Alan Turing: The Enigma Man

Author/Guide: Nigel Cawthorne

Why a Booktrail?

1940s, 1950s: The amazing story of Alan Turing

ISBN: 978-1784045357
Genre: Biography/memoirs

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What you need to know before your trail

According to Winston Churchill, Alan Turing made the single biggest contribution to the Allied victory over Nazi Germany with his code-breaking machine. The world is also indebted to Turing’s genius for the modern computer. It was clear that Turing had a remarkable mind from an early age. He taught himself to read in just three weeks. At his first school, the headmistress said, ‘I have had clever and hardworking boys, but Alan has genius.’ In 1954, he was found dead, poisoned by an apple laced with cyanide. This is the story of his life.

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Travel Guide

Visit Bletchley Park

This really has to be seen to be believed. The cramped conditions, the cold winds rattling through the doors, the basic tables and chairs, the lack of comforts and the secrecy. But amidst all that some of the best brains in the country saved millions from death by shortening the war by about two years.

There are no words to describe walking into the huts, around the lake, into the mansion house…..every step you take feels as if you’re on sacred ground as when you think about it, you are. You can almost hear the echoes of the past whispering through the walls. When you get to see Alan Turing’s desk – speechless. This man’s story is more than retold here – there’s even a brick in an honorary wall bearing his name. And his office was so small! Oh and that huge machine he built – remarkable. There are no words to describe what he achieved and what it’s like standing in the very spot he made history.

Be sure to walk around each and every place to discover the remarkable stories which make up the wonder of Bletchley. Stand in Alan Turing’s office and notice the detail – the pens on his desk, the pictures, the old telephones, the cup chained to the radiator…