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Bletchley Park Faces Financial Rescue

Posted by timothy on from the admirable-work-deserves-commemoration dept.

biscuitfever11 writes "Just two months ago it seemed that Bletchley Park, the home of Station X, Britain's secret code-breaking base during the War, was doomed as the codebreakers' huts rotted and the site fell into disrepair. But today Britain's Lottery Fund is set to step in with a grant to rescue the ailing heritage site. (There was an earlier story on ZDNet.)"

10 of 60 comments (clear)

  1. Faces? by Halo1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I wish I has to face getting a lot of money from the lottery...

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  2. doesn't solve all the problems by thermian · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This won't solve the one big issue facing Bletchley, that of the site having very low appeal to visitors.

    As much as they might wish it to be otherwise, a collection of huts (one of which is now a tea room, ah yes, nice treatment of history there guys...), a house, some vintage cars and a few cluttered rooms of junk that pass for 'exhibits' just doesn't appeal to people these days.

    And yes, they really do look like rooms full of junk for the most part, sad to say, the presentation of their exhibits is not good at all.

    Oh, and the reconstructed Collossus? It's just there, in the middle of a room, with barely any information top help kids or the otherwise uninformed relate to it.

    Not that the site isn't ok to visit. If you're into WW2 stuff then its probably worth a look, but if you've got kids they will be bored out of their tiny minds all day.

    --
    A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' - D. Adams
    1. Re:doesn't solve all the problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Are we talking about the same place? My wife and I went last week and ended up going on two consecutive days. It was absolutely brilliant - Colossus was up and running and we were given a talk through it by one of the re-build team. We also talked to them about the Tunny machine they are working on and the Heath Robinson they're also re-building despite the fact it never actually worked. There are also working bomb machines and very knowledgeable staff all other the site. I would have liked more technical detail then was easily available but I really did think it was excellent. Do a tour if you go and/or get an audio wand.

    2. Re:doesn't solve all the problems by digitig · · Score: 3, Insightful

      (one of which is now a tea room, ah yes, nice treatment of history there guys...)

      I bet one of them was a tea-room during WWII, too, although they would have called it a canteen then.

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    3. Re:doesn't solve all the problems by thermian · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I went last year and the Collossus was on its own, switched off, with only a small panel of text. Perhaps they've improved that part, or perhaps its not on every day.

      What I did see was a lot of bored kids faces, and my son had no interest whatsoever, even though I tried to engage him.

      The stuff I found interesting took less than an hour to see, after which it was try and get interested in what remained on the site to get my money's worth.

      It's not that they aren't trying, its just that its not that interesting unless you already know something of the history. It most certainly isn't managing to compete as a venue for visitors, or it wouldn't have got into fiscal trouble to start with.

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      A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' - D. Adams
  3. A happy ending by damburger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I am glad these historic buildings have been saved - the disrespect they had been shown drew uncomfortable parallels with what happened to Alan Turing after the war (a war which almost certainly wouldn't have been won without him)

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    1. Re:A happy ending by thermian · · Score: 3, Funny

      What, the huts were persecuted for being gay by the police until they hanged themselves?

      I don't recall them saying that on the tour

      --
      A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' - D. Adams
  4. Cryptonomicon by FilterMapReduce · · Score: 4, Informative

    Most Slashdotters probably don't need to be told this, but anyone interested in historical fiction about Bletchley Park shouldn't miss Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. It's entertaining and rich in technical detail.

  5. mislead? by peektwice · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I guess the statement "We haven't put in an application yet" was missed by the OP. Bletchley isn't being rescued yet. They are in discussions preceding an application for the grant.

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  6. Alan Turing: The Enigma by Kupfernigk · · Score: 4, Informative

    Most Slashdotters probably don't need to be told this, but anyone interested in historical fact about Bletchley Park shouldn't miss Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. It's entertaining, rich in technical detail and, wait for it, true.

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