Probus Club of Meltham

Norman Hodgkin’s presentation was entitled Bletchley Park Part 1.
He had brought his talk forward to cover for a speaker who’d had to postpone.

Norman explained that he had had a long career in the R.A.F which include
working at Bletchley Park and other intelligence gathering centres. As a civilian
his work continued in this area, ultimately becoming a lecturer.
He took us through the history of the building and of transmission interception
and codebreaking from World War One onwards. He explained the roles of
significant directors and staff members at Bletchley, including Alan Turin,
Gordon Welchman and Dilly Knox. He related that debutantes were considered
able to maintain secrecy, thus suited to the work, and some other recruitment
methods used during World War Two.
He explained codes and the differing code breaking machines and their
significance. He also looked the issues surrounding the bombing of the city of
Coventry on 13th January 1942.
He brought the talk up to the present with GCHQ and their locations.