I-Spies at Station X - a visit to Bletchley Park
On Sunday 15th January, a group of special agents from EFOG held a rendezvous at the home of the World War II code-breakers, Bletchley Park. Arriving in separate cars so that we were not followed, the group assembled for a guided tour of this historic facility, to learn just what it was that people got up to there!
The most famous person at the park was, of course, Alan Turing, father of the modern computer, but even his fierce brain needed some help and along with fellow mathematician Gordon Welchman some 8,500 people were employed at the top secret facility to do just that. Not only did they break the German’s Enigma machine codes, but also those of Lorenz, an entirely separate communications network used by the German High Command and even more complex than the Enigma encryptions. The machines built to assist with the breaking of the codes – the Bombe and Colossus, built by the GPO - are shown at the museum of computing.
What was even more amazing was that this all remained a secret, throughout the whole war. Many of the workers moved on to GCHQ in Cheltenham after the war to work on the secrets of the cold war. It was not until the information was declassified in the mid 1970’s that the true role of Station X came to light (Station X by the way is so called because it was the tenth in a chain of wartime sites acquired by MI6 for its secret activities). Even now, we are not allowed to give you a photo to accompany this piece – it’s still secret! Saved for the nation by an army of volunteers and many of the people who used to work there the museum opened in 1994 and they are still finding out things about the code-breakers to this day.
Thanks to Dave for coming up with this one and well done to all the agents who braved the wintry weather for a very interesting day out.
Sue Ullersperger, 17th January 2012