E128 - Whitehall 7947 - The Early Days Exhibition

Bletchley Park

History

4.8 • 177 Ratings

🗓️ 31 August 2021

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

August 2021

Hindsight and the lifting of decades of secrecy, allows us to know that by 1945 Bletchley Park had become a ‘codebreaking factory’ supplying war winning intelligence to the Allies ultimate victory.

But what was it like for the 185 members of staff on Monday the 4th of September 1939? And … who were they?

Supported by the UK government’s Culture Recovery Fund, our new exhibition ‘Early Days’ covers the events of 1938 to late 1939 and tells the story of the first Bletchley Park Codebreakers.

Exhibitions Manager Erica Munro guides us through the 5 scenes of the exhibition, the challenges of turning the start of the codebreaking story into a physical gallery and many of the highlights visitors will see. All of this, within one of the first rooms to be used by the Codebreakers in autumn 1939.

As his first major project when start at the museum, Research Officer Dr Thomas Cheetham, explains the painstaking work that has gone into the least documented period of Bletchley Park. This has led to being able to list every one of those 185 members of staff turning up for work on the second day of World War Two.

Special thanks go to Dr Ben Thomson for voicing our archival documents.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The
0:07.0	The From the home of the codebreakers and the birthplace of modern computing, this is the Bletchley Park podcast.
0:38.6	Welcome to the August
0:40.0	2021 episode of the Bletchley Park podcast.
0:44.7	Whitehall, 7947.
0:48.4	2nd of August 1939.
0:51.2	Move of service sections to war site 15th August 1939.
0:55.0	In order to carry out communication tests, the war site will be manned AM 15th August by those detailed in GCNCS First Wave who are not on leave at the time.
1:06.0	All documents required at the war site are to be packed by 5.30pm on 14th August.
1:12.5	They will be moved during that night.
1:15.2	As many as possible are to be placed in small cupboards and filing cabinets which can be locked.
1:20.6	Arrangements for labelling will be promulgated later. Stationery has already been sent down.
1:26.2	Sufficient personal luggage should be taken for 15 days.
1:29.3	Those going by train should obtain a single ticket of the appropriate class to Bletchley.
1:34.3	On arrival, they should place their luggage in the cloakroom,
1:37.3	from whence it will be collected after the allocation of billets, etc.
1:42.3	They should proceed on foot from the station to the war side,
1:46.4	inquiring if necessary for Balecki Park, which is on the up or west side of the railway.
1:52.2	On leaving the station, turn right up the hill and proceed through the second lodge gates.
1:57.9	Suitable trains from Houston are the 837am and the 930am
2:02.3	and advance for railway tickets can be obtained from Mr Travis
2:06.0	the address for official correspondence and private letters
	...

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