Bletchley Park

Bletchley Park (BP) is a site located in the town of Bletchley, in Milton Keynes, England. During World War II, Bletchley Park was the location of the United Kingdom's efforts to break ciphers, including those of the Enigma and Lorenz machine used by Nazi Germany. The intelligence produced by Bletchley Park, codenamed ULTRA, has been credited with hastening the end of World War II.

After the war

At the end of the war, much of the equipment used and its blueprints were destroyed. Although thousands of people were involved in the decoding efforts, the participants remained silent for decades about what they had done during the war, and it was only in the 1970s that the work at Bletchley Park was revealed to the general public. After the war, the site belonged to several owners, including British Telecom, the Civil Aviation Authority http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art9678.asp and PACE (Property Advisors to the Civil Estate). The post-war successor organisation to GC&CS, GCHQ, ended training courses at Bletchley Park in 1987.

Related Topics:
1970s - British Telecom - Property Advisors to the Civil Estate - 1987

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By 1991, the site was nearly empty and the buildings were at risk of demolition to make room for property development. The Bletchley Park Trust was formed on 13 February 1992 in order to further the maintenance of the site as a museum devoted to the codebreakers. The site opened to visitors in 1993, with the museum officially inaugurated in July 1994. The trust is volunteer-based and relies on public support to continue its efforts. The current director of the trust, Christine Large, was appointed in March 1998.

Related Topics:
13 February - 1992

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A team headed by Tony Sale has undertaken a reconstruction of a Colossus computer in H blockhttp://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/lorenz/rebuild.htm. Another team has undertaken a rebuild of the bombe, lead by John Harperhttp://www.jharper.demon.co.uk/bombe1.htm.

Related Topics:
Colossus computer - Bombe

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