Comments on: Enigma, Bletchley, and ordinary heroes http://draust.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/enigma-bletchley-and-ordinary-heroes/ A grumpy scientist writes Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:34:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU By: David Foster http://draust.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/enigma-bletchley-and-ordinary-heroes/#comment-319 David Foster Sun, 13 Apr 2008 13:46:04 +0000 http://draust.wordpress.com/?p=21#comment-319 Bother! Missed it on the Listen Again site by a matter of hours. Can anyone e-mail the podcast to me - davidfoster@f2s.com ? Cheers. I owe you one. Bother! Missed it on the Listen Again site by a matter of hours. Can anyone e-mail the podcast to me - davidfoster@f2s.com ?

Cheers. I owe you one.

]]> By: draust http://draust.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/enigma-bletchley-and-ordinary-heroes/#comment-318 draust Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:19:17 +0000 http://draust.wordpress.com/?p=21#comment-318 I must try and get back there and see what has changed - when I went a decade back it was definitely a shoe-string sort of operation - bits of ancient computers sat higgledy-piggledy in dusty rooms, including an <a href="http://bil.members.beeb.net/elliott.html" rel="nofollow">Elliott 803</a> of the type my dad used to programme on back in the 60s. Actually, my dad tells me he would like to go back to Bletchley too and see the fully reconstructed Colossus, so perhaps we can arrange a family visit. It is amazing how you keep coming across people who were Bletchley connected. One of the people on the programme is <a href="" rel="nofollow">Lord (Asa) Briggs</a> the historian, who I remember as the Provost of Worcester College in Oxford, and Chancellor of the Open University, a few years back. And when I looked at the list of Bletchley-ites, I also spotted the chap that used to write the <i>Sunday Times</i> chess columns when I was a chess-obsessed kid, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Golombek" rel="nofollow">Harry Golombek</a> (great name). One of my favourite Bletchley Park stories is the one of how they used a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1998/12/14/nspy14.html" rel="nofollow">crossword competition</a> in the <i>Daily Telegraph</i> as a way of recruiting extra "puzzle-minded" staff when they were short-handed. The champion fastest crossword solvers were invited to volunteer for "secret work of national importance". Somehow this last story seems to sum up a certain kind of British-ness, at least for me. I must try and get back there and see what has changed - when I went a decade back it was definitely a shoe-string sort of operation - bits of ancient computers sat higgledy-piggledy in dusty rooms, including an Elliott 803 of the type my dad used to programme on back in the 60s. Actually, my dad tells me he would like to go back to Bletchley too and see the fully reconstructed Colossus, so perhaps we can arrange a family visit.

It is amazing how you keep coming across people who were Bletchley connected. One of the people on the programme is Lord (Asa) Briggs the historian, who I remember as the Provost of Worcester College in Oxford, and Chancellor of the Open University, a few years back.

And when I looked at the list of Bletchley-ites, I also spotted the chap that used to write the Sunday Times chess columns when I was a chess-obsessed kid, Harry Golombek (great name).

One of my favourite Bletchley Park stories is the one of how they used a crossword competition in the Daily Telegraph as a way of recruiting extra “puzzle-minded” staff when they were short-handed. The champion fastest crossword solvers were invited to volunteer for “secret work of national importance”.

Somehow this last story seems to sum up a certain kind of British-ness, at least for me.

]]> By: coracle http://draust.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/enigma-bletchley-and-ordinary-heroes/#comment-317 coracle Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:03:57 +0000 http://draust.wordpress.com/?p=21#comment-317 I'll certainly have to listen to that R4 show. I was over at Bletchley myself about two weeks ago. Lots of interesting stuff. I'm hoping to have my own Enigma post up in a couple of weeks time, depending on how things pan out. I’ll certainly have to listen to that R4 show. I was over at Bletchley myself about two weeks ago. Lots of interesting stuff. I’m hoping to have my own Enigma post up in a couple of weeks time, depending on how things pan out.

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