E19 - I hope she will smile, feel recognised & proud

Bletchley Park

History

4.8 • 177 Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2014

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

February 2014

This month we join Bletchley Park Veteran Margaret Roland as she was asked to be the special guest at a ceremony to mark the completion of refurbishment work at White Spire School in Bletchley.

We take you behind the scenes at rehearsals for February half term’s exciting Living History project, where Sorrel Meechan, one of the actors helping bring the buildings to life, tells us about her personal connection to the Bletchley Park having grown up knowing her grandfather worked as a Bombe Maintainer during World War Two.

Hear the intriguing – and entirely coincidental – family connection Sarah Harding, the Director of the hit ITV drama, The Bletchley Circle had with the Home of the Codebreakers as her mother Dorothy Harding, nee Thompson, was a Wireless Operator & Morse slip reader at Bletchley Park.

Michael Portillo, former Defence Secretary turned TV presenter came to Bletchley Park for an episode of Great British Railway Journeys. Between takes he shared a few insights into the absolute secrecy surrounding this place during World War Two & how some people, flying in the face of popular opinion, can keep secrets in this day and age.

Finally our roving reporter Kerry Howard interviews Veteran Betty Webb, who did the tricky job of paraphrasing decrypted messages before they went out to commanders in the field, helping to cover up the very existence of Bletchley Park & how at the Pentagon she continued her ultra-secret job till the end of the war.

Picture: ©shaunarmstrong/mubsta.com

#BPark, #BletchleyPark, #Enigma, #ITV, #TheBletchleyCircle, #ladynerds, #audiowrangler, #mcfontaine

Transcript

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0:00.0	The
0:07.0	The From the home of the co-breakers and the birthplace of modern computing, this is the Bletchley Park podcast.
0:37.1	Welcome to the February 2014 edition of the Bletchley Park podcast.
0:42.4	This month we hear from veteran Betty Webb, who did the tricky job of paraphrasing decryptive messages before they went out to commanders in the field, helping to cover up the very existence of Bletchley Park.
0:55.5	After the war, she went straight to the Pentagon to continue her ultra-secret job. We'll hear about the intriguing
1:00.8	and entirely coincidental family connection, the director of the hit ITV drama The Bletchley
1:06.0	Circle had with the home of the codebreakers. And we meet Michael Portillo, former Defence Secretary
1:11.7	turned TV presenter, who shared a few insights into the absolute secrecy surrounding this place
1:17.2	during World War II and how some people flying in the face of popular opinion can keep secrets
1:23.1	in this day and age. We also take you behind the scenes at rehearsals for February half term's
1:28.7	exciting living history project, where actors will help bring the buildings to life. But first,
1:34.9	it's lovely to hear veterans being honoured and valued for what they did here in their local
1:39.5	communities. Just around the corner from Bletchley Park, Margaret Rowland was asked to open a new wing of a primary school.
1:46.5	She was accompanied by our role of honour administrator Jonathan Byrne.
1:56.4	It's been loving to see the children and to know that they know about the collection apart.
2:01.6	Yes.
2:02.6	And we just like to see the children to see what they do at the time.
2:07.6	And it's lovely for Gerald to come here and Gerald said the children of the heart while you're coming.
2:12.6	And that's so thrilled me because that's why we're here.
2:15.6	Yes.
2:16.6	The children have to make coded
2:17.8	letters for you, which I'm going to show you. As you know they've got special needs
	...

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