Report on visit to Bletchley Park
BLETCHLEY PARK – UNRAVELLING THE ENIGMA
On a cold morning in mid-October two car loads of North West London U3Aers set out for Bletchley Park, the home of the wartime code breakers. However, some of us had our own puzzles to solve, first in the form of the massive road works on the approach to Milton Keynes as well as the jungle of the MK road system, and a lamentable absence of road signs. We arrived about half an hour late, to find Brian Prince and his group awaiting us anxiously. After a reviving coffee in the Visitor Centre (which used to be block C where several million punch cards were processed and stored) we moved into the introductory exhibition called “Secrets Revealed”.
The sound of air-raid sirens and falling bombs revived long-buried memories of the terrors we experienced over 70 years ago. The work done at BP was at least as important as the efforts of the active services. The exhibition features the German coding machines such as Enigma and the more complex Lorenz, as well as the famous Bombe machine developed by Alan Turing and Gordon Welchman. It also introduced us to the thousands of people from a multitude of backgrounds who had worked at BP under conditions of utmost secrecy.
Diana Ayres had secured places for us on a guided tour of the extensive site, so we made our way to the former Chauffeurs’ Hut via the delightful little lake which had provided some recreational facilities for the workers at BP during the war. Our guide, Michael Kushner, a very knowledgeable and charismatic speaker stopped at each group of buildings, including the original Mansion, explaining their history and significance. He gradually built up a picture of how BP had evolved and grown from its beginnings in 1938 until by 1945 some 10,000 people, mainly women, worked at BP and outstations. He outlined all the processes involved from receiving the coded messages to extracting valuable information. It started with the work of the radio operators who had to listen intensely to the Morse code signals they received and transcribe each letter. These letters all had to be decoded, then translated from German, Japanese or other languages into English. A great deal of knowledge of science and of languages and sometimes even guesswork were needed until the decoded messages were ready to be despatched to the relevant authorities – Government, military or air force. It is estimated that the work done at BP shortened the war by about two years.
Although there was still much more we could have seen, including inside some of the huts and the museum in Block B, some of us felt we had seen and heard as much as we could take in during one day, so we reluctantly left. But the good news is that our tickets are valid for a year so there is no reason why we should not go again, providing we can brave the road works on the way. Many thanks are due to Diana Ayres who organised this trip for us.