Why a Booktrail?
1930s – 1940s: Who was Alan Turing and what exactly was his work at Bletchley?
The Turing Guide
What you need to know before your trail
Alan Turing has long proved a subject of fascination, but following the centenary of his birth in 2012, the code-breaker, computer pioneer, mathematician (and much more) has become even more celebrated with much media coverage, and several meetings, conferences and books raising public awareness of Turing’s life and work.
Locations
Reset- England - Buckinghamshire - Bletchley
- A: Bletchley Park - The train station
- B: Hut 12
- C: The Cottages
- D: Hut 11
- E: Bletchley Park Mansion
Travel Guide
Bletchley Park
Alan Turing was not ‘famous’ or well known in any way during his lifetime. Today however, he is famous for being the man who conceived modern computing and played a crucial part in the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in WW2.
Tragically, he was also a victim of mid-20th Century attitudes to homosexuality – he was chemically castrated before dying at the age of 41 from cyanide poisoning. It is still uncertain whether it was suicide or not.
There are no words to describe walking into the huts, around the lake, into the mansion house…..every step you take feels as if you’re on sacred ground as when you think about it, you are. You can almost hear the echoes of the past whispering through the walls. When you get to see Alan Turing’s desk – speechless. This man’s story is more than retold here – there’s even a brick in an honorary wall bearing his name. And his office was so small! Oh and that huge machine he built – remarkable. There are no words to describe what he achieved and what it’s like standing in the very spot he made history.
Trail Gallery
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Turing Guide
Destination: Bletchley Author/Guide: Jack Copeland Departure Time: 1912 – 1954
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