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 mechanise codebreaking. The museum is staffed by a 75% volunteer workforce and is grossly underfunded compared to its historical importance. Dr Sue Black visited Bletchley Park in July 2008, and she was so appalled at the state of decay of this important site that she started a campaign to get the true historic value of the site recognised and to save it from being lost to the nation. She sent a letter to the UK broadsheet newspaper The Times signed by 97 eminent UK computer scientists, which was published and highlighted in BBC television and radio news broadcasts. Following traditional media coverage, a blog was established, and then social media (particularly Twitter) used to great effect to raise awareness and support for the campaign. Campaign efforts have received national coverage on television, on radio, and in the press and have contributed to the Park recently receiving £4.6 million funding from the UK Heritage Lottery Fund. In this lecture, Simon Greenish, Director of Bletchley Park, will describe the history of Bletchley Park from the Domesday Book through to the present day and gives an insight into its fundamental contribution to the ending of World War Two. Dr Sue Black will describe the campaign to save Bletchley Park, exploring the effectiveness of traditional vs. social media, 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. This public lecture is part of the Computer Science Athena Swan initiative to promote women in science.

1. Did Twitter save Bletchley Park?
7th March 2012

2. Content
A Brief History
Simon Greenish - Previous CEO Bletchley Park Trust
How Social Media Helped Bletchley Park
Dr Sue Black
Future Plans
Iain Standen - CEO Bletchley Park Trust

3. A Brief History
• Arguably one of the most important sites of 20C
• Codebreaking in WW2 made huge impact on outcome
of war
• First operating computer Colossus developed to break
high grade German code -electronic age started at
Bletchley Park
• Story kept secret until 1975
• Struggled to survive 1992 - 2010
• Now recognised as a site of truly international
importance

6. The Mathematics of Enigma
• Set-up from code book
• 3 rotors from 5 = 10 choices
• The order = 6 choices 6 x 10 = 60
• Ring settings – 26 x 26 x 26 = 17,576
• 17,576 x 60 = 1,054,560
• ‘Stecker board’ with ten leads: 10 from 13 (26/2) =
150,000,000,000,000
• 150,000,000,000,000 x 1,054,560 =
• 158,184,000,000,000,000,000:1
• Chances of winning the National Lottery?
• ~14,000,000:1

7. Army & Air Force Huts 6 and 3

8. Naval Huts 8 and 4

9. Block A

11. Colossus – January 1944 onwards

12. Why did Germany never realise?
• UK “need to know” basis – 30 people with full
knowledge
• Compartmentalisation of Bletchley Park
– BP workers did not know
• No action taken unless it could be explained
through other means

13. Visit of HM The Queen accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh – July 2011

14. The Challenges
• Trust inherited 70 buildings – many large
and in poor condition
• Inadequate funding – huge operating and
maintenance costs
• The need to increase profile

15. How Social Media Helped Bletchley Park
Dr Sue Black

23. Photo by @Jemimah_Knight
Photo by @Documentally

25. Photos by @Documentally

33. Photos by @Ade_Oshineye

34. The Future

35. Project NEPTUNE
2012 - 2014

39. Block C
Detailed Views

40. §
The Huts – With and without bomb blast walls

41. Vision
In the 5 -10 year timescale Bletchley Park will
become a world class museum and heritage site,
renown throughout the world for its key role in the
Second World War and its position as the birthplace
of the modern computer. It will be experiencing the
levels of visitors anticipated in the current HLF
business case (~ 250,000 per annum) and its
operating costs will be self – sustained. It will also
house facilities that continue to place Bletchley Park
as much at the heart of technical innovation today
as it was in the Second World War.

42. What *you* can do........
3. Talk to people about Bletchley Park and encourage
them to visit (only £12 for an annual pass)
5. What are you good at that could bring attention or
funds to Bletchley Park? Organise a fundraising event
for us?
3. Follow @bletchleypark , @BParkCEO and
@Dr_Black on Twitter, search term #bpark
4. Let’s Build a Bletchley Park for the future that
recognises the international importance of the site
www.bletchleypark.org.uk

43. Did save Bletchley Park?
 Any Questions? 