by Sue Black
To: Viv Parry
Sent: 15 July 2008
Hi Viv,
How are you? I hope that all is well with you. What exciting things have you been up to lately?
I’m emailing for some advice. As you probably know I have been involved for some time with Bletchley Park, especially highlighting the part the women who worked there played during the war. More recently, I have been involved with highlighting the dreadful state of repair that the place is in due to a ridiculous lack of funding.
I have copied below an email and related letter and photo that I sent to the Council of Professors and Heads of Computing yesterday asking them to sign a letter that we are going to send to The Times. In several hours, around 60 Professors and Heads of Computing have signed up and I have received emails of support from people, one who actually worked with Alan Turing!
Please can you help advise how to get this issue more publicity? It is a good story which links the efforts of many during the war, some of whom are still around and can tell a great tale, with the winning of the war and the history of computing without which we would not have the current and future revolution in society based around the internet. The photo of the hut (attached) portrays the desperate need for funds.
If you can help in any way I would be extremely grateful.
Best regards
Sue
Viv very kindly suggested I get in touch with Alok Jha at the Guardian, Mark Henderson at The Times and Roger Highfield at New Scientist and gave me their contact details. I emailed all three, as well as Chris Vallance from the BBC, who had interviewed me previously about women and tech, and Rory Cellan-Jones, the BBC technology correspondent, whose email address I had.
Luckily I had included my mobile phone number at the end of the email asking the journalists to get in touch. About 20 minutes after I sent the emails, my phone rang. I answered; it was Rory Cellan-Jones from the BBC. My excitement level went through the roof. I knew Rory from seeing him on TV but had never spoken to him before.
I chatted to Rory about Bletchley Park, their financial situation, why it was important that we help, and the letter that we were going to send to The Times. Rory listened patiently, and when I paused for breath, he said:
“Yes, of course we all love Bletchley Park. But I’m not sure that this is a story.”
It was obvious that Rory cared about the fate of Bletchley Park, but I wasn’t able to persuade him that the story was something that the BBC should cover. We said goodbye and I hung up the phone feeling crestfallen.
The BBC are quite intriguing
Later that evening, I received a nice email from Chris Vallance at the BBC. He was on holiday at the time, but had still taken the time to respond, saying that he was forwarding my email to his colleagues and adding, “It’s a tale very much worth telling though! So we’ll see what we can do.”
I went to bed that Tuesday night cheered that Chris was interested, though slightly depressed that Rory wasn’t and that I hadn’t heard back from anyone else.
That Friday, out of the blue, I got another call from Rory. He introduced me to his colleague Mark Ward at the BBC, who was also on the line. We discussed the letter and Rory asked me when it was going to go into The Times. I’d not got around to contacting The Times about the letter yet, and told Rory this, hoping that he didn’t think that made me seem unprofessional. Rory immediately asked me to carry on talking to Mark on the phone whilst he went offline for a moment. I thought it was a bit odd, but I carried on chatting with Mark about Bletchley Park, the women that worked there, the Park’s current financial troubles and how it was one of the most important places in the world. I was getting more used to making a strong case.
A few minutes, later Rory came back online and asked me if I was OK with the story going into The Times alongside the letter the next Thursday. I said I was more than O.K. with that, I was delighted – though I was also curious.
“Why next Thursday?”
“If I told you, I’d have to shoot you!” he said.
I pleaded with him to tell me why, but he wouldn’t. I let it go. We talked some more about the petition, the letter, CPHC and Bletchley Park’s situation and then said our goodbyes. I wondered what sort of coverage the BBC would give the story and why on earth the letter needed to go into The Times the next Thursday.
Rory’s royal shocker
The following Monday, I was sitting at home on my laptop, working on my departmental timetables, when my phone rang. It was Rory. I got excited.
“Hi Rory, how are you? Good weekend?”
“Hi Sue, great thanks. I’m going up to Bletchley Park now and I’d like to interview you up there. Can you come?”
I knew this was a great opportunity; it was exactly the sort of thing that I had been hoping would happen. I arranged to meet Rory at Bletchley that afternoon. On the train, I started wondering what to say. I was excited, but I was also suddenly aware that I had a big responsibility. How was I going to get the message across succinctly and in a way that would effectively convey exactly how important Bletchley Park was and how urgently we needed to save it – before any of the huts fell down, or worst of all, it was forced to close forever? I sat writing possible phrases and bullet points down in my notebook, over and over. I thought hard about what the site meant to me and why I was upset that it was in such a poor state. Would a site of similar importance, in the US for example, be left to fend for itself, as Bletchley Park had been? I was really hoping that I would do a good job. I’d had a bit of media training and Rob Watson from the press office at my workplace had given me a pep talk and a few tips. But I knew that this was a massive opportunity for the campaign, and I really didn’t want to blow it.
It was a hot, sunny day. When I arrived I walked into the Park and up the main road towards the Mansion House. As I got to Hut 8 I saw Rory, Simon Greenish and a cameraman near Hut 6. Rory introduced me to the cameraman and said we were going to record something for radio and something for TV. TV! I thought. Cool.
We walked alongside Hut 6 and then stood in front of the hut looking straight into the bright sunlight while I said things like:
“Look at the state of this hut, the paint is peeling off . . . ”
“I feel ashamed to be British in a way . . . why have we not looked after our heritage?”
“This site was fundamental in our winning the war and look at it now.”
I hoped that what I was saying would get people interested and make them realise that action was needed. After about ten minutes of recording, Rory said:
“OK, that’s great, thanks Sue.”
“Was that all OK?” I wanted to know.
“Yes, great, thanks very much for coming up here.”
“You’re welcome!“
But there was one more question that I was dying to ask Rory. I took him to one side:
“Rory, why did you want the letter to go in The Times this Thursday, why was that so critical to you covering the story?”
“I can’t tell you, if I did I’d have to shoot you,” Rory said again, this time with a smile.
But then he whispered in my ear: “You mustn’t tell anyone, OK?”
“Of course, I won’t tell a soul,” I said.
“OK, keep this to yourself: it’s Prince Charles and Camilla. They’re coming to Bletchley Park on Thursday.”
“Aha!”
I understood now. The BBC were running the Bletchley Park story partly because it tied in with a visit from the Royal Family. It was another early lesson in campaigning for me: having celebrities and influential people linked to your cause can work wonders when you’re trying to get media attention.
For now, it was time to go home. Just ten minutes or so after arriving at Bletchley Park I was saying goodbye to Rory, Simon and the cameraman and making my way back to the station. It was over already. After being s
o excited about the interview and putting so much thought and energy into what I was going to say, it felt anticlimactic. Had I done enough? Had I said the right things? Would people be interested? Actually, come to think of it . . . would the interviews even make it onto the radio and TV? What if that had all been for nothing? At least I wouldn’t have to wait too long to find out.
The Times they are exciting
By the time I got back home my spirits were lifted again. Signatures for the letter to The Times were still coming in from all over the UK, as were some great suggestions for amendments to the letter for accuracy and impact. Professor Nigel Smart from Bristol University had put me in touch with Andy Clark from The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC), which was based at Bletchley Park. I had a chat with Andy about what I wastrying to do and why. Andy was very supportive and offered his help if I needed it.
I was also in daily contact now with Bletchley Park CEO Simon Greenish, who was proving very helpful in getting the wording of The Times letter correct – the last thing we wanted was to say something inaccurate. And John Turner and I were still in very regular contact, writing and rewriting the letter, making amendments and corrections as appropriate when information came in from various sources. Just a few days after emailing CPHC with the original version of the letter we had signatures from 97 members. I was ecstatic to have such strong support from my community.
Finally, at 7pm on 22nd July, I sent our letter in to Angus Clarke at The Times. Rory had given me Angus’ contact details and told me to send the letter through as soon as it was ready.
Subject: Letter to the Times
From: Dr Sue Black
To: Angus Clarke
Sent: 22 July 2008
Dear Angus,
Rory Cellan-Jones spoke to you last week about the letter (attached) which has been ‘signed’ by 97 Professors and Heads of Computing in the UK. The community feel very strongly that Bletchley Park should be made a national museum and hence government funded. The current state of much of the Park is a complete disgrace. I attach a photograph of one of the codebreaking huts taken by me on a recent trip.
I believe that the situation at Bletchley is now critical, if serious funding is not secured soon some of the huts will fall down, time is of the essence.
As Rory mentioned we would be really grateful if our letter could be published this Thursday to coincide with his story about Bletchley Park for the BBC.
Also, as we have 97 signatures I would appreciate your guidance as to the best format in which to send you them, they are currently in spreadsheet form.
Many thanks for your help Angus,
Sue
I attached the letter and the photo of Hut 6, one end covered in a blue tarpaulin, that I had taken at the reception a few weeks previously. My email was quite strident in its tone – I was obviously very keen to get my message over!
After a few hours, I received a reply from Angus putting me in touch with Helen Chadney at The Times. We worked with Helen to get everything ready for publication, including working out which signatories should go on the actual letter in the printed edition. I’d not thought about this before, but it was obvious: The Times weren’t going to be able to publish all of the 97 signatures in the actual newspaper. How would we decide which signatories to include and which to leave out?
I anguished about it for a bit; I really hate any kind of favouritism. But I realised that the best thing to do would be to put the most heavyweight signatures on the letter. I looked through the list. Professors from Oxford and Cambridge had signed; they should be included. Professor Keith van Rijsbergen had signed – he was currently one of the most high profile computer scientists in the country as he was chairing the Research Assessment Exercise panel, so he should be in too. I saw that Professor Robert Churchhouse had signed and that he had worked at GCHQ, so he should definitely be in. There was space for one more signatory. I looked through the 97 names. The one that stood out to me was Professor Ian Sommerville, whose book Software Engineering is like a bible to computer science students in the UK, especially to those like me who go on to do a PhD in software engineering. I decided to put him in to finish off the list and sent it through along with the letter to Helen at The Times:
We cannot let Bletchley go to rack and ruin
Sir, The work undertaken at Bletchley Park during the Second World War in breaking German wartime codes played a significant part in winning that war and securing our future. The work included the decryption of messages enciphered on the German Enigma machines and the breaking of the German “Fish” High Command teleprinter ciphers. Bletchley Park also played a significant role 65 years ago in the design and development of Colossus, one of the world’s first programmable electronic computers. It is therefore fitting that the world’s first purpose-built computer centre should be home to the National Museum of Computing.
Over the years, Bletchley Park has survived building redevelopment (1938), an air raid (1940), the destruction of sensitive material and information (post-1945) and more recently (1991), a second attempt at demolition and redevelopment. That Bletchley Park has survived to the present day is due to the foresight of Milton Keynes Borough Council, which declared the park a conservation area in February 1992, and the formation of the Bletchley Park Trust just three days later.
The trust currently runs this gem charitably, receiving no external funding. Although there has recently been some progress in generating income, without fundamental support Bletchley Park is still under threat, this time from the ravages of age and a lack of investment. Many of the huts where the codebreaking occurred are in a terrible state of disrepair.
As a nation, we cannot allow this crucial and unique piece of both British and world heritage to be neglected in this way. The future of the site, buildings, resources and equipment at Bletchley Park must be preserved for future generations by providing secure long-term financial backing. Is it too much to ask that Bletchley Park be provided with the same financial stability as some of our other great museums such as the Imperial War Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum?
Professor Keith van Rijsbergen
Chair, 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, Computer Science & Informatics sub-panel
Professor Bill Roscoe
Director of Oxford University Computing Laboratory
Professors Jean Bacon and Lawrence Paulson,
University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory
Professor Ian Sommerville
Professor of Software Engineering, University of St Andrews
Professor Robert Churchhouse CBE,
Emeritus Professor, Cardiff University, formerly at GCHQ 1952-1963
Chris Smyth from The Times was also writing a piece to go in the paper to accompany the letter, so we corresponded about Bletchley Park facts and what to put in the article. It was all very exciting!
The next day I sent an email update around to several groups of people that I knew (well, at least hoped!) would be interested, including BCSWomen and CPHC. I let them know that I had been interviewed at Bletchley Park, that the interview would be on the BBC Radio Four Today program and possibly on the BBC News at 1 pm and 6 pm. I had also by now been approached by BBC News 24 and BBC Radio Five Live, who wanted me to speak to them at 6.50 am. I am not a morning person, so I was starting to feel quite stressed about having to think clearly at a time when I was usually still asleep.
I emailed CPHC explaining my rationale for choosing the six names that were going to be published in the paper version of the letter and thanked everyone for their support. I put out a plea asking everybody to talk to everyone that they knew about Bletchley Park and to spread the word about the campaign:
“We need to preserve Bletchley Park so that our children and grandchildren know about and understand the massive effort put into cracking the codes and winning WWI
I and also the history of computing in this country.”
I also included the sentence, “I’m really becoming quite confident that we do now have a good chance of getting some serious funding :-).” Looking back now, I think, ah, I was so naïve! It would be quite some time before some really serious funding appeared. But at the time, things were moving forward, and it felt like we had great momentum and support.
A publicity dream, so hard to beat
24th July 2008 was a big day for me.
I started very early, at 4.30am. I knew I was going to be interviewed by Radio Five Live about the letter in The Times soon, but I hadn’t been able to sleep very well – I was too stressed and excited. I could see that the letter was already on The Times website, and there was an article on the BBC website too.
“Neglect” of Bletchley condemned
BBC News
24 July 2008
A call to save Bletchley Park has gone out from the UK’s computer scientists. [ . . . ]
The academics were brought together by Dr Sue Black, head of the computer science department at the University of Westminster, who was moved to act after visiting Bletchley Park in early July.
“I went up there and felt quite upset by what I saw,” she said.
Many of the buildings on the Bletchley estate were in a state of serious disrepair, she said. One building, where codebreakers worked during World War II, was falling apart, said Dr Black, and was protected by a blue tarpaulin that was nailed down over it.
Describing Bletchley as a “gem”, Dr Black said it was a “national disgrace” that such a historic site was being allowed to fall into ruin.
“I do not know why they do not have funding as a national museum,” she said.
The visit led her to contact other heads of computer science departments at universities up and down the country. Within hours, she had hundreds of responses – all of them backing her call.