Brad and I recently explored Bletchley Park (but first had to rewatch The Imitation Game). It’s quite amazing to be able to live in an area with so much history. I didn’t have much interest in WW2 history prior to moving to England, but when you get to see where things actually happened, it’s very different. Bletchley Park is about a 45 minute drive from our house and our paid entry is good for a full year. I didn’t do any real research about Bletchley Park prior to arriving and was really impressed with the grounds, the restoration of the buildings and the artifacts they had on display.
We went through the Visitors Center in Block C before picking up our headphones and iTouch which was an interactive tour guide. It also provided personal videos of individuals who worked at BP. The Visitors Center gave us an overview of the Enigma, which was used to encode Nazi communication along with the Bombe machines which were used to break the codes.
It was a sunny winter day and there was quite a bit of time spent outside (or in the non-insulated buildings). It meant it wasn’t overly crowded, but we just needed to dress accordingly. We were able to explore the Mansion House which housed a temporary exhibit featuring Gordon Welchman.
One of the huts showed the restoration of the buildings at BP. They also had on display some of the things found during the restoration, including discarded wartime notes which they stuffed into the ceiling and walls to keep out the draft.
The code breaker’s huts were restored to give you insight into the purpose of each hut and how they looked when in use. There were also some interactive sections so you can test your code-breaking skills.
The garages housed vehicles from that time period, including bicycles, cars, an ambulance and a motorcycle. At the peak, there were forty riders delivering up to 3,000 messages a day via motorcycle.
We took a lunch break in the cafe which included a few yummy options. I was surprised at the quality and variety at the cafe. They even had their own “Codebreaker” beer. After spending a few hours at BP we were running out of steam by the time we got to Block B which houses a museum. It contains a Turing/Welchman Bombe rebuild which was used to help decipher German messages encrypted from the Enigma machine. All were destroyed after the war.
Block B also houses the Lorenz cipher machine which Hitler used along with many enigma machines.
It was mind-blowing to think about what those that worked at BP were able to accomplish. I had no idea the significant role so many people played, the majority women. It was fascinating to see where key work was done during WW2. Brad and I both commented how we could take a picnic on our next visit as the grounds and lake were so pretty. We look forward to going back again to check out the rest of Blechley Park.
On Your Right 