Re: Visit to the "new" Bletchley Park - ( a moan... )

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005, John Alexander wrote :
-------------------------------------------
> Did your tour go into the basement area of B Block?
> If so, I'd like your comments on the cypher machines down there.  IMHO
> there's a fine bunch of cypher systems from Europe, Scandinavia, Russia
> and UK down there.

Dear John,

I did see your display in the B Block - which was the only 'codebreaking'
part there - and I did admire the new 'Fialka' display ( not having seen
that before ), but I think it is a pity you only have 2 display cabinets
there ( apart from the 'Fialka' ) - it would be nice to have the whole
mechanical 'lineage' displayed in hardware - as per your poster on the
wall. But the 'Hagelin' line is still very interesting, and one day I hope
to read your book on the various versions and 'copies'...  (-;

Unfortunately, the basement is advertised as "WWII Experience", and
your display is not well sign-posted - I only found it by chance !

I did enjoy the rest of the basement display - the 'Toy Collection' was
particularly interesting for me - but my 'moan' was that while it is
nice to have the variety of displays to interest whole families, it should
be only an 'annex' to the main reason for preserving and showing the BP
codebreaking history.

> cypher machines available soon.  Both will be nice but one is
> particularly interesting ... if it all works out!  That's not the end
> of it, if yet other promised systems come in ....... 8-)

Good luck with your new hunt - and I hope you won't get stopped at the
borders this time ! Let us know what you 'find' when you finally get it,
please.

Cheers,
Martin

                                                \--=-//
                                                ( o^o )
 ---------------------------------------oOOO------(_)---OOOo-----
|      Martin Postranecky        Phone : [00-44]-(0)20-7679 3453 |
|  Senior Experimental Officer   Phone : [00-44]-(0)20-7679 2000 |
|   UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON    Fax :   [00-44]-(0)20-7679 7145 |
| DEPT.OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY  E-Mail: [email protected]        |
| Gower Street,London, WC1E 6BT  http://www.hep.ucl.ac.uk/       |
 ---------------------------------------------ooOo-----oOo-------