Bletchley Park

January 2018

January is a good time to take stock and look at the year ahead. 75 years ago, it was January 1943 and, after a dark and difficult year, things were starting to look up.

By this time, Hut 8 had broken back into the naval Enigma codenamed Shark, after a devastating ten-month blackout. The daring raid on a sinking submarine which cost the lives of two brave sailors became a huge turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Elsewhere, five gruelling months drew to a close with the German army’s surrender at Stalingrad, against Hitler’s wishes, and not before 2 million people had been killed, injured or captured.

Intelligence played its part in both of these turning points, and more, in 1943. Bletchley Park itself was beginning to look quite different. No more were wooden huts hastily thrown together. Now, solid brick blocks were taking shape, showing a serious commitment to code breaking. In this episode we examine these - and more - turning points in 1943 with Bletchley Park’s Research Historian, Dr David Kenyon, and a rich archive of audio from the time.

Image: ©Crown. Reproduced by kind permission, Director, GCHQ

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2

December 2017

Bletchley Park’s Oral History project has been running for six years, interviewing more than 400 veterans so far. These personal testimonies capture the unique and precious memories of people who worked at Bletchley Park and its outstations.

Not only are these interviews a great source of historical facts, adding to what we know about the work carried out by the Government Code and Cypher School during World War Two, they’re also a treasure trove of lesser-known details about the processes and what life was like during that time. Adding reminiscences about food, fun and uniform to the official records of how the codebreaking was done make this truly a people’s history of Bletchley Park.

In this second part of our December episode we bring you yet more of these amazing stories. We hear from Brenda Done, a Bombe Operator stationed at Stanmore, how she was told what their work was achieving. Enid Wenban of the ATS paints a picture of the long gone outstation at Beaumanor and David Bentliff tells us what it was like for a seventeen year old to break Japanese codes.

Image: ©mcfontaine

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2

December 2017

Bletchley Park’s Oral History project has been running for six years, interviewing more than 400 veterans so far. These personal testimonies capture the unique and precious memories of people who worked at Bletchley Park and its outstations.

Not only are these interviews a great source of historical facts, adding to what we know about the work carried out by the Government Code and Cypher School during World War Two, they’re also a treasure trove of lesser-known details about the processes and what life was like during that time. Adding reminiscences about food, fun and uniform to the official records of how the codebreaking was done make this truly a people’s history of Bletchley Park.

In this episode we hear from Phyllis Keates, who operated Britain’s answer to Enigma; a Typex machine. We learn more about the stringent security in the recruitment process from Kenneth Nicolson, who served in the Royal Signals and we listen in on Morse slip reader Daphne Canning’s account of a V1 attack on her accommodation.

Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust 2017

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2

November 2017

This month, it’s all about women. A century ago, the Women’s Royal Naval Service - aka Wrens - were founded. They went on to play a crucial part in the codebreaking effort during World War Two.

By November 1917, Britain was three years into a bloody, devastating war. In this episode, we explore what kind of work women did during both wars and what they - and the men - thought of it. A new pop up exhibition is now open in the Visitor Centre at Bletchley Park, celebrating the contribution of Wrens to the codebreaking effort during WW2. We delve into a few of the many the stories behind it, with Exhibitions Manager, Erica Munro.

Award winning author Clare Mulley tells us about The Women Who Flew for Hitler, among others who did incredibly daring and dangerous war work - on both sides.

We also find out what Hush WAACs were. They were stationed in France, and their work was top secret. Some kept journals but - unsurprisingly - they don’t divulge much about what they were doing. Dr Jim Beach from the University of Northampton talks to podcast producer, Mark Cotton.

Also in this episode, Bletchley Park has been urging people to knit one, post one. People have been creating authentic wartime knitwear, for display in the dressed rooms. We discover some of the treasures that have been sent in, with Exhibitions Assistant, Emma Treleaven.

Image: ©GCHQ

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW1, #WW2

October 2017

75 years ago, one of the most decisive battles of World War Two marked the end of the beginning. El Alamein was of huge strategic importance to both the Allied and Axis forces in North Africa.

Rommel and Montgomery’s forces clashed twice. The second battle would become famous, making a household name of this obscure outpost.

The intelligence was a crucial weapon. Rommel’s attack plan was confirmed by intercepts which were deciphered and translated by the top secret Government Code and Cipher School at Bletchley Park, giving the Allies an unseen advantage.

In this episode, we bring you a personal perspective on this slice of history, with Bletchley Park’s good friend, the historian Dan Snow. He made an unforgettable trip to the desert with his father, Peter, where they traced the soldiers’ footsteps through the sand for a memorable TV documentary. He looks back on that experience, with Bletchley Park’s Research Historian, Dr David Kenyon.

Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust 2017

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2, #HistoryHit

September 2017

There were so many memories shared at this year’s Veterans’ Reunion, that we’ve split this month’s episode into two parts. This time, we’ll hear some of the longer conversations, as people who spent part of their youth carrying out vital war work, tucked away in the Buckinghamshire countryside or at one of Bletchley Park’s equally secretive outstations. They went on to keep their lips sealed about what they’d done for at least another 30 years. Now, when the memories begin to flow, the best thing to do is sit back, listen and feel inspired by their incredible achievements.

Image: © Will Amlot for the Bletchley Park Trust

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2, #History

September 2017

More than 110 Veterans returned to Bletchley Park for this year’s reunion - the highest number in recent years. They came back to the headquarters of the Government Code and Cipher School, where they, among thousands of men and women, carried out vital war work which made a huge difference, not only to the outcome of World War Two, but to the digital age in which we live today.

Once in the tranquil grounds of the Victorian mansion, they met up with friends old and new, and took the opportunity to celebrate that this special place is not only still standing - which is, in itself, quite an achievement for wooden huts that were thrown up in haste some 80 years ago - but is also thriving, welcoming more than a quarter of a million visitors every year, to absorb the fascinating story of what happened here.

The regular Bletchley Park Podcast team, Producer Mark Cotton and host Katherine White, were joined by special guest roving reporters Niki Arthur and Myra Brooks. Meet them and the fascinating Veterans they met on a glorious September afternoon in Buckinghamshire.

We captured so many fascinating conversations that we’re bringing you two special episodes this month. This is part one of two.

Image: © Will Amlot for the Bletchley Park Trust

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2, #History

August 2017

Hear some of the best bits from five packed years of this podcast, primarily from the Veterans themselves, but also a smattering of prestigious visitors down the years, from movie stars to heads of foreign security agencies.

The highlight of the calendar at Bletchley Park is without doubt the annual Veterans’ Reunion, when people who worked at the Government Code and Cypher School and its outstations during World War Two return to revive and share their memories, helping to keep the story alive for future generations. The Bletchley Park Podcast has been capturing the Veterans’ trips down memory lane for five years now, not least on this wonderful day each year.

To celebrate this podcast’s 5th anniversary, hear the best of the reunions so far with snippets of conversation, interviews and emotional reminiscences from the stars of this story, the Veterans themselves. Each year, they meet new friends among the thousands of people who were part of the Bletchley Park operation as, even if they worked in the same section, it was often at a different time or on an opposing shift pattern. Veterans’ families who attend either with, or to represent, their relative, also shine with pride when they learn more about their incredible achievements.

Image: ©shaunarmstrong/mubsta.com

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2, #History

July 2017

What happened when the Admiralty didn’t believe the intelligence coming from Bletchley Park? The answer; huge losses at sea. But this is not to suggest blame - hindsight can be cruel.

The Tirpitz was a much-feared German battleship - it was the biggest they had built. Bletchley Park provided intelligence under the banner of Ultra - the highest level of secrecy - that it had not yet set sail. But this reassuring news was not taken on board by the naval powers that be. Convoy PQ17 was scattered, in the mistaken belief that the Tirpitz was on the move, and resulting in huge losses. We look back at this moment in World War Two, when intelligence was not enough, with help from Bletchley Park’s research historian, Dr David Kenyon.

Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust 2017

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2, #PQ17, #History

June 2017

Bill Tutte played a crucial role in deciphering messages between Hitler and his high command. Yet he remains one of Bletchley Park’s unsung heroes. This little-known genius went straight from studying mathematics at Cambridge to the Government Code and Cypher School, where he used his analytical brilliance to help break what was believed to be an unbreakable code. His work also paved the way for the creation of the world’s first semi-programmable computer, Colossus.

His breath-taking achievements are now celebrated in a new exhibition at Bletchley Park and, on the day of his centenary, it was launched with a symposium of talks about his life and work.

We hear from the day’s speakers, who included the GCHQ Departmental Historian, Tony Comer, tireless Bill Tutte Memorial Fund campaigner, Claire Butterfield, David Bedford from Keele University and the BBC security correspondent, Gordon Corera.

We also speak exclusively to Bill Tutte’s family, who were there to soak up the celebration, about what it’s like to learn that a kindly uncle was an unsung war hero.

Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust 2017

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2, #Veteran, #History