Bletchley Park

December 2016

Fifty years after World War Two, a farewell party was held for Veterans of the Government Code and Cypher School, at the ramshackle site where they had carried out vital intelligence work. It was about to be bulldozed for housing, but the party bolstered a burgeoning desire to save and preserve it for future generations. Then, more so than now, Codebreakers from all levels of the organisation were able to attend and enjoy the reunion.

As a result, the 14 hours of audio recorded by volunteers roaming with cassette recorders that day includes some notable names, both in person and through the memories of their colleagues. They modestly recall their war work, reflecting on the significance of what they achieved. It’s worth remembering they didn’t breathe a word about what they’d done to their friends, families or loved ones - for at least 30 years. So in this, the last of three special episodes showcasing the best audio from that day and celebrating its incredible legacy, we meet some people you might have heard of.

Also in this month’s episode, it’s beginning to look a lot like a 1940s Christmas at Bletchley Park, with vintage decorations throughout, festive afternoon teas and an extremely special visitor, all the way from Lapland.

Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust 2016

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2Veteran, #History

November 2016

Fun, food and friendships at 1940s Bletchley Park were among the most popular topics of conversation at the party that saved the site. Travel back 25 years for another dip into the memories shared by the Veterans that day in 1991, about everything but the work - from digs to dances.

It was quite a party, carefully timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the letter sent to Churchill, asking for more resources. Sent in 1941, the letter opened the door for Bletchley Park to expand at a rapid pace, to meet the increasing demand. Churchill’s response to that letter, ‘Action This Day: Give them all they need and report to me that this has been done’, was a real turning point. The party was sneakily planned, and those who organised it ended up feeling they’d got away with something.

Before we go back in time to that momentous day in October 1991, we spend more time with some of the hardy annuals who turned out to this year’s Veterans’ Reunion. It’s always a great day, and once they start sharing their memories, it’s amazing how much comes flooding back.

Image: ©shaunarmstrong/mubsta.com

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2Veteran, #History

October 2016

The Party that Saved Bletchley Park takes you back 25 years, to the first Veterans’ reunion.

On 19 October 1991 Bletchley Park was about to be bulldozed for housing. A group of local historians organised the first - and, they thought, last - reunion of Veterans of the Government Code and Cypher School in the very buildings where they did their war work. They believed it would be a chance for the Veterans to have one last look around the site before it was consigned to history, and bid it a fond farewell.

That day, though, the Veterans lent their support to a burgeoning desire among those local historians to stop Bletchley Park being torn down, and the campaign to save it for the nation was born.

Volunteers recorded 14 hours of audio that day, capturing conversations and informal interviews with the Veterans on cassette tapes. We’ve recently discovered that these audio cassettes had been digitised and were not, as feared, lost to history.

The campaign to save Bletchley Park from being bulldozed was not the only thing that party started. It was also the first of what has become the highlight of the year at Bletchley Park - the annual Veterans’ Reunion. This year’s was another great day, with Veterans bringing their families to remember and celebrate their contribution. This year, for the first time, many of them were searching for their names cemented firmly into Bletchley Park’s future as well as its past, in the Codebreakers’ Wall.

Next month, we’ll bring you more from the party that saved Bletchley Park. We’ll share some of the insights into what life was like - apart from the all-important work these people were doing - looking both inside and out the gates of Bletchley Park.

Many thanks to Helen Legh & Tilda for capturing interviews at this year’s reunion. Thanks also go to Kerry Howard for roving reporting at this year's reunion, and you can hear some of the fascinating conversations she captured next month.

Visit Bletchley Park. It happened here. Book now.

Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2Veteran, #History

September 2016

Action This Day! In our historic anniversary-based series, It Happened Here, we look at a paper-based act of daring which changed the course of history.

Seventy five years ago Winston Churchill visited Bletchley Park, amid the utmost secrecy. He understood how important the intelligence being produced was, and valued it highly. He gave a morale-boosting speech to the Codebreakers, and we hear from Sir Arthur Bonsall, who stumbled across the PM on his way to lunch.

Once the euphoria of the VIP visit had worn off, a group of young men who were feeling the weight of the task on their shoulders cooked up a plan to try to channel Churchill’s enthusiasm for Bletchley Park, to help them overcome administrative and fiscal issues they were facing on the front line of codebreaking.

A letter signed by Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman, Hugh Alexander and Stuart Milner-Barry, politely outlined the need for more staff and resources. One passage read: “The trouble to our mind is that as we are a very small section with numerically trivial requirements it is very difficult to bring home to the authorities finally responsible either the importance of what is done here or the urgent necessity of dealing promptly with our requests.”

Stuart Milner-Barry of Hut 6 was volunteered by his colleagues to deliver the letter to Downing Street. It was 40 years before he saw the Churchill’s memo: “Make sure they have all they want on extreme priority and report to me that this had been done.”

The original memo lives in The National Archive and a copy is on display in the Visitor Centre at Bletchley Park.

Then we fast forward 50 years to 1991 and the party that saved Bletchley Park. The very first reunion for Veterans started as a fond farewell to a semi derelict site that was about to be bulldozed, but turned into a call to action to save it. Fourteen hours of audio recordings made that day that were feared lost, were in fact safely stashed away in Bletchley Park’s Archive, and digitised only recently. From next month, we’ll bring you highlights.

The episode also features an exclusive interview with Geoffrey Welchman, whose grandfather Gordon was Head of Hut 6 and reputedly the instigator of the letter to Churchill. Find out what happened when Geoffrey visited Bletchley Park for the first time, and discovered how well celebrated his grandfather is.

Visit Bletchley Park. It happened here. Book now.

Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2Veteran, #History, #Churchill

August 2016

Hear from a German Enigma operator for the first time in the August 2016 episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast, Enigma from the other side.

Sharing her unique story as part of Bletchley Park’s Oral History Project, Irmgard Enge, later Copley, tells how she was part of a secret operation to make sure the Allies did not find out how badly German aeroplanes and munitions factories were being damaged by bombs. She also recalls friendly - and less friendly - French people living near the air base where she was posted.

Once the war had ended, Irmgard reluctantly agreed to go to a dance with her friend. She hadn’t wanted to go because there would be British soldiers there and she didn’t want to dance with the enemy. But her friend persuaded her and there she met her husband, an English soldier.

Also in this month’s episode, we meet a man who grew up just beyond the boundary fence of Bletchley Park during World War Two. He joined a long queue in the rain to have treasures valued for the BBC antiques show, Flog It. The show’s host, Paul Martin, reveals which items he tries to persuade people to keep, going somewhat against the programme’s underlying principle.

Last but not least, change is afoot at the hugely successful 1940s Boutique. The day long workshop and tutorial is opening its doors to customers who want a spot of pampering, without the DIY. As well as workshops on how to create the iconic looks of the 1940s and 1950s, the experts themselves will be styling customers’ hair and make-up; all in the tranquil surroundings of the Victorian mansion which became the site of some of WW2’s most secret work.

Thanks to The Three Belles for the music in this episode, you can find them at www.thethreebelles.com

Visit Bletchley Park. It happened here. Book now.

Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2Veteran, #History, #Retro, #FlogIt