[GreenKeys] Fwd: Response from Bletchley Park

[Nick England]

 FWIW

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Info <info at bletchleypark.org.uk>
Date: Fri, Jan 31, 2014 at 6:42 AM
Subject: Re: Colossus is a major part of the BP story
To: info at bletchleypark.org.uk
Cc: contact at bletchleypark.org.uk, nick at navy-radio.com


Dear Mr England,

Many thanks for your comments, which we note.

I am sorry that the highly inaccurate and misleading report carried by
the BBC caused you such concern. In particular, the very selective
extracts from Iain Standen's interview created a completely false
impression of what is occurring and, more importantly, why.

Volunteer tour guide Tony Carroll has not been sacked. He continues to
be a valued volunteer at the Bletchley Park Trust. He was asked to
stop giving public tours as he been unwilling to deliver the shorter
revised tour. He continues to work voluntarily for the Trust in the
Education department, providing tours for school groups.

The Trust is enormously grateful to its army of volunteers, without
whom it could not offer a personal, knowledgeable service to visitors.
The Trust is currently investing in high quality training to further
improve visitors' experience as the huge, much-needed, Heritage
Lottery Funded £8 million restoration project approaches completion.
This project will bring many historic buildings on the site back to a
state of good repair and create an inspiring experience for its
ever-increasing numbers of visitors. This will create a world class
museum and heritage site which is a fitting memorial to the heroic
Codebreakers of Bletchley Park making the site much more sustainable
and accessible to growing numbers of visitors.

It should be made absolutely clear that The National Museum of
Computing remains available to any visitor to Bletchley Park who
wishes to visit it. The story of breaking the German' Fish' Ciphers,
which includes the story of the birth of Colossus, is one that is told
in the Bletchley Park Museum, and visitors are encouraged to visit The
National Museum of Computing to see the replica Colossus and Tunny
machines.

In 2012, in response to adverse visitor feedback, regarding the number
of different charges levied within Bletchley Park, the Bletchley Park
Trust proposed to The National Museum of Computing a single ticketing
solution whereby the Bletchley Park Trust would charge an admission
fee, which would be uplifted to include the Colossus gallery charge
(£2 for adults and £1 for concessions and groups). This uplift would
have been paid directly to The National Museum of Computing for every
visitor (without any administration or handling charges) so that The
National Museum of Computing would have been able to glean a
substantial income from visitors to the Bletchley Park Trust Museum.

This offer resulted in lengthy negotiations which ultimately proved
inconclusive, and both sides agreed to operate independently.
Operating independently means that The National Museum of Computing
continues to occupy Block H and develop its own Museum. It has its own
opening hours, continues to charge its own entry fees and conduct its
own marketing activities.

The new visitor centre on site will help receive all visitors and
allow them to consider how they would like to see the site, and which
areas to visit.  It does not replace the museum or any of its
exhibits. I hope you will come and see for yourself that the site is
being restored faithfully as a fitting memorial to the heroes of
Bletchley Park.

Please see our updated official statement here.

h ttp://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/news/v.rhtm/Statement_of_Facts-757580.h



Yours sincerely,

The Bletchley Park Trust


On Wednesday, January 29, 2014 2:42:52 PM UTC, nick at navy-radio.com wrote:
>
> Message from Bletchley Park (www.bletchleypark.org.uk)
>
> phone    : not given
> email    : nick at navy-radio.com
> name     : Nick England
>
>
> I am an American who has made trips to see BP twice. I am also an electronics engineer and computer designer who understands the enormous importance of Colossus to the entire BP story. To hear that you are excluding this effort from your new tours is simply unfathomable. I cannot imagine how anyone could delete the entire Fish effort from BP history. Please reconsider, get back in partnership with the Colossus folks, and quit damaging BP's reputation.
> respectfully,
> Nick England
> FORMER financial contributor to BP