Re: Probably O/T...: Museum of secrets to open warfares bag of tricks

At 10:02 12/19/04, Dick Schlaff wrote:
>Might this museum be a more receptive home for Colossus and the Bombe?
>
>PS  If this is "O/T" I give up trying to figure out what isn't.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Martin Postranecky" <mp-/[email protected]>
>To: <BLETCHLEYPARK-0lvw86wZMd/[email protected]>
>Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2004 9:48 AM
>Subject: [BPARK] Probably O/T...: Museum of secrets to open warfares bag of
>tricks
>
>
>> THE TIMES
>> Court & Social
>> December 18, 2004
>>
>> Military matters
>>
>> Museum of secrets to open warfares bag of tricks
>> ------------------------------------------------
>> Michael Tillotson
>
>> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,175-1406944,00.html

Dick...

During a number of visits to Chicksands over the past few years I
have, on two occasions [2002 and 2003], enjoyed time spent in the
Intelligence Corps Museum

Of course one cannot know in what direction the trustees of the museum
might proceed in the event of the potential expansion reported in Martin
Postranecky's posting but, based on my visits, I would say that this
museum is currentl, as its name suggests, 'intelligence' oriented rather
than being related to codebreaking in general or to the BP story in
particular.

A major consideration: as is common in the museum business, display
space is at a premium and this museum is housed in cramped quarters.
Again prediction is difficult but the museum would have to expand
greatly, in terms of physical space, in order to add even a few more
items in its already well-stocked and representative collection of
artefacts. Inclusion of such large items as John Harper's rebuild of
the Turing-Welchman Bombe and Tony Sale's Colossus would not be easy
and would call for serious advance planning and funding.

I wonder too about museum access. As the final paragraph of Martin's
quoted article says, a visitor needs to apply at least two days in
advance for access to Chicksands itself unless he/she holds MOD/DOD
/etc. identification. Other registration items may apply. This would
prevent the casual visitor/tourist from making a last-minute decision
to visit the museum. Do we want unique and historical displays hidden
away inside a high-security fence?

My own museum [NCM] would love to have either or both of these items
and we have, half-jokingly, wondered about offering to take them if
they become 'orphans'...but again space, funding and a predictable
and justifiable outcry from the UK crypto community makes such a
offer unlikely :-))

David Hamer