New exhibitions at Bletchley Park

Two new exhibitions will add a further layer to understanding life at Bletchley Park, the Second World War code breaking site.
Off duty exhibition coming to Bletchley Park.Off duty exhibition coming to Bletchley Park.
Off duty exhibition coming to Bletchley Park.

The experiences of staff when they clocked off from work will be revealed in Off Duty: High Spirits in Low Times, featuring unique oral histories from veterans of the Government Code and Cypher School, opening March 30.Long and unpredictable shifts often impacted on the health and wellbeing of staff, leading senior management to provide facilities for them to use when they weren’t working. From sporting events and plays to trips to the cinema and US dances, visitors can find out about the activities the code breakers enjoyed on and off site.Meanwhile, the key contribution of cryptanalyst Bill Tutte, the mathematician who broke the German Lorenz code and went on to make an invaluable contribution to the formation of graph theory - is to be marked with a celebration of his career, opening May 14.A further range of events during the year will bring the 1940s to life. Visitors can dance to a swing band on the croquet lawn and meet re enactors who will bring the 40s to life during 1940s Family Weekend on June 3 - 4.And fans of 40s music can put on their glad rags and dance the night away to the London Swing Orchestra at the 1940s Swing Night on July 29.Guests can learn how to style their hair and make-up to achieve the iconic 1940s look in a Vintage Boutique Workshop on October 14.A torch lit tour of the code breaking site, as part of the National Museums at Night initiative, will take place with Bletchley Blackout on October 27 - 28.Details of all exhibitions, plus pricing and booking details for events can be found at www.bletchleypark.org.uk

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