Social media raises Bletchley Park awareness

Twitter boosts profile of campaign for preservation of historical code-breaking centre

The garden huts at Bletchley Park need essential repair work

Social media tools are helping raise awareness of the campaign to save World War II code-breaking site Bletchley Park as the government announced funding for much-needed maintenance work.

Yesterday, culture secretary Ben Bradshaw announced that £250,000 had been allocated to help repair potholed roads and car parks and fit new roofs on the dilapidated garden huts.

German Enigma codes were deciphered at the Buckinghamshire site using early computing equipment such as Colossus machines. The efforts helped shorten the war significantly, sparing countless lives.

Web sites such as Twitter have been invaluable for raising awareness of the significance of the site, according to Sue Black, head of the computer science department at the University of Westminster and a campaigner for the preservation of the centre.

After visiting the site and taking a petition with signatures of university lecturers across the UK to Number 10, Black started using Twitter to draw attention to the Save Bletchley Park campaign in December 2008.

“A lot of people found out about the site through Twitter and once you visit the place and are bitten by the Bletchley park 'bug', you get desperate to save it,” Black told Computing.

In February 2009, on the day prolific Twitter user Stephen Fry famously posted updates to the site as he was trapped in a broken lift for 40 minutes, Black told him about the campaign and Fry helped spread the word, attracting several hundred new supporters.

“I sent a few direct messages to him asking for support, he posted a link to the campaign and my inbox was overflowing with messages the morning after. Typically, we would receive about 50 hits a day but after Stephen’s help this increased to about 8,000 hits,” said Black.

In October 2009, the Bletchley Park Trust received £460,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, but it still needs a further £4m by mid-2011 for additional repairs.

Despite uncertainty over future funding under a possible Tory government, Black believes that public knowledge of the significance of the site, ongoing use of Twitter for further outreach and media support will ensure the continuation of the programme.

Similarly, Simon Greenish, chief executive officer of the Bletchley Park Trust, believes that a lot more people in the UK are aware of the museum and that social media continues to play a crucial role in the campaigning work.

“The significant increase in our follower base on Twitter after yesterday’s announcement was a clear example [of the power of social media]. And the site speaks for itself – it is so important that it does not matter who stays in power,” said Greenish.

Click here to find out more about the Save Bletchley Park campaign.