E90 – Overlord

Bletchley Park

History

4.8 • 177 Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2019

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

June 2019

75 years ago today, more than 150,000 allied troops were boarding planes, gliders and landing craft as they prepared to invade Fortress Europe in Operation Overlord, the Normandy Invasion. Meanwhile, 200 miles away in the Buckinghamshire countryside the Codebreakers of GC&CS were also ready and waiting.

A special section, known as NSV(X), spent the day decrypting German messages and forwarding that vital intelligence to allied commanders. In many cases only two hours after the German operators had sent them.

Today at Bletchley Park our Archive holds hundreds of these handwritten decrypts and using a selection of these we tell the story of The Longest Day. Our Research Historian Dr David Kenyon & Research Officer Thomas Cheetham will be your guides. Also Veterans’ Pat Davies & Colette Cook share a couple of short memories from that eventful day.

Special thanks to Mr Ben Thomson for playing the role of our Intelligence Officer.

Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust 2019

#BPark, #Bletchleypark, #WW2, #DDay75, #BletchleyParkDDay

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.
0:38.9	Welcome to the June 2019 episode of the Bletchley Park podcast, Overlord.
0:45.9	75 years ago today, more than 150,000 Allied troops were boarding planes, gliders and landing craft.
0:53.7	They were preparing to invade Fortress Europe in Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion.
1:00.6	Meanwhile, 200 miles away in the Buckinghamshire countryside, the codebreakers of Government
1:05.5	Code and Cipher School were also ready and waiting.
1:09.3	A special section spent the day decrypting German messages
1:11.9	and forwarding that vital intelligence to Allied commanders,
1:15.5	in many cases, only two hours after the German operators had sent them.
1:20.7	Today at Bletchley Park, our archive holds hundreds of these hundred and decrypts,
1:25.3	and using a selection of these, we will tell the story of
1:28.2	the longest day. Our research historian, Dr David Kenyon, and research officer Thomas Cheatham,
1:34.7	will be your guides. Special thanks to Mr. Ben Thompson for playing the role of our intelligence
1:40.1	officer. The By reading wireless messages intercepted at sites around the UK and abroad
2:15.5	and producing mountains of detailed intelligence
2:17.9	about German forces in France, Bletchley Parker played a key role in the planning for D-Day.
2:23.5	With the invasion now underway, its role turned to providing real-time intelligence.
2:28.5	It was recognised as the operation progressed. Up-to-date intelligence will be vital.
2:33.2	We tend to view D-Day as a land battle,
2:34.8	but it was also an immensely complex and risky naval operation. And if it was found that the
2:38.9	Germans were about to spring any surprises on the fleet, any delay in reporting the fact could mean
	...

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