Top secret (Bletchley Park)

Member Name: offy

Product:	Bletchley Park
Date:	01/12/01 (679 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See a piece of history

Disadvantages: A bit tatty

So secret that some still won’t talk about it!’

Apparently that is true. Bletchley Park (also known as Station X) is the famous place where we managed to decypher the German enigma codes during World War II and the birthplace of modern computing and communications. During the war it was a highly kept secret and the workers were threatened with death if they ever told anyone where they were working (although most did not understand the significance of their work).

Amazingly, this was all kept secret until 1974 when details started to be revealed. Since the war, the site has been used for various things, such as a training college and the DHSS. Recently, after a long battle against demolishment, Bletchley Park became a heritage site run by a charitable Trust, which is now open to the public.

HISTORY
I don’t want to give too much away here, or it would spoil the visit. However, if you have no intention of visiting but are still interested in finding out more or want to be reminded of the incredible work that took place here, they have a website at: www.bletchleypark.org.uk. The Mansion house was bought by Sir Herbert Leon in 1883 and was requisitioned by the government in 1938. By 1945 over 12,000 people worked at Bletchley Park. By bringing most of the brilliant mathematical and creative minds in the country together, they managed to crack the German war time codes, the most famous of which was the enigma code. This is the famous German cypher machine that was recently stolen and then returned to Jeremy Paxman. The culprit faces an extortion trial shortly and the enigma machines are now bolted down! Also the world’s first electronic computer (no memory) was built here called the Colossus. Probably the most famous figure at Bletchley Park was Alan Turing, a brilliant mathematician who has had a film made about him and who is considered to be the father of modern computing. By March 1946 the place was empty. It
is estimated that the work achieved in Bletchley Park reduced the war by two years.

In 2000 one of the Enigma machines was stolen from Bletchley Park and it eventually turned up having been posted to Jeremy Paxman, who I understand handled it quite extensively thereby covering up some of the culprit's fingerprints. The police eventually arrested someone for the handling of stolen goods and he went on trail in October 2001, but the actual thief was never caught. The Enigma machines are now nailed down.

WHERE IS IT?
Bletchley Park is very close to Bletchley railway station, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. Bletchley is in south Milton Keynes and is signposted from most main roads in Milton Keynes, the nearest being the V7 Saxon Street. It is off Wilton Road. The address is:
Bletchley Park
The Mansion,
Bletchley,
Milton Keynes
MK3 6EB
Telephone 01908 640404

PRICES & OPENING TIMES
Open every weekend from 10.30 am until 5.00 pm. Last entry at 3.30 p.m. There are often special events, some examples of which have been an airborne forces event, a model boat show and a fireworks extravaganza. Limited and disabled free parking is available on site or alternatively free parking is available at Bletchley station. Prices are £5 for adults, £3.50 for children over 8 and pensioners, and free for under 8’s. This includes a guided tour which takes about one and a half hours and is available each hour from 11.00. The grounds are 55 acres in total.

WHAT CAN YOU SEE
Do not expect an American style tourist attraction. Bletchley Park has only recently been taken over and preserved by the Trust. It desperately needs funds to restore a lot of the old wartime huts where all the important work was performed. Basically, it is tatty, but personally I think this added to the experience.

The guided tour explains much of the history of the Mansion house, the codebreaking and the remarkable mac
hines that were devised there. The guides are all volunteers and I was very impressed with ours – she was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. You are taken to a number of locations around the site including the Mansion house, but many are outside which is not pleasant if it is raining (as it was when I visited). There is a cryptology trail, which follows trail of a coded message from its interception to decode and interpretation, and includes a video and lots of exhibits (including a reconstructed Colossus the first computer and some enigma machines that you can actually use). On display are also some props from the recent film Enigma, which interestingly enough wasn't actually filmed here.

You can see many historic exhibitions and displays which frequently change, such as uniforms, WWII memorabilia, WWII aircraft recovery, wartime fire engines and historic vehicles and the occasional re-enactment group.

FACILITIES
There is a café playing wartime music that sells reasonably priced drinks, sandwiches and snacks. Disabled access is available. There are quite basic but clean toilets and there is a shop selling souvenirs. I bought a ration book tea towel, but there are quite a lot of kiddies’ things like rubbers, pens, fudge and stationery packs. There is also a picnic area and some beautiful grounds with magnificent trees.

CONCLUSION
I enjoyed myself and I am not a mathematician. If you are interested in code breaking and/or WWII, I would think this is an essential trip. The history of the place and the work that went on there is fascinating. The guide was entertaining, giving us snippets of what life must have been like for these dedicated people. I do not believe it is suitable for young children as there is little for them to do and they will be bored listening to someone talk for over an hour. The price was quite high for what it was, but hopefully the funds will be used for further restoration and improvemen
ts. I hope that the place gets the money it deserves to preserve a hugely important piece of British history. Without this place, who knows who what a different place Europe might now be?

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