After watching the film "The Imitation Game", I felt inspired to visit Bletchley Park where all the code breaking activity took place during the 2nd world war. Fortunately, Bletchley isn't far from where I live. We saw the Enigma machines as well as the Bombe which was used to speed up breaking of the Enigma cyphers.
By Julian
Youtuber, shed dweller, solar charge controller aficionado
Where there yesterday – very interesting place!!
another great tour, thanks so much for sharing
Very nice video
I am going to england next Febraury and I have a doubt, I am going to have about 3 hours spare time to maybe visit Bletchley park, can you tell me if 3 hours is enough to visit the whole complex (Bletchley park + museum of computing)?
Sorry about my english.
Thanks for your video! Visited Bletchley Park myself recently and it is indeed a fascinating place. I shall have to go back though, as there is so much to see and absorb. Incidentally, watched the film later the same day, which was great.
Thank you very much for this very nicely presented video.
Thanks for the video Julian. Bletchley Park sure has changed since I was last there in 2010. Hopefully making it back to the UK next year and Bletchley is on the list for a return visit.
Sad to think Alan Turing was treated in such a way, when he almost single handedly saved millions of allied lives an shortened the war by years…the man was a genius and a hero, not all hero's wield a gun
Wow thanks, years ago, well in 1970 I was training in the US Army to be a Field Wireman at Fort Leonard Wood Mo. We had two days training, a sort of familiarization on machines much like the Enigma, while on a much grander scale with a printer for the code, the wheel mechanism was much the same. I think the intention was not to make us coders but to just acquaint us with the fact that such a device was useable in the field. Much later in my military career, i worked with the real stuff for radio and landline teletype machines. The wheels were gone and replaced with very large machines. These machines were programed using a patch cord system, small blocks that would fit in the palm of your hand with, if my memory serves, 62 cords all numbered on the plugs, and 62 holes. Every day you used the device, you needed to program those patches via the secret daily code key. I am sure these are now gone by the wayside, as well as the plug devices for encrypted radio transmissions, a different type of code device using a sort of plunger device that was preset to the daily code key for that device. All in all a pain for those of us who had to set up the codes but very secure when in use.
From those of us who are not able to visit this place, thank you for making the video.
Awesome video! Thanks!
During the 1980's I attended several courses at BP, when the park was a BT technical training collage, the sound of the bombe working is very similar to that of the electromechanical strowger exchanges of the day. Great vid, I must go visit again this year.
That's a cool video Julian. And I was trying to remember what that movie was called..!
I don't have an Enigma machine nor a Bombe lying around, but I do have lots ov old military radio gear and cotton covered cabling. In fact one ov our 12 volt circuits is wired in a quite heavy piece. It's two compleatly separate wires, twisted together. It is indeed cotton covered on the outside but the insulator is rubber. This one is in very good condition (despite it's age) but I would not use it for much over the voltage I am running just in case.
Thank you for sharing, Julian, I would love to see a follow up video when you go back to visit the National Museum of Computing
This was a nice treat
Thanks for tacking the time to film it, I enjoyed it 🙂
Not seen the film but done alot of reading on Bletchley during the war, never again will you have a collective of such innovate, intelligent minds all working towards the same goal again, what they achieved was so far ahead of its time it wasn't really realised on a technical level what these people had achieved until decades later. Mind Boggling.
thanx for the information watched film after your upload really enjoyed and can't wait for your next visit thanx simon
hi carrier pigeons played a big part in the war days, how they used to do it was they used to take the hen pigeon off her eggs in the pigeon loft then the mail pigeon used to sit on them to keep them warm, the hen pigeon could be taken 300 miles away. Then they would tire a note or similar device to the pigeons leg, then basically all that hen pigeon wants to do is get back to them eggs to keep them warm and hatch them, they will fly 24 hours a day solid for days without stopping some used to die of exhaustion. But they are fantastic creatures, I know it's boring stuff what I have said, but that's how they used to do it, really enjoy your channel. Keep up the good work