Tuna
Friday 07 June 2019
Today it was time to move on from our luxurious farm accommodation and head over towards Essex. We had one stop planned but I had some backups should we need the time.
Unfortunately, the lovely sunny weather of yesterday went somewhere else and we had drizzle all morning and it followed us all the way to Milton Keynes. Our key point of interest to visit today was Bletchley Park. The Albatross randomly spotted it on the map yesterday and kind of lost his mind.
Bletchley Park is a nineteenth century mansion that became the centre of decoding and deciphering during WWII. It is where they built many computers to decipher the German transmissions during WWII. My simplistic understanding is the Germans had the Enigma machine which could cipher messages based upon a set protocol and parameters for the day. The Enigma machine had three cog wheels which could be set at 26 different settings each, then you twiddled the knobs and then you plugged in cables into different holes. Very complex and it makes millions and millions different combinations. The Germans changed the ‘parameters’ every day, so it was really quite difficult to crack. The Allies had limited success using pencil and paper to crack the codes, but it did give them some key words. Then a bloke called Turing, brilliant young mathematician, turned up and is credited with inventing theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. He built a giant mechanical processor, called the Bombe, that could crack the Enigma machine codes quick time. This was a really good thing as it helped the Allies work out what the Germans were up to and then set them up by dishing out false information. This was pivotal in WWII as it means the war ended sooner. It didn’t stop the carnage that war brings but it shortened the war which meant less people on both sides died.
One of the last stops was on ‘Pigeons in War’. Yes, a whole room dedicated to and in recognition of all the pigeons who helped with the war effort. Amazingly, or just weird, this exhibit was very well attended and people seemed too engrossed in the stuff, so it was difficult to move around. We did learn that Mary of Exeter, the pigeon, did great things and was honoured with the animal version of the VC. We stayed only a few minutes and then walked out backwards very quietly.
Thinking that wandering around Bletchley Park will take 2 maybe 3 hours at the most, we were most surprised when it was 4.00pm. We’d arrived just before 11am. There was still the computer museum to go. In the museum that are building replicas of the Bombe and Colossus machines. They have a working Heath Robinson, which also deciphers stuff. For a better explanation just go onto Wikipedia.
