DOCSLIB.ORG

General Report on Tunny", the Newmanry History, Formatted by Tony Sale (C) March 2001

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
General Report on Tunny Part of the "General Report on Tunny", the Newmanry History, formatted by Tony Sale (c) March 2001 INTRODUCTION This is part of a very large (200 page) document. This section has been tackled first because of the interest in Colossus and the need to fully understand and debate the wartime use of Colossus to enable the completion of the Colossus rebuild by the Colossus Rebuild Project under the direction of Tony Sale. A complete copy of the original document is held in the Public Record Office, UK. It was written by Donald Michie, Jack Good and other members of the Newmanry, after the end of World War II and has only recently been declassified. It was found to be impossible to meet the original objective of a "photo-copy" reproduction because many pages contained over 70 lines of text. As a compromise, Courier Font has been retained, together with the original page numbers. However, a wider page width has allowed re-formatting of paragraphs to "gain some lines" and fit it onto an A4 page. The document has been produce using Optical Character Recognition (OCR), from photo copies of the original. This is a notoriously error prone task. I am indebted to Frode Weierud, Andrew Hodges and many others for correcting "garbles". Any remaining that are reported would be gratefully received and corrected. Tony Sale March 2001 Part of the "General Report on Tunny", the Newmanry History, formatted by Tony Sale (c) March 2001 31B Page 276 __________________________ 31 - MR. NEWMAN'S SECTION __________________________ 31A. Growth 31B. Staff Requirements 31C. Administration 31D. Cryptographic Staff 31E. W.R.N.S. 31F. Engineer. 31G. Education 31H. Statistics Bureau 31A GROWTH In December, 1942 Mr.M.H.A.Newman was given the job of developing machine methods of setting Tunny. In April, 1943 the first machines arrived, a Robinson and a Tunny, pilot models of somewhat uncertain behaviour. Mr. Newman formed his section with one cryptographer, two engineers and 16 Wrens. The section was founded and lived (for the most part) in a single room. After three months two or three messages were set each week. By May, 1945 there were 26 cryptographers, 28 Engineers, and 273 Wrens with 10 Colossi, 3 Robinsons, 3 Tunnies and 20 smaller electrical machines. The section moved into Block F in Nov. 1943, and expanded into a new and additional Block (H) in September, 1944 in which all chi-breaking was done. In the week ending March 31st, 358 messages were set on Chis, 151 on Motors and Psis and 23 sets of new wheels were broken. The total number of log books used in 2 years was about 500. 31B STAFF REQUIREMENTS The allocation of staff at 6 monthly intervals is shown in the following table. Apr.43 Sep.43 Apr.44 Sep.44 Apr.45 (Administration | - | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | (Cryptographers | 2 | 5 | 6 | 20 | 22 | | | | | | | Engineers- (Maintenance | - | 3 | 9 | 12 | 15 | (Construction | - | 4 | 9 | 11 | 13 | | | | | | | Wrens | 16 | 16 | 28 | 180 | 273 | | | | | | | TOTAL | 18 | 28 | 93 | 225 | 325 | Finally the staff per shift was as follows: 7 Cryptographers : DO in charge of setting ( TS note: DO is Duty Officer) 1 Wheel-man in charge of wheel-breaking 1 in charge of Cribs and Robinson work 2 to supervise Colossus setting 2 to supervise Colossus wheel breaking 67 Wrens : 7 Registrars 17 Tunny Operators 2 Robinson operators 20 Colossus operators Part of the "General Report on Tunny", the Newmanry History, formatted by Tony Sale (c) March 2001 31D Page 277 15 computers 1 "Cribs" assistant 5 "Room 11" maintaining contact with Knockholt. 5 Engineers and a daily requirement of 2 Research cryptographers 2 Research Wrens 13 Construction Engineers 6 Administrative Staff. 31C ADMINISTRATION As the section expanded, administrative problems became considerable. Co- ordinated policy was established through a "Fish Committee" under Mr. Welchman's chairmanship during the period of fastest development (May 1944 - January 1945) to determine the policy of machines to be ordered and staff to be recruited. A good deal of attention was given by this committee to the slip-reading and perforation of tape at Knockholt and every effort was made to encourage the production of material at Knockholt on a scale commensurate with the rapidly expanding capacity at this end. The administration had to keep in touch with operational results. It did this by collecting and analysing facts about success achieved in each part of the section and issuing suitable reports. The log books kept by all operators provided the required information in addition to making operators conscious of their own efficiency. 31D. CRYPTOGRAPHIC STAF F The first thirteen men to join the Section as cryptographers were drawn from other sections of GC & CS. In experience and infectious enthusiasm they preserved their lead to the end, and there were few in the section not affected by their keenness. After July, 1944 they were joined by men from other war jobs and men straight from the universities. The qualifications of men chosen are given in the following table: June 43- Aug.44- Date of Arrival July 44 May 45. Professional Mathematicians etc ) Research Students ) 8 4 Other University Mathematicians 3 11 Others 2 1 Previous cryptographic experience 12 3 Enigma 5 2 Fish 3 1 Age on joining over 30 5 2 25 - 30 3 3 20 - 25 3 5 under 20 1 6 British 11 13 American 2 3 TOTAL 13 16 Part of the "General Report on Tunny", the Newmanry History, formatted by Tony Sale (c) March 2001 31F Page 278 Cryptographers were not organised into fixed shifts, but worked with different people each week and took it in turn to do research work and the various operational jobs. This system kept everybody in touch with up to date technique and alive to possible improvements. A weekly change of job led at times to minor administrative inefficiency and the normal term of offices for Duty officers and wheel-men was eventually extended to three weeks, these two jobs were normally filled by more experienced men. After the Section was fully staffed there were often two research men each week. Most of the important ideas were developed by men as a result of practical routine work and written up in the Research Logs. In a subsequent research period of a week or more they were at leisure to elaborate their ideas and to tackle any other problems of a pressing operational nature. Ideas for new methods, and routines for immediate instruction were discussed at the weekly "Tea Party" - a democratic assembly of cryptographic staff. 31E. W.R.N.S. Wrens were chosen by interview from those in H.M.S.Pembroke V (Category - Special Duties X ). No fixed qualifications were required, though a pass in mathematics in School Certificate or apparently "good social recommendations" was normally considered essential. Though a few of the earlier Wrens were rather older and more experienced, 96 per cent of those who came were between the ages of 17 1/2 and 20. 21 per cent had Higher Certificate, 9 per cent had been to a University, 22 per cent had some other training after school training and 28 per cent had previous paid employment. None had studied mathematics at the university. On arrival a11 Wrens were given up to a fortnight's training in the teleprinter alphabet, the workings of the Tunny machine and (in some cases) in computing. This was followed by a conducted tour of the section and a written test. Wrens (unlike men) were organised in fixed watches and given fixed jobs in which they could become technically proficient. While the section remained small it was possible to try new Wrens at various jobs soon after arrival, but later, allocation was made on the basis of the test held at the end of their initial training period, and on the basis of the jobs available. The cheerful common sense of the Wrens was a great asset. Several of them showed ability in cryptographic work and several others were trained by the engineers to undertake routine testing of machines. 31F.ENG1NEERS It was decided at the beginning of the association of the P.O. Research Branch with GC and CS that maintenance of equipment would be an increasingly important part of the undertaking. It was agreed to recruit the best available men from the automatic telephone construction and maintenance staff throughout the country, to employ them at Dollis Hill and the P.O. Factory at Birmingham to build the equipment so that they should be thoroughly familiar with it, and to give them, before taking up their maintenance duties, any supplementary instruction that was necessary. As the work developed, the complexity and novelty of the equipment increased and further maintenance training was needed but the technical staff were often hard pressed to produce the equipment and instruction was neglected. A number of maintenance men made up for this deficiency by their own initiative and exertions, and passed their knowledge on to others. Full maintenance efficiency can be achieved only after some months Part of the "General Report on Tunny", the Newmanry History, formatted by Tony Sale (c) March 2001 31H Page 279 of experience, and by May, 1945 equipment and maintenance had reached a very high level of performance. Telephone maintenance work is mainly done by unestablished skilled workmen and skilled workmen Class II. Recruitment for the maintenance force at Station X was made almost entirely from men in these grades aged 20 - 22 years. The first eight men came to Dollis Hill in April, 1942 a number of Chief Regional Engineers having been asked to recommend good men.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • To What Extent Did British Advancements in Cryptanalysis During World War II Influence the Development of Computer Technology?
    Portland State University PDXScholar Young Historians Conference Young Historians Conference 2016 Apr 28th, 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM To What Extent Did British Advancements in Cryptanalysis During World War II Influence the Development of Computer Technology? Hayley A. LeBlanc Sunset High School Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/younghistorians Part of the European History Commons, and the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y LeBlanc, Hayley A., "To What Extent Did British Advancements in Cryptanalysis During World War II Influence the Development of Computer Technology?" (2016). Young Historians Conference. 1. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/younghistorians/2016/oralpres/1 This Event is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Young Historians Conference by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. To what extent did British advancements in cryptanalysis during World War 2 influence the development of computer technology? Hayley LeBlanc 1936 words 1 Table of Contents Section A: Plan of Investigation…………………………………………………………………..3 Section B: Summary of Evidence………………………………………………………………....4 Section C: Evaluation of Sources…………………………………………………………………6 Section D: Analysis………………………………………………………………………………..7 Section E: Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………10 Section F: List of Sources………………………………………………………………………..11 Appendix A: Explanation of the Enigma Machine……………………………………….……...13 Appendix B: Glossary of Cryptology Terms.…………………………………………………....16 2 Section A: Plan of Investigation This investigation will focus on the advancements made in the field of computing by British codebreakers working on German ciphers during World War 2 (1939­1945).
    [Show full text]
  • Codebreaker in the Far East 1
    CODEBREAKER o IN THE FAR EAST ALANSTRIPP With an Introduction by CHRISTOPHER ANDREW FRANK CASS First published in Greal Britain by FRANK CASS & CO. LTD. , Gainsborough House, Gainsborough Road, LoJldon Ell 1RS, England ~/() and in the United States ofAmerica by D FRANK CASS & CO. LTD. clo Biblio Distribution Center Contents C~% 81 Adams Drive, P.O. Box 327, Totowa, NJ 07511 6 Copyright tt> 1989 Alan Stripp List of illustrations vii S-t- Author's Note ix British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data I qq~9 Acknowledgments xi Stripp, Alan, 1924- Introduction by Christopher Andrew xiii Codebreaker in the Far East 1. World War 2. Military Cryptology I. Title 940.54'85 PART ONE: TOURS OF DUTY ISBN 0-7146-3363-1 A11408 737468 1. Cambridge, Bedford and Yorkshire 3 2. Bletchley Park 13 . --Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publicatioll Data 3. Marc,ping Orders 29 Stripp, Alan, 1924- 4. Delhi 39 Codebreaker in the Far East p. cm. 5. Naini Tal, Agra and Abbottabad 48 Bibliography: p 58 Includes index. 6. Bangalore, Singapore and Cambridge ISBN 0-7146-3363-1 1. Stripp, AIan, 1924- .2. World War, 1939-1945-Cryptography. 3. World War, 1939-1945-Personal narratives, English. 4: World PART TWO: JAPANESE PUZZLES War, 1939-1945-Campaigns-Bunna. I. Title D81O.C88S76 1989 7. Japanese Codes and Ciphers: what were they like? 65 940.54'86'41-dcl9 89-741 80 CIP 8. What did they tell us? 9. How were they sent? 89 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro­ 10. How were they intercepted? 93 duced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise, witho;lt the prio; 11.
    [Show full text]
  • SPYCATCHER by PETER WRIGHT with Paul Greengrass WILLIAM
    SPYCATCHER by PETER WRIGHT with Paul Greengrass WILLIAM HEINEMANN: AUSTRALIA First published in 1987 by HEINEMANN PUBLISHERS AUSTRALIA (A division of Octopus Publishing Group/Australia Pty Ltd) 85 Abinger Street, Richmond, Victoria, 3121. Copyright (c) 1987 by Peter Wright ISBN 0-85561-166-9 All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. TO MY WIFE LOIS Prologue For years I had wondered what the last day would be like. In January 1976 after two decades in the top echelons of the British Security Service, MI5, it was time to rejoin the real world. I emerged for the final time from Euston Road tube station. The winter sun shone brightly as I made my way down Gower Street toward Trafalgar Square. Fifty yards on I turned into the unmarked entrance to an anonymous office block. Tucked between an art college and a hospital stood the unlikely headquarters of British Counterespionage. I showed my pass to the policeman standing discreetly in the reception alcove and took one of the specially programmed lifts which carry senior officers to the sixth-floor inner sanctum. I walked silently down the corridor to my room next to the Director-General's suite. The offices were quiet. Far below I could hear the rumble of tube trains carrying commuters to the West End. I unlocked my door. In front of me stood the essential tools of the intelligence officer’s trade - a desk, two telephones, one scrambled for outside calls, and to one side a large green metal safe with an oversized combination lock on the front.
    [Show full text]
  • War Machines: Women's Computing Work and the Underpinnings of the Data-Driven State, 1930-1946
    Programmed Inequality How Britain Discarded Women Technologists and Lost Its Edge in Computing Marie Hicks HD 6135 H53 2017 The Library Mt. St. Vincent Univ. Halifax, N.S. B3M 2J6 The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England 1 War Machines: Women's Computing Work and the Underpinnings of the Data-Driven State, 1930-1946 In recent years, the restoration of Bletchley Park has attracted worldwide attention. The country estate in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, was the site of the most important codebreaking operations of World War II and home to the first digital, electronic, programmable computer: the Colossus. The British-designed and manufactured Colossus computers, of which there were ten in all by war's end, were critical to the conduct of Allied wartime operations. Unlike their better-known U.S. counter­ part, the ENIAC, the Colossus computers were actually deployed during the war, actively changing its outcome. Kept secret for decades, the full import of the developments at Bletchley has only recently become widely known.1 Yet while popular culture has begun to recognize the importance of Bletchley's wartime operations, misunderstandings persist about the nature of the information work performed there. The 2014 blockbuster The Imitation Game, for instance, cleaves the Colossus computers from the narrative entirely in favor of building a "great man" narrative for a single codebreaker.2 Hidden within the story of Bletchley is a less popular narrative that cannot leverage the appeal of a lone genius and his accomplishments. Thousands of women worked at Bletchley during the war-most in tech­ nical roles.3 Although it is generally accepted that the striking and wide­ ranging roles of the mostly women workers within Bletchley Park give lie to stereotypes about computing as a traditionally masculine field, the contributions of these women have not been analyzed as constitutive of larger trends in the history of computing.
    [Show full text]
  • Colossus: the Missing Manual
    Colossus: The Missing Manual Mark Priestley Research Fellow, The National Museum of Computing — Bletchley Park, UK Thomas Haigh University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee & Siegen University 1 serialized ciper text English Cipher text of one message plain text 1 0 0 1 1 (5 channel tape) 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 They were already 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 looking at him as approached in the distance, because he just stood out. He had quite an old face, 01101 11101 01011 0010 Knockolt Newmanry Newmanry Testery Testery Hut 3 Outstation Set Chi Wheels Generate Set Psi & Decrypt Translate Intercept, & Verify Counts “dechi” Motor Wheels Message Message Record & Verify Message (Colossus) (Tunny analog (Hand methods) (Tunny analog (Bilingual machine) machine) humans) dechi 1 0 0 1 1 0 27, 12, 30, 43, 8 Chi wheel 0 1 0 1 0 1 Psi & 55, 22 Sie sahen ihn schon 0 1 0 0 0 von weitem auf sich start posns. 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 motor start posns. zukommen, denn er for msg el auf. Er hatte ein 31, 3, 25, 18, 5 ganz altes Gesicht, aber wie er ging, German 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0110001010... plain text 0 1 0 0 0 Newmanry 1 0 1 1 0 0011010100... 1 0 0 1 0 10011001001... 01100010110... 1 0 0 1 1 0 Break Chi 01011001101... 0 1 0 1 0 1 0110001010... 0 1 0 0 0 Wheels 1 0 1 1 0 Chi wheel 0011010100..
    [Show full text]
  • June 1St Heath Robinson Operational
    similar vein to Rube Goldberg in The Mark 2 supported the US). conditional branching, just as Charles Babbage’s analytical June 1st The machine consisted of a engine had done [Dec 23], frame (called the bedspread) although there’s no evidence to which supported two long suggest that the Mark 2's Heath Robinson teleprinter paper tapes on a designer, Tommy Flowers [Dec network of reels, and two other 22], was aware of Babbage's Operational racks holding counters and logic design. June 1, 1943 circuits. Ten Colossi were operating by One tape could hold 2,000 The "Heath Robinson" was a the end of the war and an characters of cipher text, while code-breaking machine used at eleventh had been the other stored patterns that Bletchley Park [Aug 15] to help commissioned. They allowed the the codebreakers believed might decrypt the Lorenz (aka Tunny) Allies to extract a vast amount of represent the Lorenz cipher. intelligence from intercepted encryption. The second tape had radio messages sent from Lorenz was a much more to be precisely one character German High Command advanced cipher than the better longer than the first, and throughout Europe. known Enigma [Feb 23]. For keeping the tapes synchronized example, Enigma machines was a major challenge. A functioning reconstruction of a initially used just three rotors Mark 2 was completed in 2008 Max Newman [Feb 7] was during their encryption process, by Tony Sale and volunteers; it's while a Lorenz device employed responsible for the Robinson's on display at The National functional specification, but twelve.
    [Show full text]
  • MTAT.07.006 Research Seminar in Cryptography the Enigma Cipher Machine
    MTAT.07.006 Research Seminar in Cryptography The Enigma Cipher Machine Kadri Hendla November 28, 2005 Abstract 3.1 The Rotors The aim of this survey is to give a brief overview on Rotors are the most important part of an Enigma Enigma cipher machine and its cryptanalysis before machine. A rotor is a disc about 10 cm in diameter and during the Second World War. The survey is and it’s usually made of hard rubber or bakelite. mostly based on the articles [1] and [7] on Enigma On one face are 26 brass pins forming a circle; on from Wikipedia. the other side are corresponding electrical contacts. Each pin represents a letter in the alphabet. Inside the rotor are 26 wires connecting the pins on one 1 Introduction side to the contacts on the other side; the wiring is different for each rotor. The rotor also has a finger Enigma is a portable cipher machine, famous for wheel for turning the rotor by hand and an alpha- the role it played in World War II. The breaking of bet ring, so the operator can see the rotor position. Enigma codes is considered to be one of the reasons In the earlier versions of Enigma the alphabet ring for the Allies victory. was fixed; the later versions allowed adjusting the alphabet ring relative to the core wiring. This po- sition of the ring is known as the ring settings. The 2 History of Enigma rotors are placed in the machine side by side, which causes the pins and contacts of the neighbouring In 1918 German engineer Arthur Scherbius applied rotors to form an electrical connection.
    [Show full text]
  • Colossus – NZZ Artikel – Dominik Landwehr – März 2007 1/17
    Colossus – NZZ Artikel – Dominik Landwehr – März 2007 1/17 Colossus: 15 000 Röhren knacken den Nazi-Code Bletchley Park rekonstruiert einen frühen Computer Mit einem beispiellosen Aufwand gelang es den Briten im Zweiten Weltkrieg die deutsche Chiffriermaschine Enigma zu knacken. Weniger bekannt ist die Tatsache, dass sie dank einer Maschine namens 'Colossus' auch einen weit komplexeren deutschen Fernschreiber-Code brechen konnten. 'Colossus' nimmt in der Ahnengalerie der Computergeschichte einen Ehrenplatz ein und ist seit kurzem in Bletchley Park als funktionsfähiger Nachbau zu besichtigen. Von Dominik Landwehr 14 Jahre akribischer Arbeit stecken hinter dem Projekt der Colossus-Rekonstruktion. Damit konnte der britische Ingenieur und Nachrichtendienst-Spezialist Tony Sale eine seiner Visionen wahr machen.(Foto Dominik Landwehr) Colossus – NZZ Artikel – Dominik Landwehr – März 2007 2/17 Gewiss, es gibt grössere Museen zur Technik und besonders der Computergeschichte als jenes von Bletchley Park: Zu nennen wäre das Science Museum in London, das Deutsche Museum in München, das Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum in Paderborn oder das Computer History Museum im kalifornischen Mountain View. Bletchley Park – eine Zugstunde nördlich von London genau in der Mitte zwischen Oxford und Cambridge gelegen – ist dennoch etwas einzigartiges und das hängt vor allem mit seinem ’genius loci’ zusammen. Die goldenen Eier von Bletchley Park Im Rahmen einer geheimen Operation wurde hier im Zweiten Weltkrieg ein wesentlicher Teil des Nachrichtenverkehrs von Hitler Deutschland entschlüsselt. Die wichtigsten hier dekodierten Nachrichten wurden unter dem Aktenvermerk 'Ultra' nur höchsten Entscheidungsträgern zugänglich gemacht. Die Entschlüsselung geschah gewissermassen auf industrieller Basis: Bis zu zehntausend Menschen – die meisten davon Frauen – arbeiteten in Bletchley Park rund um die Uhr.
    [Show full text]
  • Colossus and the Origins of Programmability
    Colossus and the Origins of Programmability Draft for discussion at the 2016 SIGCIS Workshop. Do not quote or cite without permission of the authors. Thomas Haigh ([email protected]) and Mark Priestley ([email protected]) This is an initial draft of some material from our ongoing project to explore the history of Tommy Flowers, the ways in which Colossus was used and configured, and its place in the history of information technology. This work is sponsored by Mrs. L.D. Rope’s Second Charitable Trust. The current draft is very preliminary, so please do not quote, cite, or distribute without our permission. If names and references are confusing to you our apologies! Fortunately the basics of Colossus and Bletchley Park are well covered in Wikipedia. Colossus was a codebreaking device built by the British General Post Office at the end of 1943, under the direction of career telecommunications engineer Tommy Flowers. It entered use at Bletchley Park in 1944 to speed the work of codebreakers targeting what was then codenamed “fish,” a family of Lorenz teleprinter codes used for high level German military communication. Colossus was not a one‐off machine, like most early electronic computers, but the prototype for a family of ten “colossi,” in which later models incorporated some significant improvements. The machines were used by the Newmanry, a group under mathematician Max Newman, where ingenious codebreaking users discovered new applications for them which, in turn, shaped the provision of additional controls and capabilities in the later models. Unlike ENIAC, which began in modest secrecy but soon graced the front page of the New York Times, Colossus was highly classified and remained unknown to the public until the 1970s.
    [Show full text]
  • Can Twitter Save Bletchley Park?
    Can Twitter save Bletchley Park? Sue Black, University of Westminster, UK Jonathan P. Bowen, Museophile Limited, UK Kelsey Griffin, Bletchley Park Trust, UK http://www.savingbletchleypark.org Abstract Bletchley Park is the historic site of secret British codebreaking activities during World War II and birthplace of the modern computer. The work carried out there is said to have shortened WWII by two years saving possibly 22 million lives. The Park is now a museum, with a 26 acre site, many exhibitions and working rebuilds of machines such as the Colossus, a forerunner of today's computers, invented to mechanize codebreaking. The museum is staffed by a 75% volunteer workforce and is grossly underfunded compared to its historical importance. After a visit by Sue Black to Bletchley Park in July 2008 a campaign was launched to save it. A letter to the UK broadsheet newspaper The Times signed by 97 eminent UK computer scientists was published and highlighted in a BBC news broadcast. Following on from traditional media coverage a blog was established and then social media, particularly Twitter, which have been used to great effect to raise awareness and support for the campaign. Other Web 2.0 technologies including Facebook have also been used as part of the campaign. This paper explores the effectiveness of this approach, using statistical evidence as appropriate, highlighting how the use of social media has contributed greatly to campaign success. Since the Saving Bletchley Park campaign started, visitor numbers have increased along with public awareness of the contribution of the site to world heritage and the history of the computer.
    [Show full text]
  • Gendering Decryption - Decrypting Gender
    1 Gendering decryption - decrypting gender The gender discourse of labour at Bletchley Park 1939-1945 Photograph taken from Smith 2011. Spring 2013 MA thesis (30 hp) Author: Annie Burman Supervisor: Mikael Byström Seminar leader: Torkel Jansson Date of seminar: 4 June 2013 2 Abstract Ever since the British efforts to break Axis codes and ciphers during the Second World War were declassified in the 1970s, the subject of Government Code and Cipher School, the organisation responsible, Bletchley Park, its wartime headquarters, and the impact of the intelligence on the war has fascinated both historians and the general public. However, little attention has been paid to Bletchley Park as a war station where three-quarters of the personnel was female. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the gender discourse of labour at Bletchley Park and how it relates to the wider context of wartime Britain. This is done through the theoretical concepts of gendering (the assignation of a gender to a job, task or object), horizontal gender segregation (the custom of assigning men and women different jobs) and vertical gender segregation (the state where men hold more prestigious positions in the hierarchy than women). The primary sources are interviews, letters and memoirs by female veterans of Bletchley Park, kept in Bletchley Park Trust Archive and the Imperial War Museum’s collections, and printed accounts, in total two monographs and five articles. Surviving official documents from Bletchley Park, now kept in the National Archives, are also utilised. Using accounts created by female veterans themselves as the main source material allows for women’s perspectives to be acknowledged and examined.
    [Show full text]
  • The Case of the Uncrackable Code
    THE NUM8ER MY5TERIES – Presented by Professor Marcus du Sautoy LECTURE 4: THE CASE OF THE UNCRACKABLE CODE Broadcast on: 28 th December 2006 Part 1 Marcus Welcome to The Number Mysteries and the case of the uncrackable code. Ever since we’ve been communicating we’ve been using codes, but it’s during wartime that codes become really important. You don’t want your enemy to know what you’re going to do next. Now one of the most sophisticated encoding machines is this one here. It’s called the Enigma machine, and it was used by the Germans during the Second World War. They used it to keep their messages secret and they thought this was uncrackable, but mathematicians sitting up in Bletchley Park – just north of London – found a way to crack this code. During this lecture, we’re going to try and re-enact this great feat of the mathematicians by challenging a team up at Bletchley Park to break the Enigma code. Now earlier today, Evil Andy over here locked away a load of sweets inside this safe. He’s locked it with a combination, and only Evil Andy knows the combination. To make it even doubly secure, he used our Enigma machine to encode the numbers and so it’s become an even more scrambled mess. I’ve found this secret message that he’s encoded here, and we’re getting it now, sent up to Bletchley Park. This is Daniel Clack and he’s sending it by Morse code, to the mathematicians in Bletchley Park, and we’re hoping they’re going to be able to decode this message.
    [Show full text]