Bletchley Park given £250k Government funding

 

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By Hani Megerisi

Posted on 25 Mar 2010 at 12:00

World War II codebreaking centre Bletchley Park has been recognised as a site of national importance.

The title was announced today by culture secretary Ben Bradshaw. The Government has given £250,000 to maintain the site.

“The money will go a long way to improve the infrastructure of the site and keep it for future generations,” said Simon Greenish, CEO of the Bletchley Park Trust, adding areas such as “the car park, drainage systems and facilities for the public” will all be improved, and a new roof fitted. “These are all very important for keeping the museum open to the public.”

It's one of the only sites that still impacts on the way we live. It impacts on the types of signal intelligence still used in modern warfare… it significantly impacted on the outcome of the war

Situated in Milton Keynes, Bletchley Park was where the Germans' enigma code was cracked during the war. “I think this is one of the most important sites of the 20th Century,” Greenish said. “It's one of the only sites that still impacts on the way we live. It impacts on the types of signal intelligence still used in modern warfare… [and] it significantly impacted on the outcome of the war.”

The Museum now plays home to a working replica of the Colossus computers used to crack the German's Lorenz cipher. “It was the first computer that worked doing a job that could not be done at that speed manually, and in codebreaking, time was of the essence," added Greenish.

Under the terms of Bletchley Park’s new funding, the trust is required to spend all the money by the end of the fiscal year. “This isn’t a problem as there is so much that needs doing,” Greenish said, adding that the funds will help "tell the story of the war and the codebreakers in a more professional way”.