Bletchley Park

I organised a trip to Bletchley Park today by coach - and 7 of the residents in our retirement road came along. This included our neighbour who went to Cambridge University which was the breeding ground for code breaking experts during WW2. I think she was as beguiled as me to see what went on there. We arrived at 10:30 and left at 3.30 and wished it would have been longer. The entrance ticket allows you to visit as many times as you like for 12 months - we will be going back.

It was utterly fascinating to see the German Enigma machines and the Bombe equipment we developed to crack their cipher code which enabled the British and USA military to keep one step ahead of the Germans who were under the illusion their Enigma code was unbreakable. There were up to 20,000 experts employed in the code cracking project and it is amazing that their existence was not really known until 1975.  They are the unsung and the unknown of WW2 whose efforts and skills shortened the war by possibly 2 years.

Anyone with an engineering, scientific or mathematical bent would be enthralled to see the code breaking equipment demonstrated and the conditions they endured throughout the war.

http://tinyurl.com/hpl9mj6

I kept sneezing on the way home - I think I caught a code.

For years now, I have felt how badly Alan Turing was treated. He was the prime mover behind this, a genius in his field but because he was homosexual he was treated like rubbish to the point where he committed suicide. When will humans learn! It's not a chosen course. It could be considered one of God's quality Control failures. Like diabetes, like cancer, like Alzheimers. I am completely straight! I like lady's boobs but I have had some friends who were amongst the kindest and nicest who were gay. It's like torturing someone because they have a birthmark.

It's a common trait in the animal kingdom - albino animals for example are at best ostracised by the rest of the herd/family - at worst killed.

We are no better or worse than other animals - that includes you and I unfortunately. It's in your "jeans"

AlanHo wrote:

I kept sneezing on the way home - I think I caught a code.

I didn't take a camera with me - and although I have a smartphone - I find it impossible to hold it steady.

In truth - there is not really a lot to take snaps of - the huts are by today's standards dim and dingy and the Enigma and Bombe machines can be found on the web easily. The interest there is that as you walk the suggested route you are taken through the history of the Enigma from 1913 when it was invented by two Dutch guys, then developed by Germans in the 1930's to be used by mainly banks, then through WW2.

Although Turing is the main focus of history - there were other equally brilliant people who worked there who provided him with a launch platform to crack German Navy codes. The work that they did was mind boggling and there were some experts on duty to explain it all as simply as such a complex subject permitted. I have read a couple of books about Bletchley - buy good as they were - they were a poor substitute for being able to see the code breaking machines in action and being able to ask and get answers to questions.

My wife - who does not have an academic or science background - was also fascinated by it all - but it would not suit anyone who lacked an enquiring mind.

I must have an enquiring mind then because I enjoyed it immensely.

Also - I also enjoyed watching the ducks and swans cavorting on the frozen lake. The only thing I wasn't impressed with was the 1940's canteen where you can get food and drinks. Retro food is not to my taste.

Glad you enjoyed it.

I only had a coffee with a cheese & ham sandwich in the canteen which were OK. Libby had soup with a crusty roll. Dave had a chicken pie with mash which looked gruesome. He said he enjoyed it however.

I didn't take much notice of the lake but saw it was frozen except for a few yards round the fountain.