 1916 – 19 August 1998) was a British code breaker who became the Countess of Oxford and Asquith upon her marriage in 1947 to Julian Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith. Life She was born in Paris in 1916 to Sir Michael Palairet, a career diplomat, and his wife, Lady Mary de Vere Palairet ( Studd; 1895-1977), and brought up in the Roman Catholic faith to which her parents had converted. She was raised in Japan, China and Bucharest, where she would help her father by decoding messages that had been sent to him. In Japan, she survived an earthquake when she was six and later, her family was present during the Chinese civil war. She had an affection for Bucharest, where she took the baccalaureate and learnt French. She continued her studies in Paris before studying at St Anne's College, Oxford, although she did not take her finals. At college, she met Julian Asquith, who was already the Earl of Oxford and Asquith. They were to marry years later.