Google gives £550k to Bletchley Park
'Profoundly historically significant huts' get makeover
Google has donated over half a million pounds for restorations at Bletchley Park, the site which commemorates the birth of modern computing and the code-breakers who helped bring the Second World War to an end.
Bletchley Park chiefs intend to use the cash to turn a crumbling hangar into a "world-class visitor centre and exhibition" and to restore three "code-breaking huts" for visitors in a £15 million restoration programme.
The centre has won a £4.6million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund but needs to attract £1.7million in outside funding before the big grant can be delivered and the next stage of the development kickstarted.
The £550,000 Google contribution is the biggest single donation that the Bletchley Park Trust has received so far. It was given by the search engine's charitable arm, which donated a total of $100 million (£64.4million) in 2011.
"It would be wonderful if other donors follow Google’s example to help preserve our computing heritage," said Simon Greenish, CEO of the Bletchley Park Trust. "We could then proceed as soon as possible with restoration of the profoundly historically significant codebreaking huts.”
Donations are welcome here. ®
COMMENTS
Nothing.
They'll just wait till it's complete, claim they thought of it first and sue for infringment.
Good for Google
Given the importance to code-breaking history, should MI5/6/insert number here not contribute. Or maybe they did but want to keep that secret (force of habit, presumably)
It's important history guys !!!!
I think it's a national tragedy that Bletchley has been allowed to fall into such disrepair.
I suppose it came about because of the obsessive nature of the secrecy there that noone knew about the historical significance of the place.
Come on country, this should be saved for future generations. It will be classed as one of the most important historical places for years to come, not just because it shortened the war by conservatively two years probably more, but also created computing.
Great News
Great to hear there's some money going in at last. And as I've said before Bletchley is somewhere all geeks should want to visit.
BP
I grew up in Bletchley in the 70s/80s/90s... we had fun times climbing over the fence and necking Thunderbird wine in Bletchley Park. No one in the area had the slightest idea what had gone on there during WW2... to us it was just an office park owned by British Telecom.
