E62 - Veterans' Reunion 2017 Part 1

Bletchley Park

History

4.8 • 177 Ratings

🗓️ 12 September 2017

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

September 2017

More than 110 Veterans returned to Bletchley Park for this year’s reunion - the highest number in recent years. They came back to the headquarters of the Government Code and Cipher School, where they, among thousands of men and women, carried out vital war work which made a huge difference, not only to the outcome of World War Two, but to the digital age in which we live today.

Once in the tranquil grounds of the Victorian mansion, they met up with friends old and new, and took the opportunity to celebrate that this special place is not only still standing - which is, in itself, quite an achievement for wooden huts that were thrown up in haste some 80 years ago - but is also thriving, welcoming more than a quarter of a million visitors every year, to absorb the fascinating story of what happened here.

The regular Bletchley Park Podcast team, Producer Mark Cotton and host Katherine White, were joined by special guest roving reporters Niki Arthur and Myra Brooks. Meet them and the fascinating Veterans they met on a glorious September afternoon in Buckinghamshire.

We captured so many fascinating conversations that we’re bringing you two special episodes this month. This is part one of two.

Image: © Will Amlot for the Bletchley Park Trust

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #Enigma, #WW2, #History

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.
0:38.0	Welcome to the September 2017 episode of the Bletchley Park podcast, The Veterans Reunion.
0:44.2	It's our favourite day every year.
0:46.6	We're ready to welcome back more than a hundred people who worked at the secret headquarters of the Government Code and Cipher School and its outstations, of course.
0:54.5	Far from dwindling, the numbers attending are better than they've been for a number of years.
0:58.8	There's around 115 veterans coming today, and they're bringing their friends and family.
1:03.4	Why? Well, they get to meet up with friends old and new and celebrate that this special place
1:08.4	where their war work made such a difference is not only still
1:11.9	standing, which actually in itself is quite an achievement because think these were just
1:15.8	wooden huts that were thrown up in haste around 80 years ago, but it's thriving and it welcomes
1:21.2	at least a quarter of a million visitors every year. They come to absorb the fascinating story
1:26.7	of what happened here and today we're
1:28.4	going to hear it from the horse's mouth, the people that did the work themselves. To do that,
1:33.4	we've got a team of chatty, friendly souls, all assembled, ready to gently probe as many
1:38.0	veterans as they can today. Are you ready to probe? Nikki, welcome to Bletchley Park and thank you
1:42.4	for coming today to do this. What appeals to you about this story?
1:46.0	I think you said it yourself.
1:47.9	It's living history.
1:48.8	It's a chance to talk to these people about what they actually did.
1:51.4	We all learn about it in school.
1:53.4	We've seen it on the big screen and the little screen.
	...

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