World War II, the scene of many atrocities, where the worst of humanity was on full display to the world. We all know about the bad side of things, Hitler and the Nazi party trying to turn the world into there own warped version of what life should be. But and it's a big but it did bring to the front some of the pure genius that lies within mankind. This challenge was all about acknowledging one group of those men and women who did there best to make the world a better place.
We've all heard of the Enigma machine, and that the Americans decided to rewrite history and tell the world that they broke it all by themselves....well that version has about as much truth as Red Riding Hood and all the other fairy tales. The real work was started by Polish mathematicians and built upon by the likes of Alan Turing at Bletchley Park.
As a complete side tangent to this post, it really irritates me when Hollywood just ignores basic historical facts when it comes to movies, Braveheart is a classic example of this, brilliant film, maybe even a masterpiece in storytelling but it doesn't hide the fact that William Wallace's story is so full of inaccuracies it starts to becomes a work of pure fiction in places and not on what we can actually prove that occurred. It doesn't stop me wanting to occasionally paint my body and yell freedom before charging my enemies though. (I'm actually watching that film now as I type this fighting the urge to don a kilt and smite my enemies!
I'm back, so what's this challenge all about? it's one of those of historical ones again, a visit to Bletchley Park to pay homage to Turing and the rest of the team who worked to decipher the codes of the Nazi regime and help end the war. It is estimated the work here took at least two years off the war, saving hundreds of thousands of lives in the process. The unique and highly complicated work done here was off the charts and it's the basis for modern computing.
The Park itself has been seen a lot of work since the days of the war but some original parts still survive, the manor house which was the starting point of the operations there, and which saw the beginnings of the effort to crack the code, some of the 'huts' which were built at speed to host the ever growing number of workers that were stationed here and in the surrounding areas. Each hut had a different task and different languages to try and translate, Italian, Japanese and of course German, the work done by the thousands of staff here was breath taking on a scale that had never been seen before and hopefully will never have to be done again although with the way the world is going who knows what will be needed. Some of the technology has been replicated here and you can see a copy of the bombe that was used and some examples of the enigma machines that were so crucial to the effort.
So why was this on the list? For someone who loves history and who also is proud to be British, this showcases the spirit that was invaluable in the winning the worst conflict in human history. They had to innovate, overcome obstacles but ultimately came out on top against the Nazi regime. It was about showing respect for those people that fought for the freedoms we have today. It was about showing respect for the unsung hero's the ones behind the scenes who were just as instrumental in the fight. We have all heard of the hero's of World War II, Churchill, Eisenhower etc but few knew of the work that they did until many years later when the evidence became declassified. This country has a great and varied history, some good and some bad but this is one of those sites where I think it's safe to be able to say that we can be proud of Britain and the work that these fine minds did on behalf of the people of the country and indeed the world.
Now I couldn't talk about Bletchley Park and it's brilliance without talking about what happened to Alan Turing after the war had finished. It was a different time and thankfully attitudes have changed since what happened back then. For those of you who don't know Turing was convicted in 1952 of homosexual acts and opted for chemical castration instead of going to prison. He died from cyanide poisoning in 1954, his death being ruled suicide. It took over 50 years and a campaign from supporters to clear his name and he was given a full pardon by the then Prime MInister Gordon Brown. He was honoured by the country being voted the countries grreatest scientist of the 20th century and also being put on the £50 note. As I said it was a different time and thankfully people can be who they want to be these days. It was these freedoms that Turing was fighting for with his war effort, trying to stop the facist movemnet of the Nazi's. I think he would be proud of how far society has come and that he would be accepted in todays age.
Add comment
Comments