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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.)"

5 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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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    From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."