May 2019 

It Happened Here this month takes us to a Britain who’s south coast in May 1944 resembled one huge army camp as over 2 million men waited for D-Day. In the Buckinghamshire countryside the staff at GC&CS carried on feeding detailed and crucial intelligence to the Allied forces that would play an integral part in the success of the upcoming Operation Overlord. 

The Western Front Committee was established at Bletchley Park in October 1942 and for the next 18 months built up a comprehensive picture of German forces in the West, recording every unit, its location and its strength. 

From February 1943 the committee began to produce reports of which over 450 pages are now held in our archives. Our Research Historian, Dr David Kenyon uses these to illustrate how the various departments, using multiple sources, came together to create the vital information that the D-Day planners needed, in some cases even leading to last minute changes. 

Special thanks to Mr Ben Thomson for playing the role of our Hut 3 Intelligence Officer. 

Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust 2019 

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