[GreenKeys] Bletchley Park...

[Don Robert House]

Hi Craig,

I just received my 2009 Bletchley Park Calendar.  It is good that  
someone had the foresight to photograph the WWII operations.  It is  
not hard to imagine the hours of boredom behind pulled black curtains,  
punctuated by adrenalin when solutions were found.

While looking through the calendar the photo of Tech Sergeant Hurley  
brought back several memories of my time at the Computer Museum of  
America in San Diego.  For about 2 years we were lucky enough to be  
able to display at a former art deco bank building on the edge of the  
Gaslight District. The location had some problems because across the  
street started the area of the homeless and drug dealers.  So the  
museum normally operated during daylight hours only.

Eventually of our funding dried up when so many American companies  
decided to outsource computer programming and software support.  The  
college that gave us 90 percent of our funding was a school for  
computer programming.  So we moved the museum in three semi-trailers  
back to the college in what was their old bowling alley.  We moved  
everything three times in three years.  Very frustrating.  So in the  
end we deeded everything to the San Diego State University Library in  
the hopes that someday they will reopen the museum.

Anyway, back to the glory days when we still had funding...  I served  
as the docent for all of the communications equipment and also the  
ENIGMA that is on a semi-permanent loan from the National Security  
Agency Museum.  One day an older gentleman showed up who had flown in  
from the east coast specifically to see our museum.  I spend the  
better part of a day showing him all of the Teletype equipment and the  
ENIGMA.
His enthusiasm never dropped the whole day.  In our conversation I  
discovered that he was one of the Tech Sergeants at Bletchley Park and  
worked as Sgt. Hurley is shown on the April 2009 Calendar page.  He  
also confided that most of the Sergeants were unhappy because they  
were enlisted men and their British counterparts were either officers  
or civilians paid much more than U.S. Army Sergeants.

He mentioned that he and other U.S. Army men were allowed to observe  
the British operations and assist with them, but the US Army  
commanding officer would not let the British officers into the U.S.  
Army encampment.
It was really nice to make this Veteran's day but I had talked so much  
that I lost my voice for about 24 hours.

Memories.

THANKS for all you do.  It is really neat when many people appreciate  
the work you do.

Don
K9TTY