A day out at Bletchley Park

This weekend we took a trip to Bletchley park in Buckinghamshire for my boyfriend's birthday. I had never visited before, but had heard good things about it. After the success of The Imitation Game film starring Benedict Cumberbatch and the fact that slowly details are emerging about the remarkable achievement of the men and women that worked there and who are credited with shortening World War Two by up to two years, it was a place I was looking forward to exploring. 

Over the years, the park developed from sheltered mansion house to a site sprawling with different blocks, which housed the vital first computers that were used to crack encrypted enemy information that was used by the British to win the war. Over 8000 people worked at Bletchley Park during the war, and when peace was declared, they burnt their papers, dismantled the machines and left to live normal lives without being able to tell their story of the monumental part they had played in the war.

The information displayed was fascinating, and it was brilliant to see where the work took place in various bunkers and blocks, and to see what was achieved with, on one hand, a pen and pencil, and on the other the revolutionary first computer, Colossus. 

One of my favourite parts of the park were all of the different posters that were produced to help keep the public and the information they had discovered safe during the war. Phrases such as 'Loose lips sink ships' and 'Keep mum she's not so dumb' were circulated by the British Government to stop idle civilian gossip falling into the hands of German spies. The simple typography and hand drawn cartoons seem innocent to us now, but at the time were essential to inform the public of the dangers of a seemingly harmless conversation. 

I love the simple typography and clean layout, and the simple sketchy styles of others, that nonetheless hold an equally important message.

To the tune of 'If you're happy and you know it'

My nan had told me that her sister had worked at Bletchley Park, but nobody was particularly aware of what she had been doing. There are several stations around the park where you can search the Roll of Honour for relatives, and I was very happy to find my great aunt's name sat there proudly. She was in the WAAF (Women's Auxiliary Air Force) and worked as a teleprinter operator.