Out & About Summer 2021

For a chance to win a family ticket to WIN

From page 27 as people hurried along the corridors passing information on from one room to another or sat painstakingly noting every single little detail of messages and intel received. Huts 11 and 11A have been restored to show the story of the Bombe machine – developed to crack the Enigma cipher. As you walk through you can hear the babble of voices as row upon row of personnel worked tirelessly to decipher the messages. As we walked from one hut to another I fully expected to bump into a WRAF or civilian hurrying along from one part of the vast set up to another – Bletchley really gives the impression of a place where time has stood still. You learn what a truly international effort it was – about the roles played by the Polish decoders, how the Italians used a Swedish machine, which was decoded at Bletchley, the contribution of the US intelligence teams and how the Japanese unwittingly supplied vital information. But we were also brought bang up to date in Hut 12 and the Never Alone Exhibition. This explores modern devices and the rapid expansion of the internet and smart devices. From Fitbits to now obscure listening devices – including a rather creepy doll – it makes

Bletchley Park turn to page 31

Again there are hands Covid-compliant interactive activities and children will be fascinated to learn just what their devices are up to. A successful bid for a Heritage Lottery Fund has allowed Bletchley to offer all this to its visitors and there are plans to restore more of the Blocks – Block A will open to the public for the first time in 2022 with new exhibition spaces – as more is continually discovered about the operations that took place there. For the very young there is a play area, the extensive grounds have plenty of areas for picnicking and refreshments are also available in the visitor centre. There is so much to see and learn about at Bletchley return visits are almost inevitable and with that in mind tickets allow for unlimited return visits within a year. The ticket also includes entry to the National Radio Centre. You can also visit The National Museum of Computing, an independent, separate museum which charges its own fee – www.tnmoc.org Because of Covid you currently have to pre-book and will be allocated a time slot. To find out more visit www.bletchleypark. org.uk Bletchley Park is 66 miles from Newbury and takes about 1h45m by car.

a direct link from digital technology to the thousands of personnel who wrote and stored every single bit of information they could glean on index cards. In fact, it shows that personal information could be as revealing and useful to the codebreakers as knowledge of enemy plans. The codebreakers were collecting a lot of information. How much do we all give away through use of smart devices today? Below: A car used in the movie Enigma on loan fromMick Jagger, oneof theproducersof thefilm, is one of the vehicles on display in the stableyard Cayladoll:ToyslikethiswerebannedinGermanyin 2017 under their privacy laws as she speaks to her owner using a wifi internet connection

Gulliver’s Land: Six miles from Bletchley Park - www.gulliverslandresort.co.uk Snozone: Four miles from Bletchley Park - www.xscapemiltonkeynes. co.uk Milton Keynes International Festival, July10-30: A multi-arts programme over 10 days, which includes large-scale and family events - www.stables.org Blenheim Palace: Break the journey home and stop off at Churchill’s birthplace - www.blenheimpalace.org.uk Bicester Shopping Village: Or take a trip into Oxford or go shopping at Bicester Village

As an incentive for the family, you could combine a trip to Bletchley with one of these nearby attractions

Silverstone: 19 miles from Bletchley Park www.silverstone.co.uk

O&A SUMMER 2021

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