Bletchley Park

November 2015 In the throes of war, difficult decisions have to be made. Prime Minister Winston Churchill was fully aware that Bletchley Park was breaking German codes, and even received regular digests of the intelligence gleaned, known as Hut 3 Headlines. However, a myth was born in the mid-1970s that remains in circulation even now. The theory was that messages decoded by Bletchley Park warned Churchill that the Luftwaffe was heading for Coventry on 14 November 1940, and that he allowed the bombing go ahead in order to protect his secret source of vital information. It has since been debunked, however, and in this month’s episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast, you can find out how. Here is an extract of this month’s episode, The Coventry Myth. Image: Prime Minister Winston Churchill inspecting members of Coventry's Warden Service in Broadgate during his visit to Coventry in September 1941. ©Mirrorpix #BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2Veteran, #History, #Churchill

November 2015 Hindsight can be cruel. The conspiracy theory that Churchill allowed Coventry to be bombed beyond recognition, killing hundreds of civilians, in order to protect the Ultra secret - that Bletchley Park was breaking German codes - is a myth. In this episode we bring you memories of the devastating air raid on Coventry, which took place 75 years ago, on 14 November 1940. Hear from Sir Arthur Bonsall, who worked in the German Air Section, debunking the myth. And Bletchley Park’s Research Historian, Dr David Kenyon, explains how the theory came about and has since been disproved. Also this month, the Bletchley Park Trust is reaching out to Veterans’ families, to create a worldwide community of people with a special link to this unique piece of British history. Dilly Knox was instrumental in codebreaking in both world wars. He was working to break into Enigma before World War Two even broke out, but died in 1943, so never knew how the war ended and never shared what he’d done with his fami

November 2015 Sarah Harding’s mother remembers Bletchley Park as a happy place. Dorothy Harding, nee Thompson, worked as a Morse slip reader in the Communications Centre from 1943 to the end of the war. Many years later, Sarah directed the hit ITV drama, The Bletchley Circle, about four fictional women who worked at the Government Code and Cypher School during World War Two and, some ten years later, regrouped in secret to solve mysteries including murder. Now Sarah is joining a worldwide community of Veterans’ relatives, who are being offered the chance to buy a commemorative brick in the Codebreakers’ Wall and cement their connection to this piece of British history. Visit the Bletchley Park Roll of Honour to find your Codebreaker relative and email friends@bletchleypark.org.uk to find out more about how you can celebrate that connection. Image: Sarah Harding on location at Bletchley Park during the filming of The Bletchley Circle. ©shaunarmstrong/mubsta.com #BPark, #Bletchleypark

October 2015 The Bletchley Park Trust is reaching out to Veterans’ families, to create a worldwide community of people with a special link to this unique piece of British history. The Trust is inviting relatives of the Codebreakers to cement their family ties with the breath-taking achievements of the Bletchley Park operation during World War Two. Their names and the importance of what they did was once shrouded in secrecy, but can now be celebrated in perpetuity. For the next six months Veterans, their families and members of the Friends of Bletchley Park have the exclusive opportunity to buy engraved commemorative bricks that will be used to build a Codebreakers’ Wall around naval codebreaking Hut 8. The opportunity to buy a brick in the Codebreakers’ Wall will then be made widely available from spring 2016. Michael and Anthony de Grey have more family links than most to Bletchley Park, and indeed part of its World War One predecessor, Room 40. Their grandfather Nigel was a key figure in codebre

October 2015 In Forgotten Genius, the October 2015 episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast, we take you to the opening of a brand new, fascinating exhibition about Gordon Welchman, Bletchley Park’s Architect of Ultra Intelligence. Hear from Welchman’s granddaughter, Jennifer, who flew in specially to be at the launch and from his Hut 6 colleague, Jimmy Thirsk, who at the age of 101 is one of the last few of his kind left. Also featured is the grandson of a man who was involved in Codebreaking in both world wars, Nigel De Grey. His grandson Anthony is clearly proud of his roots - and his grandfather was not the only member of his family who worked at Bletchley Park. And on 18 October the BBC’s Security Correspondent, Gordon Corera will give a talk as part of the Bletchley Park Presents lecture series. Gordon will speak about his new book which traces the intertwined history of computing and espionage; Intercept - The Secret History of Computers and Spies. He tells the Bletchley Park Podcast how a boo

October 2015 You’ve seen the Oscar winning film, now visit the set and get a rare insight into how the story of genius Codebreaker Alan Turing was brought to life. Benedict Cumberbatch said Filming at Bletchley Park was amazing. It was a very important part of the film. In the Ballroom and Billiard Rooms of the Mansion, this atmospheric exhibition is all about the making of The Imitation Game, in the very room where the bar scenes were filmed. Among the many behind the scenes gems are secret documents and intercepts Benedict Cumberbatch stuffs into his socks and trousers to sneak them off site and a copy of the famous crossword puzzle published in The Telegraph. But it’s not here for much longer - The Imitation Game, The Exhibition is only open until 1st November. See it before it’s too late. Picture: ©shaunarmstrong/mubsta.com #BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #ImitationGame, #TIG

September 2015 On 29 July Bletchley Park’s Royal Patron, HRH The Duke of Kent, officially opened the major new exhibition, The Road to Bletchley Park, telling the story of codebreaking during World War One. Many of those World War One Codebreakers went on to work at Bletchley Park during World War Two. Among them was Alastair Denniston the first operational head of the Government Code and Cypher School. The August episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast featured an edited version of an interview with two of Commander Denniston’s granddaughters, Candy Connolly and Judith Finch. In this Extra we bring you the full interview as they talk with pride about the man they call AGD. Before that we hear from author and historian on Bletchley Park, Dr Joel Greenberg, for an overview of the Commander’s secret work. This episode was released on 30 September to mark International Podcast Day. Extra episodes follow up an earlier story with more content, allowing listeners to delve deeper into the subject. The Bletc

September 2015 Chatbots have yet to fool the judges of the Loebner Prize into believing they’re human at the Loebner Prize. The 25th annual Artificial Intelligence competition, which puts the Turing test into practice, has ended without any of the judges being duped. The BBC’s Technology Correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones, was one of the four judges. He says it was easy to tell which of the conversations were with humans and which were with bots. When he started talking about keeping slugs off his vegetable garden and his dog, called Cabbage, Rory says they were soon stumped. After the judging, when Rose had been declared this year’s most human bot, he stopped for a chat with the Bletchley Park Podcast. Picture: ©Katherine Lynch #BPark, #Bletchleypark, #ruskin147, #LoebnerPrize, #AI

September 2015 On 18 October the BBC’s Security Correspondent, Gordon Corera, will give a talk at Bletchley Park about his new book which traces the intertwined history of computing and espionage, Intercept – The Secret History of Computers and Spies. The computer was born to spy. Under the intense pressure of the Second World War and in the confines of Bletchley Park, the work of men like Alan Turing and Tommy Flowers led to the birth of the computing age. It was a breakthrough that helped win the war and which cemented the importance of signals intelligence and also a close alliance between the US and UK. In the following decades, computers transformed espionage from Cold War spy hunting and providing advance warning of nuclear war through to today’s data driven pursuit of terrorists and industrial scale cyber-espionage against corporations. Gordon Corera reveals for the first time how – beginning at Bletchley - the history of computers has been shaped by spying and in turn how spying has been chang

September 2015 Nearly ninety Veterans of the Government Code and Cypher School and its many outstations gathered at Bletchley Park on Sunday 6 September, to reminisce and meet old friends and new. After a summer of 70th anniversary commemorations, it was a chance for people who worked in secret at both Bletchley Park and its outstations to remember their contribution. They took the opportunity to bring their friends and families to soak up the atmosphere back in the very buildings where they did their vital war work. There were also plenty of chances to share memories with people who worked in different sections. The Veterans are now free from the obligations of the Official Secrets Act and can discuss the details of their work, in stark contrast to the strict rules to which they all adhered during the dark days of World War Two. Listen in as we speak to five Veterans making their first appearance on the Bletchley Park Podcast, some speaking publicly for the very first time. Japanese Naval Secti

August 2015 Seventy years ago on the 15th August 1945, small group of young women were quietly at work in Hut 16 at Bletchley Park. They included twins Valerie and Mary Glassborow, who later married brothers and among whose grandchildren was a girl who became HRHThe Duchess of Cambridge. Marion Graham (later Body) was also in that room in Hut 16, which Hut 6 was renamed as the codebreaking factory that was Bletchley Park grew and developed throughout World War Two. She recalls a moment of great privilege when their lives, and indeed the whole world, changed. Picture: ©shaunarmstrong/mubsta.com #BPark, #Bletchleypark, #VJDay70, #Enigma, #WW2Veteran, #History

August 2015 In this episode we take you to the royal launch of a major new exhibition, which looks at the roots of codebreaking as we know it. The Road to Bletchley Park was officially opened on July the 29th by Bletchley Park’s Royal Patron, HRH, The Duke of Kent. We have interviews with the designer, a sponsor, our friendly GCHQ Historian & family members of two of the WW1 codebreakers. This episode also features highlights of the last three years’ Veterans’ Reunions, as this year’s approaches. It’s always a highlight of the year for Veterans and their families, making new memories as they revisit their wartime workplace and learn more about the things they weren’t allowed to know at the time. Find out who’s still to come in the Bletchley Park Presents lecture series and what’s being laid on for children during the school holidays, at no extra cost. Also this month, we speak to Sinclair Mackay, who’s written numerous books about Bletchley Park, and has described researching and writing them

Today Bletchley Park’s Royal Patron, HRH The Duke of Kent, will officially open a major new exhibition telling the story of Codebreaking in World War One, The Road to Bletchley Park. The Duke will meet representatives of the exhibition’s sponsors, BAE Systems and Ultra Electronics, as well as visiting new displays and exhibitions updated since his last visit in 2009. Timed to coincide with the exhibition opening, the Bletchley Park Trust is delighted to republish a unique parody of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice in ID25 poked fun at the wartime work of the Naval Intelligence Codebreaking section Room 40, which became known from 1917 as ID25. Originally written by the Codebreakers Frank Birch and Dilly Knox at the end of WW1, it was performed privately as a pantomime in London in December 1918. The parody described life in Room 40 and the people who worked there, and remained under wraps for many decades afterwards. Friends of Bletchley Park were fi

July 2015 This brand new episode celebrates five years of the Roll of Honour, which aims to record all those who worked at Bletchley Park and its outstations during World War Two. It now holds nearly 11 thousand names, as well as a rich archive of memories, anecdotes and photographs. Also this month, hear from Bletchley Park Veteran Betty Webb MBE, about how keeping news of her honour secret for seven weeks was harder than sticking to the Official Secrets Act for more than 30 years. Betty was named in the Birthday Honours list for remembering and promoting the work of Bletchley Park. Time is rapidly running out to see The Imitation Game, The Exhibition. It features costumes, the replica Bombe machine built for the Oscar-winning film about Alan Turing plus drawings, props and exclusive interviews with the actors and director talking about what it was like to shoot parts of the story where it really happened - in the rooms where filming took place. Hear the moving acceptance speech given by scre

June 2015 This month’s episode provides a peek at a major new exhibition at Bletchley Park, about codebreaking during World War One. The roots of Bletchley Park’s codebreaking success in World War Two can be clearly traced back to WW1, when several of the key figures of the Government Code and Cypher School were already engaged in the business of snooping into the enemy’s communications. The Road to Bletchley Park traces the roots of this codebreaking powerhouse back one hundred years. The exhibition is now open and will be formally launched soon. Also in this episode, steep yourself in vintage style at the 1940s Boutique, as this most glamorous of days out makes a welcome return next month. We go back to the first Boutique day last year, meeting a mother and two daughters whose mother and grandmother had worked at Bletchley Park. They had a heartbreaking story to tell about the real cost of keeping the details of her work secret from her family. And we finish with a real treat all the way from

May 2015 First this month we talk to our official photographer Shaun Armstrong who’s pictures help to tell the story of our new exhibition; Bletchley Park Rescued and Restored. Shaun was on hand to capture images from the start of the £8 million phase one restoration project, right through to the official opening in June 2014 by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. Sarah Harding, director of the 2nd series of The Bletchley Circle was one of last years speakers in our Bletchley Park Presents series of talks. After her sold-out talk Sarah and her sister Gillian sat down to tell us about more discoveries of their mum’s Bletchley Park past. Over nearly 3 years of the podcast we have had the honour to interview around 40 of our amazing Veteran’s so far. These interviews, along with the Official Oral Archive, are building an invaluable resource of first-hand history, for not just the listeners of the podcast but for future generations to come. It is 70 years since Victory in Europe and to pay tribute to all

May 2015 70 years ago on May the 7th 1945 General Jodl signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces in Europe. The next day then became Victory in Europe Day. In this clip we bring you some of the sounds from those two monumental days along with the memories of some of our amazing Veterans that we have had the honour to interview over nearly three years now. This clip includes, Betty Flavell (WRNS 1944-1945) Joyce Roberts (WAAF 1945-1947) Dot Tuffin (WRNS 1943-1945) Marigold Freeman-Attwood (WRNS 1943-1945) Picture: Staff of Huts 3 and 6 on VE Day ©Bletchley Park Trust #BPark, #Bletchleypark, #VEDay70, #Enigma, #WW2Veteran, #History

April 2015 This month we take you into our new Hut 12 Exhibit; Rescued and Restored, showcasing historical treasures found during the transformation of the Huts and Blocks. When conservation specialists were brought in to rescue fragile, derelict buildings as part of the much needed first phase of restoration, little could they know what they might find. In the cracks between roof beams in Hut 6 they discovered folded pieces of what appear to be scrap paper, with mysterious notes scribbled on them. Among them were the only known examples of used Banbury Sheets ever found. The system invented by Alan Turing was used to help deduce the daily Enigma settings, before the process was mechanised by the development of the Turing Welchman Bombe. Maths comes to life at Bletchley Park and that’s why the 2015 Milton Keynes Maths Challenge final was held there. Students from secondary schools pitted their wits against each other in a series of timed challenges. At the sound of an air raid siren, the groups dash

March 2015 This month join us on a very special tour of Bletchley Park, when more than twenty members of Alan Turing’s family gathered to pay tribute to his contribution to the war-winning intelligence that emerged from this unassuming country estate. It was a poignant visit for members of his family, some of whom had never been before and most who’d never met the man. Sir John Dermot Turing, a Trustee of Bletchley Park and Alan Turing’s nephew, took the opportunity to talk about exciting plans to tell the story of his uncle’s co-invention, in the newly restored Hut 11A. Find out what year six pupils from Greenleys Junior School in Milton Keynes thought of their free school trip to Bletchley Park, when they became the first school to take advantage of a pilot bursary scheme, funded by Winton Global Investment Management. Graham Moore has become a member of Hollywood’s most exclusive club, an Oscar winner. Graham won the little gold statue for his script for The Imitation Game, adapted from Andrew

March 2014 In this EXTRA’s episode we bring you highlights of bestselling author, journalist and TV presenter Ben Macintyre’s talk on his book ‘A Spy Among Friends, Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal’. Kim Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet mole in history. Agent, double agent, traitor and enigma, he betrayed every secret of Allied operations to the Russians in the early years of the Cold War. It is followed by the interview we recorded with Ben after his talk, that regular listeners will have heard in this month’s normal podcast, but we have added it here again for completion. This talk was given in our Bletchley Park Presents series last year. Our 2015 season of talks is about to begin, starting with Michael Smith in March and already confirmed for later in the year are Victor Madeira, Jerry White, Taylor Downing & Sinclair McKay with more names yet to be announced. For more information on these talks please go to www.bletchleypark.org and look in the What’s On se