BLETCHLEY PARK LAUNCHES ITS LARGEST-EVER EXHIBITION UNCOVERING HIDDEN STORIES FROM THE HEIGHT OF ITS WARTIME OPERATIONS
On Thursday 28 April 2022, Bletchley Park will unveil its largest ever exhibition: The Intelligence Factory.
For the first time in Bletchley Park’s history, visitors will be able to explore Block A, a newly restored wartime building at the heart of the historic World War Two codebreaking site.
This Block will house the new permanent exhibition, The Intelligence Factory, telling the story of Bletchley Park at its peak inthe largest exhibit space on site. Taking visitors through Bletchley Park’s period of expansion to become the world’s largest intelligence factory, the exhibition will unveil how the extraordinary potential of the intelligence organisation was unleashed in the second half of World War Two, establishing a legacy that continues to this day.
The exhibition will focus onobjects, human stories, and thrilling moments of interaction from Bletchley Park’s crucial work from 1942 to 1945, as its multi-skilled workforce rapidly increased to meet operational demands.The site expanded hugely to a workforce of nearly 9,000, 75% of whom were women.
The exhibition thrusts visitors into the action at the peak of the Bletchley Park operation and shines a spotlight on the personal stories of those who worked to keep the organisation running. From tracking positions of Allied and enemy vessels, to handling millions of items of data, to recruiting, feeding, and housing thousands of staff, the scale and complexity of Bletchley Park at its peak as surprising as it is remarkable.
Visitors will be able to view Bletchley Park through multiple lenses – from intimate portraits of staff to the day-to-day environment of the workplace itself and the organisational challenges involved in keeping the entire operation afloat.Snapshots of the present day will reveal the enduring legacy of techniques used at Bletchley Park, from tackling organised crime to supplying intelligence to forces in the field today.
Highlights of the exhibition include:
- A contemporary interactive recreation of the Plotting Room used by naval intelligence officers to track the movements of ships, based on first-hand accounts from Veterans who worked in this secretive room.
- A closeup look at wartime machinery, including a Hagelin C-38s cipher machine, and an original Hollerith machine of the sort employed at Bletchley Park to organise and process data using a staggering 2 million individual punch cards every week.
- Hands-on interactive displays allowing visitors to try their hand at real intelligence-management techniques used at Bletchley Park, and experience some of the daily challenges faced by managers in keeping the operation afloat under wartime conditions.
- Snapshots of life at wartime Bletchley Park, including the personal stories of Veterans and senior managers like Captain Alan Bradshaw, a pivotal figure in the administration of the organisation, and Edward Travis, the head of Bletchley Park from 1942.
- Explorations of the contemporary parallels between Bletchley Park’s information-intensive wartime work and the digitised world of today.
- Recently discovered wartime footage captured at Whaddon Hall, the top-secret MI6 base situated near Bletchley Park from which intelligence was sent to Allied commanders in the field.
Alongside The Intelligence Factory, which fills two spurs of Block A, a third spur has been carefully adapted into a new gallery that will house temporary exhibitions.
The first of these will be an 18-month contemporary exhibition The Art of Data: Making Sense of the World. Taking inspiration from the techniques used by the Codebreakers to manage information at scale, it will focus on how data visualisation helps us to make sense of the world today.
Analysis of MK Dons football players, a necklace that measures air pollution and a ground-breaking augmented reality Striker II fighter pilot’s helmet – these are just some of the thought-provoking data visualisations that will go on display from 28 April 2022, marking the first in a series of temporary exhibitions that will explore the legacy of Bletchley Park in a contemporary context.
Bletchley Park Trust is grateful for the support of BAE Systems as Lead Principal Sponsor for the Block A permanent exhibition. BAE Systems is an international defence technology company which delivers cyber security and maritime programmes across the globe. The sponsorship is the latest chapter of a partnership between Bletchley Park Trust and BAE Systems which aims to keep our shared heritage alive.
Bletchley Park Trust is also pleased to have the Thomas L. Kempner, Jr., Foundation, Inc and the FCC Communities Foundation as project Principal Supporters. Milton Keynes Council has provided funding used to plan and organise the exhibition. Specific funding for access provision has been provided by the MK Community Foundation.
Entry to both The Intelligence Factory and the The Art of Data: Making Sense of the World exhibition is included with admission. Standard admission tickets to Bletchley Park act as an Annual Pass giving unlimited free returns within 12 months. Under 12s go free. Full details on the Bletchley Park website: https://bletchleypark.org.uk
Book The Intelligence Factory here:https://bletchleypark.org.uk/event/the-intelligence-factory/
- ENDS –
Press previews of Block A available on 27th April 2022.
For further information including images, interview or preview requests, please contact:
Kallaway
(+44)7867 335242
For further information about BAE Systems, contact David Coates, Senior Communications Advisor, BAE Systems – Air on +44 (0)3300 481443, +44 (0)7525 081575, david.coates@baesystems.com
For further information about FCC Communities Foundation, contact Simon Settle, General Manager, FCC Communities Foundation on +44 (0)1953 714 113, simon.settle@fcccommunitiesfoundation.org.uk
Notes to editors:
About Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is a vibrant heritage attraction and museum, open daily to visitors. It was the home of British World War Two codebreaking; a place where technological innovation and human endeavour came together to made ground-breaking achievements that have helped shape the world we live in today.
During World War Two, the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS), now known as the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), was based at Bletchley Park. It grew from a small team of specialists to a vast intelligence factory of thousands of dedicated women and men. This extraordinary combination of brilliant and determined people and cutting-edge technology contributed significantly to Allied victory. In tough conditions, they provided vital intelligence and developed pioneering technological innovation that had a direct and profound influence on the outcome of the war.
About Block A
Block A was constructed in 1942, when Bletchley Park began to expand. It housed among other teams, Naval Section and Air Section and was the site of BP’s naval Plotting Room where staff tracked and plotted the positions of vessels around the world through details gathered from intercepted messages.
Block A’s first temporary exhibition will focus on how data visualisation can help us help us understand patterns, make decisions, improve performance and help us plan for the future. Showcasing examples from both Bletchley Park and today, the exhibition will be bold, colourful and full of opportunities to participate.
The Bletchley Park Trust
Bletchley Park Trust is a registered charity, heritage attraction and independent museum. As an independent charity, we rely on income from our visitors, Friends and supporters to secure the long-term future of the site.
Registered charity number: 1012743.
Social Media
Join the discussion about Bletchley Park at:
Facebook /bletchleypark1
Instagram @bletchleyparkuk
Twitter @bletchleypark
YouTube /bletchleyparktrust
#BletchleyPark #IntelligenceFactory
In collaboration with
- Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA):Creators of award-winning museum exhibitions, visitor centres and educational environments across the world, leading exhibition designers RAA have worked with interpretation consultant Dr Emily Scott-Dearing to design the Block A exhibition.
- Marcon Fit-Out Ltd (Marcon): Leading fit out contractor within Museums, Exhibitions, Heritage buildings and Visitor Centres creating and building experiences that provide memorable visitor engagement. Marcon were responsible for the installation of the exhibition including management and co-ordination of all specialist items such as interactives, audio visual, graphics and showcases.
-ENDS-