Dr Mark Baldwin

The deciphering of German communication codes by the secret establishment at Bletchley Park is thought to have shortened World War Two by two years. Allied Codebreakers managed to decipher the Germans’ secret messages that were being communicated with the ENIGMA – an ingenious machine whose codes were changed every 24 hours. As a result, the Allies gained information about enemy troop, U-boat and aircraft movements, technical developments and military intentions.

Dr Mark Baldwin has made a detailed study of the ENIGMA machine and in this show he tells the fascinating story of the best kept secret of World War Two. He presents fascinating illustrations, answers questions from the audience and gives a hands-on demonstration of one of the few surviving, and very rare, ENIGMA machines. Part of Dr Mark Baldwin's presentation
focuses on Alan Turing, one of the leading Codebreakers at Bletchley Park, who is widely credited for cracking the German codes and whose genius mathematical ideas led to the invention of the world's first computer. After a long campaign to clear his name, Turing recently received a posthumous royal pardon for his 1952 conviction and punishment for homosexual acts – and is the subject of a new historical drama film The Imitation Game, starring Keira Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch.