Thursday, September 12, 2019

Bletchley Park,IT IS A SECRET

Off to Bletchley Park


Our day here at the Royal Garden starts again with a wonderful breakfast, Full English- Bacon, Beans, Sausages, Eggs, Tomatoes, and a nice pastry bar and of so much more. After breakfast we are on the Underground to Euston Station to catch a train to Bletchley Park. Cost Saving Tip: travel on the train during off peak times and by presenting your train tickets you receive 2 for one admission to Bletchley Park. The train ride can take from 35 -55 minutes, depending on the service.

Why Bletchley Park? Simply Bletchley Park is a place of exceptional historical importance. It remains highly relevant to our lives today and for the future. It is the home of British code breaking and a birthplace of modern information technology. It played a major role in World War Two, producing secret intelligence which had a direct and profound influence on the outcome of the conflict.

It is hard for me to start describing Bletchley Park as so much happened here in this place of great secrecy. Well, secret till about 1980’s that is. Nary a word of the events of Bletchley Park had been spoken during all those years after WWII by the 3000 plus people who worked there.  It should be noted of those who worked at Bletchley Park about seventy five percent were women.

The Imitation Game, a move released in 2014-2015 told the story of Alan Turing. While a good film, it should be noted Hollywood has never let the facts of history interfere with a production. That said, it is a good film and it did help bring interest in Bletchley Park to many persons.

There was also a BBC series called The Bletchley Circle. The story line is where a group of females who had worked together at Bletchley Park turn their code breaking skills into sleuths where they solve crimes. It was rather good.


A lovely mansion



D-Dayt exhibit is excellent 


The Huts , each with their own responsibility 


The office of Commander Alexander "Alastair" Guthrie Denniston


The Stables on the way to the cottages 


Cottage #3 where the Enigma gode was broken 


A three rotor enigma 


A colossus replica. There were even a few of these in the US.  


Hut 11 where the colossus machines worked  



The office of Alan Turing 



Alan Turing's teddy bear, named Porgy, he used Porgy to practice his speeches
Brilliant he was but did not work well in a group setting 


The back gate where dispatch riders would arrive 



There are ties to Winston Churchill’s previous service, Ian Fleming, and even JR Tolkien.
The breaking of the German Enigma and Lorenz Codes definitely saved many lives in WWII and probably did help significantly to end the war.

I recently finished reading a book titled “Bletchley Park and D-Day” by David Kenyon. This book chronicles the inception and development of Bletchley Park and the Code Breakers as a primer for the work done to support the D-Day invasion.

For me, Bletchley Park celebrates the successes of WWII, the values, patriotism, discipline, commitment, and technological excellence of the persons stationed at Bletchley Park.

I highly recommend a day trip to Bletchley Park to learn of the events which took place on these grounds. A tip is to definitely get the free audio guide as well as attend one of the free guided walks.
We had a wonderful lunch at the cafe located in Hut 4.

We return to our hotel via the train and Underground.

Tonight we decided, and are in early enough to go to The Goat, one of many pubs proclaiming the Best Fish and Chips. We have been there before and yes they are rather good.




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