News & Analysis
More funds pledged to save Bletchley Park
John Walko
11/6/2008 10:11 AM EST
The latest grant will be used to undertake urgent repairs to the fabric of the buildings within the historic World War II code-breaking centre.
Discussions are also in progress on a further three-year, £600,000 funding programme for the site, where the Enigma codes were cracked in 1940 which are suggested to have helped significantly in winning the war.
Earlier this year, the Americans joined the campaign to save Bletchley Park, in Buckinghamshire, England, with IBM and computer security specialist PGP pledging £57,000 (about $100,000) to secure the facility's future. That donation was intended to restore exhibits at the National Museum of Computing which shares the site at Bletchley Park, home to the Colossus computer, the world's first programmable machine.
The two firms said they hoped the money would kick-start further donations from the technology industry to make up an estimated £7 million needed to run the museum.
The latest donation follows efforts to highlight the dilapidated state of the huts and other buildings at Bletchley.
"Bletchley Park played a fundamental role in the Allies winning the Second World War and is of great importance to the history of Europe," said Dr Simon Thurley, chief executive of English Heritage.
"English Heritage is committed to saving this fascinating group of buildings so that future generations can understand something of the enormous human endeavour which went on there."
The plight of the buildings and exhibits was highlighted in July when about 100 UK academics signed a letter to The Times condemning the neglect of Bletchley.
The Bletchley Park Trust has raised more than £5 million since taking over the site in 1992.
English Heritage has pledged £100,000 a year for the next three years if its partners in the deal can match those funds. Related Articles
US firms donate $100,000 to help save Bletchley Park
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