Shows
Bletchley ParkE171 - Bletchley Park & Bomber Command Part 2November 2024
The crews of RAF Bomber Command had one of the most hazardous jobs of the war. Flying by night to their targets in occupied Europe, they were alone and vulnerable to the prowling German night-fighters.
Helping them reach their targets was one of the least-known, but most significant achievements of the signals intelligence operation at Bletchley Park. Analysis of the night-fighters’ communications revealed priceless insights into the German defensive system – and how it could be evaded, outwitted and ultimately manipulated.
In this ‘It Happened Here’ episode, Bletchley Park Research Officer Dr Thomas Cheetham tells us...2024-11-0840 min
Bletchley ParkE170 – Bletchley Park & Bomber Command Part 1October 2024
The crews of RAF Bomber Command had one of the most hazardous jobs of the war. Flying by night to their targets in occupied Europe, they were alone and vulnerable to the prowling German night-fighters.
Helping them reach their targets was one of the least-known, but most significant achievements of the signals intelligence operation at Bletchley Park. Analysis of the night-fighters’ communications revealed priceless insights into the German defensive system – and how it could be evaded, outwitted and ultimately manipulated.
In this ‘It Happened Here’ episode, Bletchley Park Research Officer Dr Thomas Cheetham tells us...2024-10-2545 min
Bletchley ParkE163 - The Women of Newnham CollegeApril 2024
Women were the backbone of Bletchley Park during World War Two. At its peak in January 1945, the workforce was 75% female, but even at the start of the war, women comprised a significant portion of GC&CS’s numbers. Women were recruited in a variety of ways, but a significant quantity of them, particularly early in the war, were selected direct from prominent universities such as Oxford, St Andrews and Cambridge.
Over the last few years, a team of members of Newnham College Cambridge have been researching the women from their college who worked at Bletchley Pa...2024-04-261h 28
Bletchley ParkE162 - Before the CodebreakersMarch 2024
Bletchley Park is famous as the home of World War 2 codebreaking. But what was there before the Government Code and Cypher School moved in? Who built Bletchley Park, and what remains of the pre-war country estate?
In this episode, Research Historian Dr David Kenyon and Head of Content Erica Munro examine the people who made Bletchley Park their home prior to World War 2. Sir Herbert Leon and his family bought, expanded and lived in the now-familiar Mansion, stamping their individual style on the design of the building and the estate. Surviving historical records shed an...2024-03-2456 min
Bletchley ParkE155 - Veterans’ Reunion 2023September 2023
The annual Bletchley Park Veterans’ Reunion is one of the highlights of our year. A chance to welcome back those who worked for Bletchley Park during World War Two, and thank them for their service. This year’s reunion saw 17 Veterans return to enjoy a very special afternoon tea in the Mansion.
In this episode, we bring you highlights from the day as we caught up with Jean Cheshire, who lived at Bletchley Park with her parents and siblings during the war, as well as Veterans:
Carol Broughton
Alice Wolynskyj
Ruth Bourne2023-09-121h 01
Bletchley ParkE149 - Bletchley Park PoetryMarch 2023
To celebrate World Poetry Day on the 21st of March, we have been looking into the poets and poetry of Bletchley Park.
We have chosen nine poems to feature in this episode; they are read by staff, volunteers and Bletchley Park Veterans.
Exhibitions Manager, Erica Munro and Research Officer, Dr Thomas Cheetham have been digging into the archives to give us more information as we listen.
Thanks to all our readers for their time and fantastic performances.
A special thank you to the Watkins family for the wonderful recording o...2023-03-211h 31
Bletchley ParkE137 - The Intelligence FactoryMay 2022
Bletchley Park held a number of events to celebrate the opening of The Intelligence Factory and in this special episode we will take you to those events to hear from VIP guests, supporters and some of the people who helped to create our largest exhibition to date.
From the ‘Friends of Bletchley Park’ Preview we will hear from some of the first people who got to follow in the footsteps of our Veterans, in the newly restored Block A.
Dr Emily Scott-Dearing, the Interpretation Lead for The Intelligence Factory, explains how you tell the complex story of t...2022-05-061h 08
Bletchley ParkE136 - Scaling UpApril 2022
Thursday 28th April 2022 sees Bletchley Park unveiling its largest exhibition to date, in the newly restored Block A. Its focus is the period from late 1942 to early 1945, when the demands of its crucial wartime work changed the Government Code and Cypher School from a ‘cottage industry’ into an industrial-scale intelligence operation. The name of the exhibition is, very aptly, ‘The Intelligence Factory’.
Block A was the first of the purpose-built ‘Block’ buildings that marked the scaling up of the codebreaking operation. Therefore it is fitting that it houses this major new addition to Bletchley Park’s visitor experience.
2022-04-261h 22
Bletchley ParkE133 - Honouring Our VeteransJanuary 2022
The Podcast Team wish all our listeners a Very Happy New Year and how better to start it than with some great news.
With over 13,500 names so far, The Bletchley Park Roll of Honour aims to list all those who worked in signals intelligence for the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries during the Second World War. As no single list of the personnel of Bletchley Park and its outstations was ever produced, the Roll of Honour has been compiled from information in official sources, publications and, most importantly, that provided by the Veterans themselves, their former colleagues an...2022-01-211h 03
Bletchley ParkE128 - Whitehall 7947 - The Early Days ExhibitionAugust 2021
Hindsight and the lifting of decades of secrecy, allows us to know that by 1945 Bletchley Park had become a ‘codebreaking factory’ supplying war winning intelligence to the Allies ultimate victory.
But what was it like for the 185 members of staff on Monday the 4th of September 1939? And … who were they?
Supported by the UK government’s Culture Recovery Fund, our new exhibition ‘Early Days’ covers the events of 1938 to late 1939 and tells the story of the first Bletchley Park Codebreakers.
Exhibitions Manager Erica Munro guides us through the 5 scenes of the exhibition, the challenges of turning the st...2021-08-311h 14
Bletchley ParkE125 - Fall Gelb Part TwoJune 2021
By late May 1940 the Germans have arrived at the French coast, cutting the Allied forces in two. Their risky invasion plan ‘Fall Gelb’ (or ‘Case Yellow’) has paid off. For the Allies, things will only get worse - an evacuation of the British forces from Dunkirk, the capture of Paris and the ultimate humiliation at Compiègne.
It also marked a turning point for Bletchley Park. The attack led the Germans to change their Enigma procedures which had been exploited so successfully by the Hut 6 team. It took a creative approach, as well as some lazy enemy operating p...2021-06-111h 06
Bletchley ParkE110 – The Best of Reunions Part 1September 2020
Each year, to mark the arrival of the Codebreakers to their war station in 1939, we hold our Veterans Reunion.
This is the highlight of our calendar year, and a really special occasion for all involved. Veterans can meet up with friends old and new and share stories of their vital and once top-secret wartime work. These events have taken on even more meaning in the past few years, for the Veterans, their families, and all those who work for Bletchley Park Trust today.
It is with huge regret that, due to COVID-19 restrictions, Bletchley Park Trust ha...2020-09-061h 01
Bletchley ParkIntelligence Insight No. 012July 2020
Bletchley Park is an independent charity and so we rely on the ticket sales of our visitors for 95% of our operating costs, but another way to support the museum is to become a Friend of Bletchley Park.
As a friend of Bletchley Park you not only get our normal free unlimited year-round access to our heritage site and museum, but a range of other benefits including exclusive events, previews and discounts … all while knowing you are helping us to keep telling the story of the vital war winning work carried out by the men and women of The Government Code a...2020-07-1752 min
Bletchley ParkIntelligence Insight No. 011July 2020
In this episode we are staying with Dermot Turing & his wider family. First we go back to a very cold day in March 2015 when more than twenty members of Alan Turing’s family gathered at Bletchley Park to pay tribute to their famous ancestor. The Imitation Game had been released only a few months earlier, so to have so many Turing’s in one place, at the same time, meant the worlds press turned up too & so the perfect opportunity for Dermot to launch the fundraising campaign for the restoration of Hut 11a.
Then we will return to Hut 11a exactl...2020-07-031h 08
Bletchley ParkIntelligence Insight No. 004April 2020
Many of Bletchley Park’s senior early war staff had cut their codebreaking teeth during World War One. In 2015 we opened an exhibition called The Road to Bletchley Park which looked at the work of Room 40 and MI1B. So following on from our previous Intelligence Insight we will be sharing again some interviews with the families of these famous Codebreakers of both conflicts.
Dillwyn ‘Dilly’ Knox started World War Two as GC&CS’s Chief Codebreaker but in World War One had been one of the team that helped to break the famous Zimmerman Telegram. So first we return to 2...2020-04-2459 min
Bletchley ParkIntelligence Insight No. 003April 2020
Over the years we have been very fortunate to welcome the families of some of our more famous Codebreakers for a visit to Bletchley Park. The families always have such an immense pride in their ancestors and the work they did for GC&CS and it’s always an honour for the podcast to sit down with them for our listeners.
Following on from our last podcast, Invasion Norway, where we looked at the vital work Harry Hinsley carried out in the Naval Section, we go back to 2017 when two of his children, Clarissa & Hugo paid a visit with 3 gener...2020-04-1757 min
Bletchley ParkIntelligence Insight No. 001March 2020
Bletchley Park Museum is currently closed as a precautionary measure to help contain the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Our staff and volunteers like so many around the world are in lockdown, self-isolation or working remotely from home.
Bletchley Parks CEO Iain Standen said “This isn’t the first time that Bletchley Park has operated at unprecedented times of national crisis and it is the values of those that have and still work here – understanding, collaboration, integrity, perseverance, resilience – that we hold dear at this moment.”
While we can we will continue to produce our normal podcasts but in addition to that the Po...2020-03-271h 04
Bletchley ParkE104 - Challenge HQFebruary 2020
In contrast to its roots as a top secret organisation, the name of Bletchley Park is now recognised around the world. Sharing Bletchley Park’s stories with our audiences through education is at the heart what we now do here. Since first opening the site as a museum in 1992, educational programming has been a crucial part of the work of Bletchley Park Trust.
Our Learning team of dedicated staff and volunteers now welcomes over 35,000 visitors to the site each year and reaches even more through their growing Outreach and Digital programmes. Their workshops, tours and events have won awards at the...2020-02-1847 min
Bletchley ParkE91 – David Kenyon presents: Bletchley Park and D-DayJune 2019
On June the 6th 2019, Bletchley Park ran a number of events to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Never before seen handwritten decrypts were release to the public and we took over Twitter for the day to Tweet those very messages in real time, as if it was 1944. You can now find these messages on our website at www.bletchleypark.org.uk/news/bletchley-park-and-d-day
In this episode we take you to the dining room of the iconic mansion and bring you the talk that our research historian Dr David Kenyon gave on the day to celebrate the launch of his n...2019-06-2048 min
Bletchley ParkE89 - Bletchley Park and D-DayMay 2019
With the opening of D-Day: Interception, Intelligence, Invasion, the key role that Bletchley Park played in the success of the Normandy campaign is finally being told. Now, a new book written by our very own research historian, Dr David Kenyon adds even more depth to that story.
Using previously classified documents, David casts the work of Bletchley Park in a new light, as not just a codebreaking establishment, but as a fully developed intelligence agency. This account reveals the true character of GC&CS’s vital contribution to success in Normandy, and ultimately, Allied victory.
Podcast Producer Mark Cotton sat do...2019-05-2323 min
Bletchley ParkE85 - Drama at Bletchley ParkFebruary 2019
This month we leave the code breaking behind and focus on what became an important part of the Off-Duty time for many of the staff at GC&CS during World War 2.
Working long shifts and being far from the bright lights of London and other major towns, the staff of Bletchley Park organised much of their own entertainment. As early as 1940 the management recognised that the staff needed diversions to fill their down time and encouraged the organisation of many of these.
With a staff drawn from so many clever and gifted...2019-02-1052 min
Bletchley ParkE84 - Second Front NowJanuary 2019
1943 had been a year of Turning Points in World War 2, but 75 years ago few people could have known for certain the monumental events that would unfold in 1944.
In this It Happened Here episode we take stock and look at the year ahead. The Big Three, Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met together for the first time and took decisions that would ultimately lead to the 6th of June, D-Day.
In the wider war the Germans had bogged the Allies down on the Italian Front, while at sea Bletchley Park saw success with their contribution in...2019-01-1053 min
Bletchley ParkE83 - Bletchley Park & Beyond Part 2December 2018
In this second of our two episodes this month we bring you two more interviews from our Oral History Archive.
Our Oral History Officer Jonathan Byrne and his team have collected over 450 interviews in the last 7 years with our Veterans’. Now with the support of Milton Keynes Council the project is being extended to include local people with connections to the wartime Bletchley Park.
Judith Wainer couldn’t have been a closer neighbour to Station X as she lived on Wilton Avenue. Her family had senior GC&CS staff billeted on them but...2018-12-1959 min
Bletchley ParkE82 - Bletchley Park & Beyond Part 1December 2018
In the first of two episodes this month we bring you three interviews of Veterans and local people from our Oral History Archive.
Our Oral History Officer Jonathan Byrne and his team have collected over 450 interviews in the last 7 years. He tells us about a new project, being run with the support of Milton Keynes Council, to extend our archive to include local people with connections to the wartime Bletchley Park.
At the outbreak of World War 2 Val Pinker was a teenager living in Wolverton Park House. She recalls her mother’s ho...2018-12-1059 min
Bletchley ParkE74 - Sound and VisionJuly 2018
This month we swing a shoe, meet the artist exploring the layers and fragmentation of the Bletchley Park story and hear from a Foreign Office clerk who thought she was going to be a spy.
Hear what happened when Bletchley Park played host to a Guinness World Record attempt at the largest swing dance lesson. The swing dance club, JiveSwing, led the couples, many of whom who’d turned out in their best vintage gear, in a half hour lesson followed by a three minute dance, to take a crack at the record.
...2018-07-0958 min
Bletchley ParkE73 - Bond at Bletchley ParkJune 2018
This month it’s all about 007. Bletchley Park has opened a new exhibition in historic Hut 12, featuring memos, letters and personal photographs of Ian Fleming, a fantastic collection of Bond novels through the decades and original, specially commissioned works by talented and innovative artists, inspired by scenes, themes and characters from Bond novels.
The Bond creator and author, Ian Fleming, worked in Naval Intelligence during World War Two, and had close links with Bletchley Park. He was the right hand man of the head of Naval Intelligence, so he had the highest level of se...2018-06-0954 min
Bletchley ParkE72 - Fishing SeasonMay 2018
The Bletchley Park story is about more than Enigma. A different kind of traffic was also coming over the airwaves, being intercepted and mined for crucial intelligence. But it was generated by an even more fiendishly complex system than Enigma, which was itself believed to be unbreakable. Lorenz was the machine being used by Hitler and his high command to send top level, strategic messages. It was less portable and more secure than Enigma, but that didn’t defeat the boffins at Bletchley Park. They cracked this code too, code naming it Fish, and assigning individual fi...2018-05-0957 min
Bletchley ParkE70 - Secrets RevealedMarch 2018
From the attempt to assassinate Hitler in July 1944, to orders to shoot dead any German soldier seen fleeing Riga as a cowardly traitor, the Hut 3 Headlines tell a story of World War Two in tiny snippet form. They were succinct summaries of Enigma messages sent by the German army and air force, intercepted and deciphered by Bletchley Park. These messages were then boiled down to the barest essentials to be sent to the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.
He’s reputed to have wanted to know everything that was happening, and it’s well established that...2018-03-1053 min
Bletchley ParkE66 - In Their Words Part 1December 2017
Bletchley Park’s Oral History project has been running for six years, interviewing more than 400 veterans so far. These personal testimonies capture the unique and precious memories of people who worked at Bletchley Park and its outstations.
Not only are these interviews a great source of historical facts, adding to what we know about the work carried out by the Government Code and Cypher School during World War Two, they’re also a treasure trove of lesser-known details about the processes and what life was like during that time. Adding reminiscences about food, fun and...2017-12-1355 min
Bletchley ParkE64 - The End of the BeginningOctober 2017
75 years ago, one of the most decisive battles of World War Two marked the end of the beginning. El Alamein was of huge strategic importance to both the Allied and Axis forces in North Africa.
Rommel and Montgomery’s forces clashed twice. The second battle would become famous, making a household name of this obscure outpost.
The intelligence was a crucial weapon. Rommel’s attack plan was confirmed by intercepts which were deciphered and translated by the top secret Government Code and Cipher School at Bletchley Park, giving the Allies an unseen adva...2017-10-2353 min
Bletchley ParkE60 - PQ17 Disaster in the ArcticJuly 2017
What happened when the Admiralty didn’t believe the intelligence coming from Bletchley Park? The answer; huge losses at sea. But this is not to suggest blame - hindsight can be cruel.
The Tirpitz was a much-feared German battleship - it was the biggest they had built. Bletchley Park provided intelligence under the banner of Ultra - the highest level of secrecy - that it had not yet set sail. But this reassuring news was not taken on board by the naval powers that be. Convoy PQ17 was scattered, in the mistaken belief that th...2017-07-0943 min
Bletchley ParkE58 - Highs and LowsMay 2017
Highs and lows of the codebreaking operation at Bletchley Park are the subject of this month’s episode. There were a lot of lows, but it’s not all doom and gloom. We know how the war ended but, back then, the threat of invasion still hung in the air and Hitler’s forces were making great gains, not only in Europe. This was also around the time when the German Navy decided to tighten the security of its radio traffic in the Atlantic, where Allied shipping convoys were being found and sunk with horrifying success. We exp...2017-05-0954 min
Bletchley ParkE56 - Enter JapanMarch 2017
This month’s It Happened Here story is a truly global one. It’s about what happened when the war was no longer just in Europe.
In December 1941, Japan entered World War Two. This meant intelligence gathering and processing became a far bigger and more complex task, which brought about the need for a significant expansion of the top secret operation at Bletchley Park.
We'll hear from two of the women who worked on Japanese codes at Bletchley Park, Betty Webb and Mary Every, who had never met until they were interviewed toge...2017-03-0958 min
Bletchley ParkE54 - The Zimmermann TelegramJanuary 2017
The Zimmermann Telegram tells the story of how the US became embroiled in World War One. The threat from Germany came home to the United States 100 years ago this month, courtesy of an intercepted telegram sent by the German Foreign Secretary, Arthur Zimmermann. The tricky thing was, British intelligence didn’t want the US finding out they were reading what was coming over those cables. That made it rather difficult to warn the US, without giving the game away and thereby doing enormous diplomatic damage.
We hear from the grandsons of two key figures in...2017-01-1757 min
Bletchley ParkE51 - The Party that Saved Bletchley ParkOctober 2016
The Party that Saved Bletchley Park takes you back 25 years, to the first Veterans’ reunion.
On 19 October 1991 Bletchley Park was about to be bulldozed for housing. A group of local historians organised the first - and, they thought, last - reunion of Veterans of the Government Code and Cypher School in the very buildings where they did their war work. They believed it would be a chance for the Veterans to have one last look around the site before it was consigned to history, and bid it a fond farewell.
That day, th...2016-10-1959 min
Bletchley ParkE50 - The Welchman ConnectionSeptember 2016
Action This Day! In our historic anniversary-based series, It Happened Here, we look at a paper-based act of daring which changed the course of history.
Seventy five years ago Winston Churchill visited Bletchley Park, amid the utmost secrecy. He understood how important the intelligence being produced was, and valued it highly. He gave a morale-boosting speech to the Codebreakers, and we hear from Sir Arthur Bonsall, who stumbled across the PM on his way to lunch.
Once the euphoria of the VIP visit had worn off, a group of young men who...2016-09-1154 min
Bletchley ParkE49 - Enigma from the other sideAugust 2016
Hear from a German Enigma operator for the first time in the August 2016 episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast, Enigma from the other side.
Sharing her unique story as part of Bletchley Park’s Oral History Project, Irmgard Enge, later Copley, tells how she was part of a secret operation to make sure the Allies did not find out how badly German aeroplanes and munitions factories were being damaged by bombs. She also recalls friendly - and less friendly - French people living near the air base where she was posted.
Once th...2016-08-1154 min
Bletchley ParkE48 - Pinches and BreaksJuly 2016
Dive into stories of stolen intelligence treasures which helped turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic in the July 2016 episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast, Pinches and Breaks.
As part of the historic anniversary-based series, It Happened Here, we hear from Arnold Hargreaves, a seaman aboard HMS Bulldog, who boarded the captured German submarine, U110, and still has the spoils today. An Enigma machine, codebooks and other vital documents were among the haul taken from the U-boat before it sunk.
Bletchley Park’s Research Historian, Dr David Kenyon delves into th...2016-07-1358 min
Bletchley ParkE47 - No Sleep on VE DayJune 2016
No Sleep on VE Day, a brand new episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast, is out now. Cynthia Humble was an intercept operator in the ATS from 1944 and was stationed at Forest Moor in the Yorkshire countryside. There she listened intently to enciphered Morse signals which were whisked off to a place she and her colleagues knew only as Station X.
Her memories of the intense work, the somewhat rationed but sparkling social life and how she and her watch did not sleep a wink on VE Day, despite it falling between gruelling night...2016-06-1352 min
Bletchley ParkE46 - The BismarckMay 2016
This month in the Bletchley Park Podcast’s It Happened Here series, we tell the story of The Bismarck. The iconic German battleship was sunk by the Royal Navy 75 years ago. While this clearly did not happen at Bletchley Park, but in the Atlantic Ocean, codebreaking and some of the pioneering techniques developed as part of it played a crucial role in locating the flagship of the German fleet.
Bletchley Park’s Research Historian, Dr David Kenyon, explains how work going on in wooden huts in the Buckinghamshire countryside contributed to the ship’s destru...2016-05-1055 min
Bletchley ParkE45 - Punch Cards, Porridge and a PittanceApril 2016
This episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast, Punch Cards, Porridge and a Pittance, celebrates five years since Bletchley Park’s Oral History project began in earnest.
This rich archive has grown to more than three hundred interviews and this month we begin to celebrate its fifth anniversary, by sharing the very first interview that was carried out under its auspices.
Doris Marshall, nee Phillips, lived just outside the boundaries of Bletchley Park and her family welcomed a number of billetees who worked for the Government Code and Cypher School. They suggested to he...2016-04-1146 min
Bletchley ParkExtra - E49 - Bletchley's Foreign Relations with Tony Comer Part 2March 2016
In November 2015, the GCHQ Departmental Historian made a rare public appearance as part of the Bletchley Park Presents lecture series. Tony gave a talk titled International Partnerships - Bletchley's Foreign Relations. In this second part of his talk he picks up the story with the fundamental work on Enigma carried out by Polish Codebreakers in the years running up to the start of World War Two and the start of the UK US relationship.
The simultaneous management of different levels of relationship with different countries added an often unsuspected level of complexity, and the...2016-03-3026 min
Bletchley ParkIts significance resonates down to todayMarch 2016
Dr David A Hatch, NSA Historian, explains the huge historic significance of the letter sent by General Dwight D Eisenhower, the five-star general in the United States Army during World War Two who served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, to the Chief of MI6, Stuart Menzies, at the end of the war, thanking him for the intelligence produced by Bletchley Park.
In it, Eisenhower says “The intelligence … has saved thousands of British and American lives.” The letter is now on public display for the first time, at Bletchley Park.
Visi...2016-03-1602 min
Bletchley ParkE44 - Bombe GirlsMarch 2016
In this month’s brand new episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast, Bombe Girls, meet some of the trailblazing women who were assigned to Special Duties X or posted to HMS Pembroke 5 when they joined the Wrens (Women’s Royal Naval Service or WRNS).
These women found themselves at Bletchley Park - or, in many cases - at one of its huge, industrial outstations on the fringes of London - operating state of the art machines created to speed up the process of finding the daily Enigma settings on many different networks. They’d never...2016-03-1158 min
Bletchley ParkExtra - E48 - Bletchley's Foreign Relations with Tony Comer Part 1March 2016
In November 2015, the GCHQ Departmental Historian made a rare public appearance as part of the Bletchley Park Presents lecture series. Tony gave a talk titled International Partnerships - Bletchley's Foreign Relations. In this first part of his talk he examined how foreign partnerships became an integral part of British signals intelligence shortly before World War Two.
Although parts of the story are told, the meeting with the Poles in Warsaw in July 1939, and the arrival of the Americans in February 1941, for example, the number of different relationships is greater than many people realise.
2016-03-0329 min
Bletchley ParkE42 - It Happened HereJanuary 2016
Throughout 2016, the Bletchley Park Podcast will tell stories of the Codebreakers’ successes and agonies - all of which they kept completely secret.
This month, it’s not German and it’s not Enigma. With help from Bletchley Park’s Research Historian, Dr David Kenyon, we look into the high level Italian ciphers being broken by Bletchley Park, which impacted significantly on the war in North Africa. There was a continuing dance of difficulty between the codebreaking operation in Cairo and HQ at Bletchley Park. Listen now to delve into this little known story.
We mee...2016-01-1057 min
Bletchley ParkCelebrating family prideDecember 2015
Veterans’ families encouraged to join community and buy a brick
Pride burns bright in relatives of the men and women whose secret work at Bletchley Park and its outstations helped shorten World War Two.
The Bletchley Park Trust is in touch with more than 1,500 Veterans of the clandestine codebreaking organisation, the Government Code and Cypher School. Many more are no longer with us.
Now, for the first time, the Trust is reaching out to its Veterans’ families to join a global community, celebrating their connection to this remarkable piece of hist...2015-12-2903 min
Bletchley ParkExtra - E47 - How computers were used against HitlerDecember 2015
Professor Jack Copeland, Director of the Turing Archive for the History of Computing, celebrated another forgotten hero of Bletchley Park, Max Newman, as part of the Bletchley Park Presents lecture series. His August talk ‘How Computers Were Used Against Hitler’, was a huge success.
Professor Copeland explored the story of little-recognised Codebreaker Max Newman, whose work was fundamental to the construction of the first electronic computer, Colossus. The section he founded and led at Bletchley Park was named after him; the Newmanry worked on the strategic-level Lorenz cipher, used by Hitler and the high comm...2015-12-0441 min
Bletchley ParkE40 - The Coventry MythNovember 2015
Hindsight can be cruel. The conspiracy theory that Churchill allowed Coventry to be bombed beyond recognition, killing hundreds of civilians, in order to protect the Ultra secret - that Bletchley Park was breaking German codes - is a myth.
In this episode we bring you memories of the devastating air raid on Coventry, which took place 75 years ago, on 14 November 1940. Hear from Sir Arthur Bonsall, who worked in the German Air Section, debunking the myth. And Bletchley Park’s Research Historian, Dr David Kenyon, explains how the theory came about and has since been di...2015-11-1059 min
Bletchley ParkWhen she speaks of Bletchley, a light comes into her eyesNovember 2015
Sarah Harding’s mother remembers Bletchley Park as a happy place. Dorothy Harding, nee Thompson, worked as a Morse slip reader in the Communications Centre from 1943 to the end of the war.
Many years later, Sarah directed the hit ITV drama, The Bletchley Circle, about four fictional women who worked at the Government Code and Cypher School during World War Two and, some ten years later, regrouped in secret to solve mysteries including murder.
Now Sarah is joining a worldwide community of Veterans’ relatives, who are being offered the chance to buy a co...2015-11-0601 min
Bletchley ParkExtra - E45 - Anthony and Michael de Grey - Cementing Family TiesOctober 2015
The Bletchley Park Trust is reaching out to Veterans’ families, to create a worldwide community of people with a special link to this unique piece of British history. The Trust is inviting relatives of the Codebreakers to cement their family ties with the breath-taking achievements of the Bletchley Park operation during World War Two. Their names and the importance of what they did was once shrouded in secrecy, but can now be celebrated in perpetuity.
For the next six months Veterans, their families and members of the Friends of Bletchley Park have the exclusive op...2015-10-2429 min
Bletchley ParkE39 - Forgotten GeniusOctober 2015
In Forgotten Genius, the October 2015 episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast, we take you to the opening of a brand new, fascinating exhibition about Gordon Welchman, Bletchley Park’s Architect of Ultra Intelligence. Hear from Welchman’s granddaughter, Jennifer, who flew in specially to be at the launch and from his Hut 6 colleague, Jimmy Thirsk, who at the age of 101 is one of the last few of his kind left.
Also featured is the grandson of a man who was involved in Codebreaking in both world wars, Nigel De Grey. His grandson Anthony is clea...2015-10-1059 min
Bletchley ParkExtra - E44 - Commander Dennistons GranddaughtersSeptember 2015
On 29 July Bletchley Park’s Royal Patron, HRH The Duke of Kent, officially opened the major new exhibition, The Road to Bletchley Park, telling the story of codebreaking during World War One. Many of those World War One Codebreakers went on to work at Bletchley Park during World War Two. Among them was Alastair Denniston the first operational head of the Government Code and Cypher School.
The August episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast featured an edited version of an interview with two of Commander Denniston’s granddaughters, Candy Connolly and Judith Finch. In this...2015-09-3019 min
Bletchley ParkBletchley Park Presents Gordon CoreraSeptember 2015
On 18 October the BBC’s Security Correspondent, Gordon Corera, will give a talk at Bletchley Park about his new book which traces the intertwined history of computing and espionage, Intercept – The Secret History of Computers and Spies.
The computer was born to spy. Under the intense pressure of the Second World War and in the confines of Bletchley Park, the work of men like Alan Turing and Tommy Flowers led to the birth of the computing age. It was a breakthrough that helped win the war and which cemented the importance of signals intelligence and...2015-09-1802 min
Bletchley ParkE38 - We Meet AgainSeptember 2015
Nearly ninety Veterans of the Government Code and Cypher School and its many outstations gathered at Bletchley Park on Sunday 6 September, to reminisce and meet old friends and new.
After a summer of 70th anniversary commemorations, it was a chance for people who worked in secret at both Bletchley Park and its outstations to remember their contribution. They took the opportunity to bring their friends and families to soak up the atmosphere back in the very buildings where they did their vital war work. There were also plenty of chances to share memories with...2015-09-1059 min
Bletchley ParkE37 - Royal PatronAugust 2015
In this episode we take you to the royal launch of a major new exhibition, which looks at the roots of codebreaking as we know it. The Road to Bletchley Park was officially opened on July the 29th by Bletchley Park’s Royal Patron, HRH, The Duke of Kent. We have interviews with the designer, a sponsor, our friendly GCHQ Historian & family members of two of the WW1 codebreakers.
This episode also features highlights of the last three years’ Veterans’ Reunions, as this year’s approaches. It’s always a highlight of the year for Vetera...2015-08-1059 min
Bletchley ParkThe Road to Bletchley ParkToday Bletchley Park’s Royal Patron, HRH The
Duke of Kent, will officially open a major new
exhibition telling the story of Codebreaking in
World War One, The Road to Bletchley Park.
The Duke will meet representatives of the
exhibition’s sponsors, BAE Systems and
Ultra Electronics, as well as visiting new
displays and exhibitions updated since
his last visit in 2009.
Timed to coincide with the exhibition opening,
the Bletchley Park Trust is delighted to republish
a unique parody of Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland. Alice in ID25 poked fun at the
wartime work of the Naval Intell...2015-07-2903 min
Bletchley ParkE36 - Find a Codebreaker in your familyJuly 2015
This brand new episode celebrates five years of the Roll of Honour, which aims to record all those who worked at Bletchley Park and its outstations during World War Two. It now holds nearly 11 thousand names, as well as a rich archive of memories, anecdotes and photographs.
Also this month, hear from Bletchley Park Veteran Betty Webb MBE, about how keeping news of her honour secret for seven weeks was harder than sticking to the Official Secrets Act for more than 30 years. Betty was named in the Birthday Honours list for remembering and promoting...2015-07-1350 min
Bletchley ParkE35 - The Road to Bletchley ParkJune 2015
This month’s episode provides a peek at a major new exhibition at Bletchley Park, about
codebreaking during World War One. The roots of Bletchley Park’s codebreaking success in World War Two can be clearly traced back to WW1, when several of the key figures of the Government Code and Cypher School were already engaged in the business of snooping into the enemy’s communications. The Road to Bletchley Park traces the roots of this codebreaking powerhouse back one hundred years. The exhibition is now open and will be formally launched soon.
Also in thi...2015-06-1054 min
Bletchley ParkE34 - Remembering VE Day & BeyondMay 2015
First this month we talk to our official photographer Shaun Armstrong who’s pictures help to tell the story of our new exhibition; Bletchley Park Rescued and Restored. Shaun was on hand to capture images from the start of the £8 million phase one restoration project, right through to the official opening in June 2014 by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.
Sarah Harding, director of the 2nd series of The Bletchley Circle was one of last years speakers in our Bletchley Park Presents series of talks. After her sold-out talk Sarah and her sister Gillian sat dow...2015-05-1159 min
Bletchley ParkBletchley Park Veterans remember VE DayMay 2015
70 years ago on May the 7th 1945
General Jodl signed the unconditional
surrender of all German forces in
Europe. The next day then
became Victory in Europe Day.
In this clip we bring you some of the
sounds from those two monumental
days along with the memories of some
of our amazing Veterans that we have
had the honour to interview over nearly
three years now.
This clip includes,
Betty Flavell
(WRNS 1944-1945)
Joyce Roberts
(WAAF 1945-1947)
Dot Tuffin
(WRNS 1943-1945)
Marigold Freeman-Attwood
(WRNS 1943-1945) 2015-05-0703 min
Bletchley ParkE33 - Rescued and RestoredApril 2015
This month we take you into our new Hut 12 Exhibit; Rescued and Restored, showcasing historical treasures found during the transformation of the Huts and Blocks. When conservation specialists were brought in to rescue fragile, derelict buildings as part of the much needed first phase of restoration, little could they know what they might find. In the cracks between roof beams in Hut 6 they discovered folded pieces of what appear to be scrap paper, with mysterious notes scribbled on them. Among them were the only known examples of used Banbury Sheets ever found. The system invented by...2015-04-1354 min
Bletchley ParkFree School Trips To Bletchley ParkFebruary 2015
Bursaries for disadvantaged schools have
Been added to Bletchley Park’s expanding
education programme
Winton Global Investment Management is
funding a pilot bursary scheme to allow free
school trips to Bletchley Park.
Bletchley Park welcomes more than 9,000
schoolchildren every year to its thriving
education programme. The bursaries will
be available to schools which might be most
in need of financial support. Each bursary will
cover the cost of coach hire and 40 children
attending two workshops during their time
at Bletchley Park.
The first school to participate in the scheme
was Gr...2015-02-2702 min
Bletchley ParkE31 - Telling The WorldFebruary 2015
This month best-selling author, journalist and TV presenter Ben Macintyre talks to us about his latest book, A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal. Ben spoke to us after his sell out talk last year in our Bletchley Park Presents lecture series. Tickets are on sale now for the 2015 talks which already includes Michael Smith, Victor Madeira, Jerry White, Taylor Downing and Sinclair Mackay, with more speakers to be announced soon.
Then we bring you this month’s main event. In The Debs of Bletchley Park and Other Stories, best-selling author an...2015-02-1156 min
Bletchley ParkE30 - Crucial ContributionsJanuary 2015
This month we are celebrating a cast of thousands who all made Crucial Contributions.
Back in November, the families of the three Polish codebreaking geniuses, whose work proved invaluable in the breaking of Enigma, visited Bletchley Park.
We take a look ahead at what’s new in 2015 with Bletchley Park’s Director of Learning and Collections, Victoria Worpole.
A memorial plaque has been unveiled at the site of Bletchley Park’s largest outstation at Eastcote, where Bombe machines were housed & operated by over 800 Wrens during WW2. There representing Bletchley Park were O...2015-01-1858 min
Bletchley ParkHelp Bletchley Park hit 200,000 visitors in 2014December 2014
It’s been an extraordinary year at Bletchley Park
and the icing on the cake would be to reach a
record-breaking attendance level of 200,000
visitors before 31 December 2014.
We can do it with the help of our listeners.
The 200,000th visitor will be celebrated with
prizes and greetings from Bletchley Park VIPs.
Picture: ©mcfontaine
#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #AlanTuring,
#ImitationGame2014-12-1602 min
Bletchley ParkE29 - Ghosts of Bletchley ParkDecember 2014
This month we again have more exclusive
content for you from The Imitation Game.
Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Alan
Turing in the film, tells us about how nerve
wracking, special and even ghostly it was
filming scenes at Bletchley Park.
We also take you to the opening of The
Imitation Game, The Exhibition, which was
held at the Home of The Codebreakers with
a special screening of the film. BBC 3 Counties
Jane Killick and our own roving podcast reporter
Astrid Specht speak to some of the guests at
the black-tie event, including...2014-12-1159 min
Bletchley ParkE28 - Benedict Cumberbatch on Bletchley ParkNovember 2014
With only a couple of weeks till the UK release
of THE IMITATION GAME, we can now bring
you more exclusive interviews with the cast
and crew.
Our roving reporter Astrid Specht braved the
rain with patient fans at The Odeon Leicester
Square for the London Film Festival premiere
last month.
Podcast host Katherine Lynch sits down with
Director Morton Tyldum, screen writer Graham
Moore and actors Allen Leech and Matthew
Beard.
We also bring you what was a very special
moment for all of us at Bletchley Park, when
...2014-11-0146 min
Bletchley ParkE27 - From The Red CarpetOctober 2014
This month we come to you from the red carpet at
The Odeon Leicester Square for the premiere of
THE IMITATION GAME. The movie based on the
life and work of Codebreaker Alan Turing was
picked to open the prestigious 2014 BFI London
Film Festival.
To celebrate the film’s release in UK cinemas on
the 14th of November, Bletchley Park will open
a major new exhibition, taking visitors behind the
scenes of this highly anticipated movie. We’ll bring
you more on that next month, now, though, we can
bring you exclusive behind the scen...2014-10-1350 minBletchley ParkTHE IMITATION GAME at Bletchley ParkOctober 2014
To celebrate the release of THE IMITATION GAME
in UK cinemas on 14 November, Bletchley Park will
open a major new exhibition, taking visitors behind
the scenes of the highly anticipated movie. The
exhibition will open on Tuesday 4 November with
an exclusive preview screening of the film for a
select audience at Bletchley Park. The same
evening, this vibrant heritage attraction will preview
a major new exhibition all about the making of the
film, in the very room where the bar scenes were
filmed.
Sarah Kay, Bletchley Park’s Digitisation and
Exhibitions Officer, says “THE IMIT...2014-10-0903 min
Bletchley ParkExtra - E41 - Codebreakers’ Legacy - Joel GreenbergSeptember 2014
In this final highlight from last year’s sell-out day of talks,
Codebreakers’ Legacy, Dr. Joel Greenberg talks about
the vitally important work of another lesser known figure
from GC&CS, Gordon Welchman.
Welchman designed changes to Alan Turing’s Bombe
Machine which was used throughout the war to find the
daily settings for Enigma. He also drew up the
organisational plan for Bletchley Park which ultimately
would enable it to become a “Codebreaking Factory”.
Joel is a Guide & Historian at Bletchley Park & undertook
with the support of the Welchman family to write his...2014-10-0135 min
Bletchley ParkHurricane Fly Past at Bletchley ParkSeptember 2014
As part of our annual Veteran’s Reunion this year
there was a fly past by a Hurricane of the RAF’s
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
14,533 Hurricanes had been built by the end of
World War 2, but sadly, today, there are only 12
still airworthy worldwide; only 6 of those in UK.
The BBMF is proud to operate two of these
historically important and rare aircraft.
For more information on The BBMF please go to http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/
The beautiful picture accompanying this clip was
taken by Bletchley Park...2014-09-2301 min
Bletchley ParkE26 - Walking Among ThemSeptember 2014
This month we bring you a special episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast, from the Annual Veterans' Reunion.
2014 is a landmark year for Bletchley Park, marking not only 75th anniversary of the Government Code and Cypher School getting its vital war work underway, but also the completion of £8 million worth of much-needed restoration, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. At this year’s reunion many of the Veterans saw those renovations for the first time.
Bletchley Park's CEO, Iain Standen, brings the Veterans up to date on the work that's been carried out...2014-09-1555 min
Bletchley ParkVeterans’ Reunion marks 75th Anniversary of Bletchley ParkSeptember 2014
As well as marking the 75th anniversary of the
Government Code and Cypher School getting its
vital war work underway, this year’s annual
Veterans’ Reunion will give many their first chance
to see how Bletchley Park has been transformed.
2014 is a landmark year for the Bletchley Park
Trust, marking not only 75 years since the
Codebreakers got cracking on the task of
breaking enemy codes and ciphers, but also
the completion of a much-needed £8 million
restoration project, supported by the Heritage
Lottery Fund.
At this year’s Veterans’ Reunion, many former
workers of the Go...2014-09-0406 min
Bletchley ParkExtra - E39 - Gwendoline PageAugust 2014
In July, as part of the Bletchley Park Presents series of
talks, four women whose diverse roles within the
Government Code & Cypher School during World War
Two give a rare insight into the inner workings of this
top secret organisation.
One of those women was WREN Gwendoline Page who
worked first in the Naval Section at Bletchley Park,
indexing U-boat signals & later on the Japanese vessels
index based in Colombo.
After her talk, at the end of a very long day, she was
still kind enough to sit down with us to...2014-08-1719 min
Bletchley ParkE25 - Inspiring WomenAugust 2014
This month’s episode is all about Inspiring Women.
We first take you to the launch of McAfee’s Cyber Security Exhibition and Computer Learning Zone which was held in the ballroom. The focus is on Online Safety for all ages, but especially children, as well as encouraging more women
to Cyber Security. We have highlights of the speeches from McAffee’s Ross Allen & Raj Samani, Natalie Black of The Cabinet Office & Bletchley Park Trust Chairman Sir John Scalett, as well as interviews with our own Online Education Officer Nicola Halls & Veteran Betty Webb. You ca...2014-08-1058 min
Bletchley ParkSignals Intelligence in World War OneAugust 2014
As the centenary of World War One is marked, Bletchley
Park looks back at the early intelligence career of one of
its lesser-known geniuses.
In this extract, recorded at the Codebreaker’s Legacy Talks
in November 2013, bestselling author and Bletchley Park
Trustee Michael Smith charts the World War One service
of John Tiltman, Bletchley Park's Chief Cryptographer, who
was awarded the Military Cross fighting in the trenches.
After being badly wounded in the Battle of Arras he
transferred to military intelligence beginning a brilliant
codebreaking career that was to last more than sixty years. ...2014-08-0405 min
Bletchley ParkE24 - HRH The Duchess of Cambridge at Bletchley ParkJuly 2014
This month we take you behind the scenes during
HRH The Duchess of Cambridge’s visit on 18 June,
meeting the Veteran who worked with her grandmother
and some of those involved in the transformation of
Bletchley Park.
Valerie Glassborow, The Duchess of Cambridge’s
paternal grandmother, worked as a Foreign Office
Civilian, towards the end of the war, alongside her
twin sister, Mary, in Hut 16. They went on to marry
the Middleton brothers. But before that, they shared
a very special moment in history with their friend and
colleague, Lady Marion Body, who met The...2014-07-1054 min
Bletchley ParkBletchley Park Presents - Guy Burt & Sarah HardingJuly 2014
This September, Bletchley Park Presents Guy Burt
and Sarah Harding, the creative partnership which
brought us the second series of the hit ITV drama,
The Bletchley Circle. As part of the prestigious
Bletchley Park Presents lecture series, Guy will tell
the story behind this ripping yarn, exploring how
he created the strong female characters and why
he based their lasting bond at Bletchley Park during
World War Two.
Sarah Harding, Director of the second two-part story
in series two of The Bletchley Circle, will discuss her
highly personal connection to the Bletchley Park story. 2014-07-0803 min
Bletchley ParkE23 - The Transformation of Bletchley ParkJune 2014
The transformation of Bletchley Park is now complete & on
the 18th of June, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge will visit
to launch the completed restoration. In this month’s episode
we take you inside Code breaking Huts 3 and 6 & the new
Block C Visitor Centre with the first people to see them
restored to their wartime glory; the Veterans themselves.
We join RAF Veteran Sergeant Bernard Morgan when he
met his modern day equivalent, RAF Aerospace Battle
Manager, Flight Lieutenant Vikki Thorpe, on a recent visit
to Bletchley Park. He shares his D-Day memories with us...2014-06-1040 min
Bletchley ParkThe Crucial Link - Bletchley Park & the D-Day DeceptionJune 2014
The importance of Bletchley Park’s role in the D-Day
deception should not be underestimated.
Messages decrypted at Bletchley Park showed that the
feint had been swallowed whole, leading Germany to
believe that the invasion would be at the Pas de Calais
rather than Normandy.
Katherine Lynch talked to Bletchley Park’s Senior Archivist,
Richard Lewis, and historian and founding member of the
Bletchley Park Trust, Peter Westcombe.
Picture: ©shaunarmstrong/mubsta.com
#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #enigma, #DDay70,
#WW2, #Overlord, #AudioMo,2014-06-0604 min
Bletchley ParkHRH The Duchess of Cambridge Visit to Bletchley ParkMay 2014
The Duchess of Cambridge will visit Bletchley Park,
on Wednesday 18 June 2014 to mark the completion
of the year-long restoration project, which has restored
the site to its World War Two appearance.
Her Royal Highness will view the restored location, tour
the WW2 Codebreaking Huts and will hear about the
achievements of the Codebreakers whose work is said
to have helped shorten the war by two years.
During the visit, Her Royal Highness will meet
Codebreaker veterans who worked at the Government
Code and Cypher School during WW2, where encrypted
messages sent by...2014-05-3005 min
Bletchley ParkVelocity Launch - How Bletchley Park Overcame AdversityMay 2014
Bletchley Park CEO Iain Standen has told a new
support hub for businesses how focusing on the
fascinating story of World War Two Codebreaking
helped transform Bletchley Park from a ramshackle,
derelict site into a vibrant heritage attraction.
Velocity, a new growth hub for ambitious small and
medium-sized enterprises across the South East
Midlands, was launched in the newly-restored Block C
Visitor Centre at Bletchley Park on Friday 23 May. It will
help businesses unlock their potential by helping them
to find funding and support. Bletchley Park was the
ideal launch location as it is...2014-05-2305 minBletchley ParkElizabeth Marshall - A Very, Very Secret PlaceMay 2014
When Elizabeth Marshall, nee Tatham, was recruited
to Bletchley Park in 1944, she was told “This is a
very, very secret place. You must never breathe a
word of what you do here.”
Every one of the ten thousand or so men and women
who worked for the Government Code and Cypher
School, a mixture of military and civilians, was sworn
to lifelong secrecy. During a visit to Bletchley Park,
Elizabeth recalled “We were told ‘your family and
your friends must not know.’ We sat there absolutely
agog, wondering what we had let ourselves in for.”
...2014-05-1603 min
Bletchley ParkLoebner Prize to call Bletchley Park homeMay 2014
The Loebner Prize is making Bletchley Park its permanent
home. The competition is modelled on Alan Turing’s
famous test, which suggests that a thinking computer’s
responses would, in conversation, be able to convince a
panel of judges that it is human.
The Loebner Prize was founded and is sponsored by
Dr Hugh Loebner, a New York philanthropist. He says
“The competition is the longest running Turing test.”
Since the competition’s inception in 1991, no computer
has yet managed to win anything other than the Bronze
Medal prize.
The Society for the Study...2014-05-1402 minBletchley ParkE22 - A Very, Very Secret PlaceMay 2014
This month, we learn about the doomed German plans
to invade Britain in 1940 with Historian & founding
member of the Bletchley Park Trust, Peter Wescombe
as we join him in the Bletchley Park Archive.
We also take you to the launch of the biography of
one of Bletchley Park’s lesser known geniuses,
Gordon Welchman. Joel Greenberg has been reading up
on & researching Bletchley Park’s World War Two
history since the 1970s. He is a Volunteer Tour
Guide & works part time at Bletchley Park. His book,
Gordon Welchman, Bletchley Park’s Architect of Ultra
Intell...2014-05-1051 min
Bletchley ParkBletchley Park Presents - The Real Women of Bletchley ParkApril 2014
On the 20th of July 2014, Bletchley Park proudly
presents four women whose diverse roles within
the Government Code and Cypher School during
World War Two give a rare insight into the inner
workings of this top secret organisation.
Ruth Bourne, Gwendoline Page, Jean Valentine
and Charlotte (Betty) Webb will each give a
personal glimpse into their time at Bletchley Park
and WW2, followed by a Q&A Session.
For more information and tickets got to https://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/shop/p.rhtm/130872/777785-BletchleyParkPresents_TheRealWomenofBletchleyPark.html
Picture: ©Mubsta
#B...2014-04-2801 min
Bletchley ParkGordon Welchman - Bletchley Park’s Architect of Ultra IntelligenceApril 2014
The biography of one of Bletchley Park’s
lesser-celebrated geniuses, Gordon Welchman,
has been launched with the handover of personal
documents and possessions to the Bletchley Park
Trust. They include letters and documents which
had been in Welchman’s son Nick’s loft until he
was approached by the author, Dr Joel Greenberg.
Tickets are on sale now for Bletchley Park
Presents Dr Joel Greenberg; a talk about
Gordon Welchman, on Sunday 18 May.
#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #enigma, #Bombe2014-04-2502 minBletchley ParkThe Bletchley Circle Returns to PBSApril 2014
The Bletchley Circle makes a welcome return this
weekend on America’s Public Broadcasting Service.
Series two of the hit ITV drama attracted more than
4 million viewers per episode on ITV in January and
from Sunday 13 April it will be shown on PBS.
You can hear more from the cast as well as the series
Writer and Creator, Guy Burt, and Executive Producer,
Jake Lushington, in our special December episode.
https://audioboo.fm/boos/1803303-bletchley-park-podcast-extra-the-bletchley-circle-returns
Picture: ©ITV
#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #enigma, #ladynerds2014-04-1203 min
Bletchley ParkExtra - E34 - Captain Jerry Roberts MBEMarch 2014
Captain Jerry Roberts MBE, one of Bletchley Park’s last
Codebreakers, died this week at the age of 93.
Jerry was one of the original members of The Testery
working on cracking Tunny, the German High Commands code,
used by Hitler & his top Generals.
Their work warned the Russian’s of The Kursk Offensive,
allowing them to defend until the Germans called off, what would be their last major offensive on the Eastern Front.
Winston Churchill said “Stalingrad was the end of the
beginning, but the Battle of Kursk was the beginning of the en...2014-03-2829 min
Bletchley ParkE20 - A Proud MomentMarch 2014
Children’s TV presenters Dick & Dom came to
Bletchley Park to film a programme about Alan Turing.
Absolute Genius with Dick & Dom will be on CBBC
on the 12th March. We caught a quick word with them
between takes.
Battlefield History TV is making a fascinating
documentary about the Bletchley Park story which
will soon be available on DVD. We bring you a taste
of what will be in the finished programme with Iain
Standen interviewing Veteran Bombe Wren Sue Winn
& Bletchley Park Historian Joel Greenberg talking
about his new biography of Gordon Welchman,
Bl...2014-03-1045 min
Bletchley ParkExtra - E33 - Sarah Harding – Bletchley Circle DirectorFebruary 2014
This is the full length version* of our exclusive interview
with Sarah Harding, Director of the second two-part story
in series two of the hit ITV drama, The Bletchley Circle.
In this month’s Bletchley Park Podcast & the first part of
this EXTRA Sarah tells us about her mother, Dorothy
Harding (nee Thompson) who was a Wireless
Operator / Morse slip reader at Bletchley Park 1943-1945.
It was a happy coincidence that Sarah had that personal
connection to Bletchley Park when The Bletchley Circle
script landed on her desk.
Sarah has had a lo...2014-02-2831 min
Bletchley ParkE19 - I hope she will smile, feel recognised & proudFebruary 2014
This month we join Bletchley Park Veteran Margaret
Roland as she was asked to be the special guest at a
ceremony to mark the completion of refurbishment
work at White Spire School in Bletchley.
We take you behind the scenes at rehearsals for
February half term’s exciting Living History project,
where Sorrel Meechan, one of the actors helping bring
the buildings to life, tells us about her personal
connection to the Bletchley Park having grown up
knowing her grandfather worked as a Bombe
Maintainer during World War Two.
Hear the intriguing – and...2014-02-1156 min
Bletchley ParkE18 - You Must Not Mention This ConversationJanuary 2014
This month we take you exclusively behind the scenes
during filming of The Bletchley Circle, hearing from the
Producer, Standby Art Director & Bletchley Park Trust
staff who were cast as supporting actors, to safeguard
machines which belong to GCHQ.
We hear from Veteran Audrey Wind, whose story is
featured as a DVD extra, who was told when she was
recruited: “You must not mention this conversation to any
living person.” Years after the war, she was spotted by a
fellow alumnus of Bletchley Park & the secrecy they
shared caused all sorts of suspicion about thei...2014-01-1054 minBletchley ParkExtra - E31 - The Bletchley Circle ReturnsDecember 2013
In this EXTRA episode we look back at what turned into
another busy year at Bletchley Park, but also ahead to the
return of the ITV drama The Bletchley Circle.
The thrilling series based on the lives of four extraordinary
& brilliant women who worked at Bletchley Park during
WW2 returns to UK screens on ITV for a four-part series
starting on Monday 6th of January 2014.
Over the next few Podcasts & EXTRA episodes we will
be bringing you exclusive interviews with the cast & crew,
to give you a unique look behind the scenes...2013-12-1729 min
Bletchley ParkE17 - Blind Dates, Doodlebugs & TweezersDecember 2013
This month, we join Bletchley Park historian Dr Joel
Greenberg & AS Level history students from Milton Keynes
College as they discover hidden treasures under The
Mansion car park. Footings of what the Bletchley Park
Trust believes were the first few wooden huts built at the
outbreak of World War Two were found when the tarmac
was removed.
We find out what happened at a specially set-up monitoring
station in the National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park,
when AMSAT-UK launched FUNcube-1, a 10cm cubed
satellite weighing less than a kilogram, over Russia.
We...2013-12-1045 min
Bletchley ParkE16 - Frogs over the AirNovember 2013
This month, with so much happening at Bletchley Park recently, we have to bring you an extended episode.
First we grab Hard-Hats & Hi Viz Jackets to join Conservation
Architect Janie Price & Site Manager Rob Davies to get an in-depth update on the HLF Restoration of Bletchley Park, from
floorboards to granite floors, via the roof.
In October Bletchley Park hosted Are You Listening? The event
looked at the history of communications. We spoke to members
of Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society, the British Vintage
Wireless Society & the Vintage & Military Amateur Radio Society.2013-11-1043 min
Bletchley ParkExtra - E24 - From Bletchley to GCHQ Part 2June 2013
This is the second & final part of BBC Radio Gloucestershire recent series of short programs on both Bletchley Park & GCHQ.
This part deals more with the personal lives of some of our great Veterans.
Many thanks again to BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Anna King & Manpreet Mellhi, for letting us share these programs with our listeners.
#BPark, #BBCGlos, #GCHQ, #BletchleyPark2013-06-2421 min
Bletchley ParkExtra - E23 - From Bletchley to GCHQ Part 1June 2013
Bletchley Park as you know was the home of code breaking during WW2, its official title being the Government Code and Cypher School. After the war this became, as it’s still known now, GCHQ. First based in Eastcote, but in 1951 moving to its current home of Cheltenham.
BBC Radio Gloucestershire recently ran a series of short programs in Anna Kings daily show about both establishments and have kindly said we can share them here with our Podcast Listeners.
Many thanks to BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Anna King & Manpreet Mellhi.
#BPark, #BB...2013-06-1823 min
Bletchley ParkE06 - ReunionsJanuary 2013
This month it’s all about reunions.
40 years ago a group of teenagers came to Bletchley Park as CAA Apprentices & they told Jessica Cooper of BBC 3 Counties Radio all about their time here when they came back last month.
We interview some of the original members of the Bletchley Park Trust who talk about the early days of Saving Bletchley Park to celebrate 21 years of the Trust.
Also BP CEO Iain Standen tells us all about Get Fit for 2013 & you can find out about some of the great events happening at...2013-01-1029 min