Friends see major new WW1 exhibition first

Members of the Friends of Bletchley Park enjoyed an exclusive preview of the major new exhibition tracing the roots of codebreaking during World War One, The Road to Bletchley Park. This exhibition, sponsored by BAE Systems and Ultra Electronics, reveals the untold story of codebreaking pioneers, and how their work laid the foundations for Bletchley Park’s unparalleled success during World War Two. Hear what happened at the preview in the new episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast.

Image © Event Communications

Bletchley Park Presents Taylor Downing

On Sunday 21 June the writer, historian and TV producer Taylor Downing will give a talk on his book, Secret Warriors: Key Scientists, Codebreakers and Propagandists of the Great War. He examines the Codebreaking blunders of WW1, how Winston Churchill learned from them and went on to protect the Bletchley Park operation in WW2 by wrapping it in ultra secrecy. Taylor will also consider how wartime research paved the way for some of the twentieth century’s biggest scientific leaps.

Image © Little, Brown Book Group

More prestigious speakers to come

Next month author Sinclair McKay will speak about his new book on RAF Fighter Command, tying in with the 75th Anniversary of The Battle of Britain. In September Professor Jack Copeland, Director of the Turing Archive for the History of Computing, will talk on the little-recognised Codebreaker Max Newman. And Tessa Dunlop, author of The Bletchley Girls, will celebrate the extraordinary stories of women who, over 70 years ago, worked for Britain’s most secret organisation.

Summer glamour at the 1940s Boutique

Book your place to get gorgeous, 1940s style, with help from vintage stylist Sarah Dunn of Sarah’s Doo-Wop Dos. The 1940s Boutique is back at Bletchley Park on Saturday 18 July, with a day of workshops on hair, make-up and fashion from the era when austerity bred beauty creativity. As well as a step-by-step guide to creating a festival-ready vintage look, the day includes admission to Bletchley Park and lunch. Tickets are on sale now.

Image © Jez Brown Photography

That is All You Need to Know – new tour

Idle Motion travel back to 1940s England, to the eccentric country house whose grounds, filled with chess champions, Oxbridge graduates and young debutantes, was the melting pot of Britain’s greatest minds. A new tour of the play, That is All You Need to Know, is underway with forthcoming dates in Newbury, Doncaster and Aberystwyth, among others. This stunning piece of visual theatre tells the untold secrets of the remarkable men and women who cracked the codes.

Cyber Security online exhibition – coming soon

Bletchley Park and McAfee are to stage an online exhibition; a virtual display bringing the Home of the Codebreakers into the digital age. In partnership with the exhibition Secrecy and Security – Keeping Safe Online in the Block C Visitor Centre, the new exhibition will teach online visitors about internet safety and privacy. Ross Allen, vice president of UK & Ireland at McAfee says “McAfee is incredibly proud to be working alongside such a vital part of British and world history.”