Home of the Codebreakers
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1. Bletchley Park Logo
The Government Code & Cypher School (GC&CS) acquired an initial 58 acres in 1938 taking slightly more land as WWII progressed
2. The Lake with Bletchley Park Mansion beyond
Set in grand lush gardens the 'modest' gentleman's residence was built in 1878 on the site of an 1711 'Water Hall' & improved upon until the mid-1920's
3. Bletchley Park Mansion 1
4. Bletchley Park Mansion 2
Shrouded in secrecy to this day many have never revealed they worked at Bletchley
5. Bletchley Park Map
Map compliments of Code & Ciphers
6. The Lake & fountain
The lake was formed from medieval fish ponds
7. A beautiful recreation spot
Today you'll hear the sounds of the 1940's piped through discreet loudspeakers:
A distant train, off duty staff, rowing boats on the lake, picnics & chit chat
8. Wild lake abounds with plenty of fish!
Bletchley Park Location Setting pdf
9. Block B
Antenna is Amateur Radio GB3RS, see below later in feature
10. Bletchley Park Manor Floor Plan
11. Commanding Officers (CO) Office Desk
CO 1939-1941 Alistair Denniston
12. Operations Room
13. Mansion Office 1
14.
Mansion Office 2 |
15.
Imitation Game prop 1 |
From the 10th November 2014 for one year Bletchley Park staged 'The Imitation Game film exhibition'
16. Imitation Game prop 2
17. Imitation Game prop 3
18. Imitation Game prop 4
19. Enigma 1 Machine
Used from the 1930's & WWII
20. Hut 8 & Bike Shed (Bletchley Park Archive)
Hut 8 was where Alan Turing worked on the Enigma Code
21. Period Bicycles in the Bike Shed
Beginning in December 1932 three Polish cryptologists, Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Rózycki & Henryk Zygalski, working for Polish military intelligence were first to break the code
By the outbreak of WWII Germany had made Enigma more sophisticated, with codes changed daily the Poles were struggling to make headway
Their knowledge was passed on & advice on making an Electro-Mechanical Device to simulate the workings of Enigma
22.
Alan Turing (Bletchley Park Archive) |
23.
Alan Turing's Office in Hut 8 |
Dilly Knox, John Jeffery's, Peter Twin & Alan Turning unrevealed Enigmas administrative key
Alan Turing & Gordon Welchman designed & built the huge computer know as 'The Bombe' that would finally crack the cipher
24. The Post Office
25. The last Post Master
A small Butlers extension was added in 1900, in WWII an undercover mailroom, using Post Box Numbers was established
The General Post Office (GPO) opened for business in 1947, becoming a sub Post Office & Shop it traded for 40 years
When in 1994 Bletchley Park opened as a museum, it was the first Gift Shop issuing its first of its famous first day covers, these are now highly regarded, valuable & much sought after
On the date of these photographs (22nd April 2015) the Post Office closed for the final time
26. The Garages & Cryptographers Building
27. 1940 Packard Six
The Secret Service (MI6) bought a fleet of Packard Sedans as wireless units in June 1940, for Section 7 the Communications Branch HQ at Waddon Hall 5 miles outside Bletchley
Prior to being fitted with HRO radio receivers, Mark III Transmitters, batteries & chargers, they were taken to Tickfords, Newport Pagnell, shot blasted of their bright colours & camouflage painted
A number of these cars were attached to the Admiralty, War Office, RAF Command & Ultra Top Secret Personnel to ensure communication in the event of German invasion
28. Cryptographers Building
29. Water Tower
Bletchley Park (Station X) was accommodated in the Water Tower
30. Bombe 1
The world's only fully-operational Bombe rebuild - the electro-mechanical device used to mechanise the process of breaking Enigma
31. Bombe 2
32.
Bombe 3 |
33.
Alan Turing
sculpture |
34. Sculpture of Alan Turing by Stephen Kettle
35. Codebreaker Memorial
Unveiled by HM Queen in 2011 the words on the side read, “We Also Served”
Testament to the 800 personal that worked diligently at Bletchley Park
36. Cipher Office (Bletchley Park Archive)
37. Hollerith Punch Room (Bletchley Park Archive)
38. Registration Room (Bletchley Park Archive)
39. Direction Finding Plotting Room (Bletchley Park Archive)
40. 'Shanghai' Bombe at Eastcote (Bletchley Park Archive)
41. Swans at the lake
Return to Car Park & be sure to visit Hut 1
42. The National Radio Centre Logo
Housed in Hut 1 adjacent to the main site you'll find the National Radio Centre
43. Gerald Marcuse at 2NM (National Radio Centre)
Gerald's Amateur Station 2NM broadcast across the British Empire from his Surrey Home in 1927
An interactive exhibition traces early radio & TV with experts on hand. you might like to try your hand at world wide communication on their amateur radio station GB3RS
44. The National Radio Centre 100 Years Logo
Leave The National Radio Centre, Bletchley Park Site, walk through entrance to main road along Jerima Way, turn right walk along Sherwood Drive, turn left on to footpath with Bletchley Park perimeter fence on your right ...
45. Original Main Gate 1
You'll reach the original main entrance gate ...
46.
Original Main Gate 2 |
47.
Block G |
Walk past Bletchley Park's Wartime Canteen in Block G ...
48. Block G
... at Wilton Hall turn left, then right to pick up Bletchley Park perimeter fence again on your right ...
49. St Mary's Church
... follow path to St Mary's Church, it was here that many Bletchley Park personnel were married, a fitting end
50. Bletchley Park Home of the Codebreakers logo
To fully appreciate Bletchley Park set aside two days, you'll need it!
The (pdf) files in this feature are a taster of thevast archive of material available at the Bletchley Park website