Re: Tensions at Bletchley Park

Bill...

May I as a 'museum person' add to your most pertinent comments.

In my opinion, reinforced by my last visit to BP in September, the current BP management's maniacal approach to 'streamlining' the museum is all wrong and it is the volunteer corps and the 'groups' who have suffered - and continue to do. How can one logically divorce treasures such as Jack Darrah's Churchill exhibit, David White's Diplomatic Radio display, the WW2 Toy Collection of Mark and Min Cornelius - and numerous others - from the wartime story of BP. Doing so totally ignores the 'wartime environment' feeling engendered by these priceless and irreplaceable exhibits and also ignores the obvious public appeal that they held. 

BP's unpleasant and unnecessary 'dog in a manger' attitude is also aggravating the contentious split with its tenant TNMOC, which ironically has captured within its displays and its approach to the visiting public, precisely that true history it presents.

"Who owns Colossus anyway?" must obviously be a question for the lawyers - to which may well be added in the very near future "Who owns the Bombe?" and "Who owns (most of) the Enigmas?" 

David H.

Disclaimer: opinions expressed are my own and do not represent.......well you know the rest of it. 




At 09:49 01/27/2014, Bill Ridgeway wrote:
>I fully sympathise with volunteers.  I have also been in a situation (not at BP) in which, having put in a lot of free time, I left because my face didn't fit.  It would seem that despite the value that volunteers bring to BP (and let's face it a visit to BP would not be interesting without them and return visits would be much reduced) they can be treated as S**T by jumped up know-it-alls who think they know best and wont even listen to common sense or reason.  Isn't the present situation very similar to what Christine Large set out (but thankfully failed) to do?
>
>Regards.
>
>Bill Ridgeway
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Philpot" <[email protected]>
>To: <BLETCHLEYPARK-0lvw86wZMd/[email protected]>
>Sent: Monday, January 27, 2014 1:07 PM
>Subject: [BPARK] Tensions at Bletchley Park
>
>
>Is it too late for those who helped rebuild Colossus to render an invoice
>for their services?
>
>Who owns Colossus anyway?
>
>Isn't it awful that one has to think of such things although this is hardly unprecedented with Tony Sale having similar problems over the years.
>
>
>Robert Philpot

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Dr. David H. Hamer
National Cryptologic Museum Foundation
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