Britain Listening – How Bletchley Park helped win World War 2

Bletchley Park was a typical British country house and estate in Buckinghamshire which few had heard of until the early 1990s. Yet, it was a key part in the allied victory over the Axis Powers during World War 2. Only recently has the true story of the work of the people there been able to be told.

The site was a key part of allied code breaking, but also so much more. The birth of computing which transformed the world during the postwar period started at Bletchley. As did the British electronics industry. Plus, major sea changes in global telecommunications which we are so reliant on in the twenty-first century.

In this course, historian Dr. Richard Marks will take you on a journey through the history of the ‘Government Code & Cypher School’. You will discover what was done there, and the people who did it. The course will also look at how Bletchley fitted into British intelligence and worked alongside organisations such as SOE, MI6 and the American OSS in Europe, North Africa and the Far East.

Find out what ‘The Bombe’, ‘Lorenz’, ‘Ultra’ were, and who some of the unknown people working in the shadows were.

This is a four week online course with sessions on: April 25th, May 2nd, May 9th & May 16th, All sessions run from 7 – 9pm.

Pre-booking is required.

To enjoy this workshop you will need a computer device which has speakers and a microphone. Ideally, also a web-cam. You also need to be able to access your emails from it. First-time users of Zoom will be asked to download a small piece of software. For technical help email: booking@berksfhs.org.uk

Image: Bletchley Park, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

To book, scroll down.

Book Event

Member

£36

Available Tickets: 16

For members of Berkshire Family History Society

The "Member" ticket is sold out. You can try another ticket or another date.

Non-Member

£40

Available Tickets: 16

For non-members of Berkshire Family History Society

The "Non-Member" ticket is sold out. You can try another ticket or another date.

Total: 0

Date

Fri 25 Apr 2025

Time

19:00 - 21:00

Tickets

£40.00

Location

The Centre for Heritage & Family History

2nd Floor, Reading Central Library, Abbey Square, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 3BQ

Organiser

The Centre - Berkshire FHS

Email

booking@berksfhs.org.uk

Website

https://berksfhs.org/branches/

Book Now!

Speaker

Dr Richard Marks Industrial, Military and Railway Historian

Dr Richard Marks

Industrial, Military and Railway Historian

Richard is a published historian based in Berkshire who specialises in industrial, military, and railway history and also the history of science. His current areas of research are industrial development in the Victorian period, the development of the railway and canal systems in Britain in the mid to late 19th Century and the history of British Rail. He has a PhD in economic history. Richard’s books on British Rail Engineering and the Wantage Tramway Company were both both published by Pen and Sword in 2024.