[QuadList] Code breakers and Quad VT Engineers visit Bletchley Park... and see a piece of WWII cypher history

[Ted Langdell]

QuadList members might remember the WWII "Enigma Machine" that helped  
the Allies read German messages unbeknownst to the Germans.

Earlier this month, the opportunity to visit where the code-breaking  
happened brought QuadList member George Keller and his wife Ann across  
the Atlantic to London and UK QuadList member Trevor Brown and his  
wife Pauline down from Leeds in the north east corner of England.

They visited Bletchley Park, 50 miles northwest of London, in  
Buckinghamshire.  Once the home to a wealthy finacial family, it was  
about to be demolished by a developer... when events change the course  
of the property's history:

http://www.bletchleypark.org/content/hist/early.rhtm

It was 1938 and the threat of war loomed as Hitler invaded first  
Austria and then Czechoslovakia. The Government Code and Cypher  
School, then based in London, needed a safer home where its  
intelligence work could carry on unhindered by enemy air attacks. At a  
junction of major road, rail and teleprinter connections to all parts  
of the country, Bletchley Park was eminently suitable.

Commanded by Alastair Denniston, the Park was given the cover name  
Station X, being the tenth of a large number of sites acquired by MI6  
for its wartime operations.

After meticulous preparation and a series of trial runs, the  
codebreakers arrived in earnest in August 1939. They masqueraded as  
'Captain Ridley's Shooting Party' to disguise their true identity. It  
was to be the first instalment in one of the most remarkable stories  
of the Second World War.


Here's George's post and pictures, which got halted in delivery  
because of too many recipients in the address line.

Ted

-----------
Begin forwarded message:

Sent: Tue, Sep 20, 2011 3:44 pm
Subject: Visit to Bletchley Park

Earlier this month, (Sep 5) a group of former CT's got together for a  
visit to Bletchley Park.  It was great.

A few days before this, (Sep 4) was A Bletchley Veterans Reunion.   
There were many of the original Bletchley ladies there and they were  
great.  We actually had an opportunity to chat with some of them.

A few more fotos in later e-mails to to keep the size of the e-mails  
smaller.

73,

George Keller


  The first foto is of our group:  L-R Me, Mrs. Bachinski, Capt Philip  
Schick, CTR-1 Fred Hampe, Ann Keller, Capt. Paul Brady, Todd Bachinski  
(US Embassy, London), Mrs Kay Brady, Pauline and Trevor Brown, (TV  
Business).




  The other fotos are almost self explanatory.

0759 is the memorial recently dedicated by HM the Queen and



  0762 is an Enigma Machine on loan from Mick Jager.




(EOT)

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