Day 9 24/5/16 Bletchley Park then back to Leicester

Day 9 Day 2 of Bletchley Park then return to Leicester

Another lovely breakfast - again no-one could pass up the cooked breakfast.  They really do that well here in the UK.  

Home Farm B&B in Beach Hampton

We packed up and headed back to Blechley Park as our entry tickets have given us 12 months free entry to the park at our leisure.  We continue our tour of the grounds. This is a very interesting site a great deal of which was unknown to us due to the high level of secrecy that continues even today. 

For the bird fanciers: a Robin in the grounds of Bletchley Park

British Magpie also in the grounds

Inside one of the decoding huts.

A surprising display we came across was one dedicated to carrier Pigeons (yes the birds!!). These where the last line of defence in message carrying, used when all else failed. Their dedication to service was incredible and after the war, 32 birds were awarded the "Dicky" medal, which is equivalent to the Victoria Cross in bird terms. They, of course, were conscripted however the pigeon experts suggest that some birds showed intelligence and dedication far beyond what could have been expected. Not only did the birds have survive the gunfire and bombs at the front, they also had to avoid hawks, falcons and other predators on their journey home. In response the Germans sent up Peregrine falcons to chase and kill them.  The British found that the local falcons were also a threat and resorted to shooting them.  This had the effect of allowing the German pigeons to easily carry messages the other way. The British then managed to train the falcons to catch the German pigeons (must have spotted the swastika on their tails!) and bring them home. Quite an amazing story.

Winkie - awarded the "Dicky" medal which is the equivalent to the VC for soldiers.

After this we visited the Science Museum next door to see Colossus, the first electronic computer that was used to break the more complex, 12 wheel, enigma codes. The computer uses 2,400 valves to carry out its calculations and one time Bletchley Park had 10 of them. The first was built by an employee of the Postal Service. The Blethcley boffins said it would never work and would be unreliable but he went on and built it anyway, proving them wrong.

Circular slide rule in the closed section of the Museum

Part of Colossus, the first electronic computer

 

Front of Colossus - first enigma machine

Rear of colossus showing some of the 2,400 valves

After we finished at the museum we plotted a route back to Leicester back to David and Kaye’s.