The Working-Class Hero of Bletchley Park You Didn't See in the Movies
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Bletchley ParkWwii HistoryWorking-Class Heroes
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Bletchley Park
Wwii History
Working-Class Heroes
The article highlights a working-class hero from Bletchley Park, a lesser-known figure in the history of WWII codebreaking, sparking interest in a more nuanced understanding of historical contributions.
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Oct 12, 2025 at 10:55 PM EDT
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He's well known in computing history circles.
The story of how the Post Office got involved in building out the systems used by GCHQ, and the post-war dumping of supplies into a research market bootstrapping the digital computer advances was well understood. ICCE (for example) the Imperial College numerical engine built in the 50s, was a relay machine made with war surplus post office relays, because valves were too expensive. The amount of relays coming onto the market post war was very probably a signal of technology transition inside the GPO. Why did they have so many relays surplus to demand? Telephony was surging! Strowger Switches (which use relays) were the backbone of telephone exchanges right up to the 60s.