h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi B,
I spotted your bit in the Language thread about your mum being in the Japanese section at Bletchley during WW2.
It's is interesting to me as my Grandfather was also at Bletchley but never spoke of it and I am trying to find out a little more about him. Are you aware of any good web sites (or even actual people) for research? (I've found the Station X site and the BBCs WW2 bit on DNA)

Bletchley itself is a fabulous resource and an amazing day out - not cheap, a tenner per person and they sting you for parking unless you park at the station, but there is more than one can easily take in in an afternoon - definitely an all day gig.

There are plenty of good books, and a few titles at random are "The Code Breakers" "The Emperor's Code" "Station X". Also do searches for "Ultra" and "Top Secret - Ultra". "The Code Book" by Simon? Singh is good, and "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson includes a slightly cute fictionalisation of the place. Robert Harris also did a fictionalisation, which I think is called "Enigma".

For such a well kept secret, there is a huge amount of information out there.

There were 10,000 people there by the end of the war, so tracking down information about individuals is very difficult.

Good luck, and let me know how you get on. And do go there, if at all possible. They must have a website. Try searching for "Bletchley Park".

Cheers.

Ben