WORTH READING Shawn Wylie, Bletchley Park

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Doug Humphrey <doug () joss com>
Date: November 1, 2009 9:17:13 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: "ip" <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] Shawn Wylie, Bletchley Park

for IP

On this general topic, a story.

On one of my first companies (Digex) we used a law firm in DC
and one of the lawyers we used there (I will not use names
here - not important) had a mother who was at Bletchley Park,
and the NSA Crypto Museum was relatively new, and very much
"undiscovered" and of course had an Enigma that you could (and
still can) touch and key - so we thought it would be great fun to
have her up for a visit when she was in town.  She loved the idea,
I was told (having not at that point spoken directly with her)

Once she was there, and saw it there, in the open, where anyone
could see it, she felt sick and disoriented and one of the docents
got her into a little conference room there and got her some water
and things returned to normal - she waited outside for everyone to
finish their (somewhat truncated) tour and they headed back to DC.

she said that she just could not reconcile it being there where anyone
could see it and know about it - so much was it drummed into them
that this was Most Secret, the ultimate secret, the holy of holies, and
never ever ever to be spoken of.

They were, quite possibly, saving the planet; and this was the secret,
and they were the keepers.  In this day of bragging in order to get ones
15 minutes of fame and fortune, we should feel fortunate that there
were (and hopefully still are) those who can keep their secrets.

(oh, and Hi David ;-)

doug





On Nov 1, 2009, at 8:50 PM, David Farber wrote:

> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: "David Lesher" <wb8foz () panix com>
> Date: November 1, 2009 8:20:37 PM EST
> To: dave () farber net (David Farber)
> Subject: Shawn Wylie, Bletchley Park
>
>
> <http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/oct/27/shaun-wylie-obituary>
>
>
> "Except for Turing, no one made a bigger contribution to the success  
> of
> Hut 8 than Wylie; he was easily the best all-rounder in the section,
> astonishingly quick and resourceful."
>
> The secrecy surrounding the code-breaking at Bletchley Park during the
> second world war was such that, when restrictions were lifted and the
> importance of the work became widely known decades later, many of  
> those
> involved were rather put out by attempts from journalists and  
> historians
> to pierce their silence. The mathematician and cryptanalyst Shaun  
> Wylie,
> who has died aged 96, became a reluctant celebrity with his insider's
> perspective on Station X's achievements.
>
> .....
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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