Bletchley Park – Home of the Codebreakers
It was amazing. We had someone visit us recently who’s mother worked at Bletchley Park – home of the famous code breakers of World War II. Of course, her mother never told anyone – not even her husband – about the work she did. She had been a bright, young banker, and was selected for her fast and accurate mind.
Now a historic treasure, Bletchley Park has an excellent collection of online resources for the student fascinated by the exploits of those responsible for cracking (and making their own) secret codes during WWII.
This site is an opportunity to explore the different types of machines and codes that were using during World War Two, and even listen to personal stories of the hard, hot work done at Bletchley – “It was like making butter…” Discover the mathematicians who helped crack the incredible number of combinations they were faced with:
John Herivel was a mathematician who made a breakthrough in the search for a way to get into the German Enigma codes. “At the time that Herivel started work at Bletchley Park, Hut 6 was having only limited success with Enigma-enciphered messages, mostly from the Luftwaffe Enigma network known as “Red”. He was working alongside David Rees, another Cambridge mathematician recruited by Welchman, in nearby Elmers School, testing candidate solutions and working out plugboard settings. The process was slow, however, Herivel was determined to find a method to improve their attack, and he would spend his evenings trying to think up ways to do so.” Read more details about Herivel’s work on Wikipedia.