Race against the clock to save Alan Turing papers :: HEXUS.channel - Essential IT business intelligence A frantic campaign is under way to save what could be the most complete collection of World War Two code breaker Alan Turing's work. One supporter of the Bletchley Park Trust is desperately trying to raise money to purchase a collection of Turing's published papers and offprints for permanent public display at Bletchley Park, where Turing worked as a codebreaker. Turing, a mathematician, cryptanalyst and computer scientist who died in his 40s has only just received public recognition for his work, some of which will be auctioned off by Christie's including 15 of his 18 published papers. It is thought to be the largest collection in the world, put together by Turing's friend and fellow Bletchley Park codebreaker, Professor Max Newman, to whom Turing presented the offprints. Now Turing fan Gareth Halfacree is trying to rally support from the public to snap up the work, which could form part of a permanent collection at Bletchley. "They belong in a dedicated museum but Bletchley Park can't afford the £300,000 to £500,000 guide price. As a result, I'm asking for volunteers to dig deep and see to it that these papers not only stay in this country but stay where the public can see them and benefit from them. Let's save them from being locked away in the vaults of a private collector," he said. William Newman, the son of Max Newman, said: "The offprint collection's value derives mainly from its completeness; indeed it may be the most complete collection of Turing's works in the world. This has come about because Turing started to give offprints to Max Newman before he had published the Computable Numbers paper. He subsequently gained a large following, who were interested mainly in his follow-on work. In fact Turing published only 18 papers." With mere days left before the auction which takes place on 23 November, Halfacree has urged the public to do what they can and will no doubt be hoping that a deep-pocketed philanthropist will step in and save the day at the last minute. The campaign has so far raised around £13,000 and is 3 percent of the way to meeting its target. Turing's work is the latest piece of computer history to spark the public's imagination with a fundraising effort under way to build Charles Babbage's Analytical Machine and an Apple-1 computer possibly built by Jobs and Wozniak expected to fetch around £150,000 at auction- in the same sale as the Turing papers. Here is an image from Christie's auction house of the Turing papers for sale.
BBC News - Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing's papers fail to sell Papers published by World War II codebreaker Alan Turing have failed to sell at auction - raising hopes they could be kept in the UK. The Manchester University scientist, who killed himself in 1954, created a machine at Bletchley Park to crack messages in the German Enigma code.
Enigma genius Alan Turing papers saved for the nation. Great news that the papers belonging to Alan Turing have been saved from going out of Britain. BBC News - Enigma genius Alan Turing papers saved for the nation Alan Turing is credited with a key role in breaking the Enigma Codes Regards Tom
At last - so much of his work has been ignored, he has almost been turned into a non-person. I wish the BBC would do a programme on his life and work, the only bit anyone mentions is Bletchley, but he was involved in so much more. It is worth looking at the Wikipendia entry:- Alan Turing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ednamay.
Andrew Hodges's "Alan Turing the enigma" is a valuable book,reveals the deeper man and his outstanding work. It is right that he should not be forgotten.I would agree what has been said about Bletchley.People tend to forget the people who made valuable contributions in order that the place could deliver.As Churchill said "the geese that laid the golden eggs but did not cluck". Surprised that the BBC has not covered Turing before.It would be a welcomed programme.Having said that I think that the BBC would be the only broadcasting system able to do justice to the subject.
Surprised that the BBC has not covered Turing before.It would be a welcomed programme.Having said that I think that the BBC would be the only broadcasting system able to do justice to the subject. Harry, see here: The Genius of Alan Turing "Alan Turing is one of the most important scientists who ever lived. He set in motion the digital revolution and his World War II code breaking helped save two million lives. Yet few people alive today have ever heard his name or know his story. A documentary film is being developed to change this. 100 years after his birth, an international production team is set to take viewers on a journey to rediscover the man and the mystery. Alan Turing was a flamboyant Technicolor genius yet instead of accolades and respect, he faced prosecution by the British government because he was gay. In 1954, Turing committed suicide at age 41 after being forced to undergo hormone therapy to “fix” his sexual orientation. He left behind a lasting legacy and lingering questions about what else he might have accomplished if society had embraced his unique genius instead of rejecting it. Research and development for this feature-length drama documentary is underway; with plans to reach many millions of viewers around the world online and through broadcast and theatrical release of the film. "
Geoff, Thank you: I did notice from Wikipedia that BBC had done something on Turing but I have never seen it and I doubt it was well publicised. Let's hope anything new has more emphasis, it angers me that we treat our saviours so shabbily. Edna
Thank you: I did notice from Wikipedia that BBC had done something on Turing but I have never seen it and I doubt it was well publicised. This was Hugh Whitmore's play Breaking The Code which was on TV and also various stage productions.
Thanks Geoff for the information. I wonder if the BBC has commissioned the documentary.Outsourcing seems to be the norm these days. I look forward to it,all the better if it is authentic and credits Alan Turing and the Bletchley teams for the utmost secret and valuable work they undertook.
Details on his OBE medal and Degree today: Scientist Alan Turing's degree, medal and memorabilia recovered in Colorado
