June 2022  In this ‘It Happened Here’ episode we return to South Asia and the Pacific, and the war against the Japanese. After the disasters of Pearl Harbor, the Philippines and Singapore, and near disaster in Colombo in the first few months of 1942, the summer months would bring the Allies better fortune on the fighting fronts. 1942 would also see many changes for Britain’s Codebreakers in South and East Asia as they rushed to adapt to the changing situation – a situation requiring the...

May 2022 The way in which the secrets of Bletchley Park were finally revealed to the world, bit by bit and now over the course of nearly four decades have meant that many myths and misunderstandings have become embedded in the story. One of our goals with these podcasts is to tell the full story of the Codebreakers and along the way hopefully correct some of those errors.    So in this ‘It Happened Here’ episode we will take a deep dive into Traffic Analysis, a topic that we have...

May 2022 Bletchley Park held a number of events to celebrate the opening of The Intelligence Factory and in this special episode we will take you to those events to hear from VIP guests, supporters and some of the people who helped to create our largest exhibition to date. From the ‘Friends of Bletchley Park’ Preview we will hear from some of the first people who got to follow in the footsteps of our Veterans, in the newly restored Block A. Dr Emily Scott-Dearing, the Interpretation...

April 2022 Thursday 28th April 2022 sees Bletchley Park unveiling its largest exhibition to date, in the newly restored Block A. Its focus is the period from late 1942 to early 1945, when the demands of its crucial wartime work changed the Government Code and Cypher School from a ‘cottage industry’ into an industrial-scale intelligence operation. The name of the exhibition is, very aptly, ‘The Intelligence Factory’.  Block A was the first of the purpose-built ‘Block’ buildings that marked...

March 2022 Bletchley Park is synonymous with World War Two codebreaking, but the story is much bigger than just a country house in Buckinghamshire. Making, as well as breaking codes, was within the remit of the Government Code and Cypher School but is a much lesser known part of the story. In this extended ‘It Happened Here’ episode, we not only find out about the British efforts to create codes of their own, but also German codebreaking successes and failures.  Bletchley Park’s...

February 2022  In every theatre of war, early 1942 was a dark time for the Allies. Japan seemed unstoppable in the Pacific. The Germans were at the gates of Moscow, threatening Egypt and prowling the Atlantic lifeline at sea. But at Bletchley Park there were far reaching changes to both the leadership and organisation that had one clear objective - to support the ultimate Allied victory.  In this It Happened Here episode, our research officer Dr Thomas Cheetham, guides us through the...

January 2022  The Podcast Team wish all our listeners a Very Happy New Year and how better to start it than with some great news.  With over 13,500 names so far, The Bletchley Park Roll of Honour aims to list all those who worked in signals intelligence for the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries during the Second World War. As no single list of the personnel of Bletchley Park and its outstations was ever produced, the Roll of Honour has been compiled from information in official...

December 2021  On the 7th of December 1941, Japanese invasion forces landed in Malaya. An hour and a half later Japanese aircraft attacked the US fleet, at anchor in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. Simultaneous attacks were also made on Hong Kong, Guam, Wake Island and the Philippines. Since that day controversy has raged over how much the British and US Governments knew in advance about these attacks, and why they came as such a surprise to both countries. In this It Happened Here episode,...

November 2021  Many visitors to Bletchley Park are familiar with the story of breaking Enigma and reading German and even Japanese codes. But equally important work was done on Italian ciphers. Not only were the Codebreakers able to read Italian naval messages, before and during the war, but this information was used to decisive effect in the Battle for North Africa, and the ultimate defeat of Italy in 1943. In this It Happened Here episode, Bletchley Park’s Research Historian Dr David...

October 2021  On the 21st of October 1941, four of Bletchley Park’s Codebreakers sent a plea for more staff and resources in a now notorious letter to the Prime Minister. Demand for Bletchley Park’s work was increasing, and the organisation was facing a crisis.  Churchill was won over, adding the note ‘Action This Day’ to the document. But perhaps the changes that followed weren’t just the result of the Prime Minister’s influence. In this ‘It Happened Here’ episode, Dr Thomas Cheetham...

September 2021  After Britain’s failure at Dunkirk and the Fall of France, the Germans seemed unstoppable. An invasion of Britain by Germany seemed the next logical step. In 1940, Britain and Bletchley Park prepared for war on the Home Front. As the German air campaign brought air combat with the Battle of Britain and bombs by night during the Blitz, the RAF - supported by intelligence from Bletchley Park - fought back. In this It Happened Here episode, Research Officer Dr Thomas...

August 2021  Hindsight and the lifting of decades of secrecy, allows us to know that by 1945 Bletchley Park had become a ‘codebreaking factory’ supplying war winning intelligence to the Allies ultimate victory.  But what was it like for the 185 members of staff on Monday the 4th of September 1939? And … who were they? Supported by the UK government’s Culture Recovery Fund, our new exhibition ‘Early Days’ covers the events of 1938 to late 1939 and tells the story of the first Bletchley...

July 2021    In late 2020 we asked on social media for any questions our listeners wanted the podcast team to answer. We had so many that we needed to record a second episode that originally we had planned for January 2021. Unfortunately due to COVID restrictions this wasn’t possible … but now, we are back.   In this episode, Exhibitions Manager Erica Munro, Research Historian Dr David Kenyon, Research Officer Dr Thomas Cheetham and podcast producer Mark Cotton, will be shining a light on...

June 2021    Eighty years ago in June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in what Hitler hoped would be a lightning campaign to destroy Bolshevism and provide ‘living space’ for his empire in the east.    The result was four years of brutal conflict which shaped the world we live in today.   What did the codebreakers at Bletchley Park know about the Germans’ plans of attack? Was Stalin warned? And how did the war in the east play out at BP?   In this It Happened Here episode...

June 2021    By late May 1940 the Germans have arrived at the French coast, cutting the Allied forces in two. Their risky invasion plan ‘Fall Gelb’ (or ‘Case Yellow’) has paid off.  For the Allies, things will only get worse - an evacuation of the British forces from Dunkirk, the capture of Paris and the ultimate humiliation at Compiègne.   It also marked a turning point for Bletchley Park. The attack led the Germans to change their Enigma procedures which had been exploited so successfully...

June 2021    In May 1940, the much-anticipated German attack on France brings the Phoney War to an end. The French have the largest land army in the world, the Maginot Line giving them hundreds of miles of defences and they know the route the Germans will take. But in the space of only a few weeks, the entire strategic course of World War Two is turned on its head. The Germans have gambled on a new invasion plan, ‘Fall Gelb’ (or ‘Case Yellow’) to set them on a risky route through the Ardennes...

May 2021    In this episode we bring you the second part of our interview with SLU Intelligence Officer Patricia Johnston. This time Oral History Volunteer Mike Chapman is also joined by Pat’s son, Joss Sanglier. The three of them travel back 75 years to map out not only Pat’s wartime service but also that of her husband and fellow Bletchley Park Veteran, Bill Sanglier.     Bill, had what can only be described as a very varied carer during the war. Starting off during The Blitz searching for...

April 2021    Patricia Johnston’s idyllic childhood in Rangoon came to an abrupt end on the 7th of December 1941, with the attack on Pearl Harbour. In early 1942 with the Japanese invasion getting ever closer she was flown out with her siblings and arrived in India, without her parents.      After settling her two brothers in boarding school Patricia’s war really began. She realised after completing her training that nursing wasn’t for her and transferred to the recently formed Women's...

April 2021    Bletchley Park’s latest temporary exhibition is called ‘Never Alone’ and asks ‘what happens when everything is connected?’ Based on an exhibition developed and designed by the National Science and Media Museum, ‘Never Alone’ explores the popularity and power of smart devices.   There are now more devices connected to the internet than people on the planet. ‘Smart’ gadgets are becoming part of our lives, making us safer, bringing people together and making everyday tasks easier....

April 2021    Our Veterans who served in one of the three women’s auxiliary services during World War Two are always proud of their particular branch and WAAF Daphne Canning is no exception. When Oral History Officer Jonathan Byrne interviewed her in 2017 she was still proud to have worn her ‘Sparks’ badge; the insignia of a Royal Air Force Wireless Operator.    These Oral History Specials allow us to bring you the complete recordings of interviews we have previously featured only as much...

March 2021    In our last Oral History Special we brought you the first part of a 2017 interview with former WREN, Mary Sherrard. From 1942 until the end of the war, Mary served at Bletchley Park and then at the Eastcote Bombe Outstation. This helped shaped the rest of her life because it was at Eastcote where she met her future husband John.    After originally servicing Spitfires in 1940, an interview at the Foreign Office sent John to Eastcote and Stanmore to maintain Mary’s Bombe...

March 2021    In March 1946, as an ‘Iron Curtain’ was descending across Europe, in post-war London a document was signed that to this day is the basis of the most important and longest intelligence relationship that the UK has. But that Special Relationship with the USA didn’t suddenly begin 75 years ago; it was the culmination of five years of wartime collaboration.   In this episode Podcast Producer, Mark Cotton, and our Research Historian, Dr David Kenyon, go back to February 1941 and...

February 2021    As we did last year we have decided to release extra content again during the current lockdown and so for at least the next couple of months we will be bringing you a new show every two weeks. These will be a mixture of Oral History Specials and also our regular content as and when COVID restrictions allow us.    Last year we featured short clips from dozens of our Veterans telling us what they did on VE Day & VJ Day. Now in these Oral History Specials we can bring...

February 2021    As we did last year we have decided to release extra content again during the current lockdown and so for at least the next couple of months we will be bringing you a new show every two weeks. These will be a mixture of Oral History Specials and also our regular content as and when COVID restrictions allow us.    Last year we featured short clips from dozens of our Veterans telling us what they did on VE Day & VJ Day. Now in these Oral History Specials we can bring...

January 2021    As we release this episode Bletchley Park Museum is currently closed as the UK is in a national lockdown to help contain the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Our staff and volunteers like so many around the world are in lockdown, self-isolation or working remotely from home. Unfortunately it means the promised second part of our Q&A’s from our listeners is on-hold for now, but once we are safe to do so we will bring you that show.   As we did last year during the...