Bletchley Park

            I only first discovered the story of Alan Turing and the World War II codebreakers at Bletchley Park from the 2014 film “The Imitation Game”, and like any historical costume buff, was immediately delighted and became enthralled in the story, even if it did have some inaccuracies. Alex, with his background in Comp. Sci., was familiar with Turing long before that, and has since forgotten when he learned about him because it has been so long.

            With our interest in the codebreakers, visiting Bletchley Park was on the top of our list of places to visit while in England this year. Unfortunately Milton Keynes (the city it is now located in) is not close to us whatsoever, so we hitched a ride with my friend Priscilla and planned to make a day of it.

            After ingesting 3 different kinds of chocolates on the ride over, we arrived at Bletchley, found the free on-site parking, and coughed up our £18.50 each (which acts as a sort of season pass, where you can return as much as you’d like within a year), quickly followed by a sandwich and hot chocolate (because clearly I needed a 4th kind of chocolate before noon).

            There was a room and video that was all about Bletchley Park in World War One, and the understood significance that communications would play in the war. England owned virtually all international communication cables at the time, and ran them all either under sea or in countries that were their territory, a system they called the Red Line. Germany had 6 cables, but days before the British proclaimed war, they cut 5 of the 6, leaving only 1, which conveniently ran through their territory as well. This allowed them to intercept virtually all communications during the war, and was crucial to their victory. For more on the importance of this communication interception check out the Zimmermann Telegram.

            World War Two saw the introduction of “elite” codebreaking teams created by Alistair Denniston: the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS). Largely made up of Mathematicians, Linguists, and amateur/hobby codebreakers in the beginning, but soon gaining momentum and eventually coming to include Joan Clarke (heavily featured in “The Imitation Game”). Indeed, the majority of workers at Bletchley Park were women, who comprised at least 75% of the work force, though often in lesser-paid and monotonous rolls, where they had little idea of what their work actually entailed until they had signed the Official Secrets Act.

            The museum included some great interactive puzzles, a few interesting voiceovers and art installations (such as a tub, as one famous codebreaker often did his work in the bath), and a ton to read. There is also an hour-long guided tour outside the buildings, explaining what happened, however it was quite a bit colder than the weather report said and our tour guide didn’t move his teeth when he talked, so we decided to play hooky 15 minutes in and went to explore the mansion instead. There was a “Vintage Santa Grotto” that we did not get to see (you had to book ahead and wait around in a kid’s area), and absolutely lovely architecture. There was also an exhibit about how they attempted to book morale with UV-Ray treatments (to increase their Vitamin D intake) and clubs. Unfortunately for those who lived far, or worked evening shifts, there was no access to these clubs as busses would drop them off 10 minutes early and pick them up 10 minutes after their shift! The largest draw for many people, I would assume, is Hut 11A, which contains Enigma creaking machine, the Bombe. Neither of us really understood the explanatory video, but hey, it whirls around and makes a bunch of noise, so not too bad for a museum!

            While it was a bit cold, the ambiance of the property, with its pond, foliage, and mansion, definitely made it a place to visit for those who love history and the significance the site played in the World Wars. I know a few teachers through my agency that are currently teaching in Milton Keynes as well, so a return visit in the warmer months is highly likely!

For more information on Bletchley Park, visit https://bletchleypark.org.uk .