Knebworth & Bletchley
“A list of the most important names of World War II would have Churchill at the top and Turing not far behind.”
Knebworth House
I’m not afraid to admit that I first learned of Knebworth House because it was used in the Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga movie (2020). It was one of Alexander Lemtov’s “top five favorite homes.”
You won’t find any “Greek” penis statues, but you will quickly recognize the many rooms of the house used in the filming of the “song-along.” If you need a reminder, here is the clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FynBs_lI4g
As the song-along is about to begin, Lars and Mita enter the room through this door.
Lemtov and Sigrit enter from here.
Let the signing commence! Bilal Hassani (France) and Anna Odobescu (Moldova) begin the song-along in this very room.
Loreen (Sweden) continues the song down this staircase.
She is joined by Jessy Matador (France) at this landing, where the song-along proceeds outside.
Loreen (Sweden) exists the house through this door and onto the patio where the song continues with the entire ensamble, including Alex Ryback (Norway) on violin.
The song continues with Jamala (Ukraine) standing on the minstrel’s balcony of The Grand Hall.
Jamala passes the song down from the minstrel’s balcony where it continues on the floor of the Grand Hall.
The song then moves into a room that I don’t think we saw during our tour. This is where Elina Nechayeva (Estonia) and Conchita Wurst (Austria) sing while everyone around the room acts like they’re Neo in the Matrix.
The song continues at the front of the house with Netta Barzilai (Israel) singing “Tonight’s going to be a good night.”
This is the same place where Lars and Sigrit first drive up to the party through the tower at the left.
The song returns to the Great Hall for the finale. It was so much fun being in all the same rooms!
Just so you don’t think it was all fun and games, here is the Great Hall as painted by Winston Churchill (he was friends with the owner of Knebworth).
I must say, the exterior of Knebworth also included the coolest collection of grotesques we’ve ever seen on a house.
See what I mean? Amazing!
It’s actually quite fitting that the song-along was filmed at Knebworth as the house has a long history of famous musical events at the property. In the photo above you can see the house at the bottom left and the massive crowd gathered for what I imagine is a Rolling Stones concert.
Over the years, the house has hosted Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, Queen, Oasis, the Who, Metallic, and so many others!
The Breakfast Club soundtrack featured the Simple Minds hit Don’t You (Forget About Me), the video of which was filmed in the Great Hall at Knebworth (see if you can spot Winston Churchill’s painting in the background): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A
Lest we forget the very best of the best, the Tears for Fears video for Mad World was shot at a house on a small lake just behind Knebworth House.
The house and lake are private property and there are signs everywhere about not entering, but I was briefly naughty and snapped this photo. I could only capture brief glimpses of the house, but this small island with the two statues (and the pier in the back left) should look mighty familiar in the opening scenes of the video (you got to love the ‘80s music video vibe! 😂 ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ZvPSpLxCg
Bletchley Park
After Knebworth House, we drove to Bletchley Park. I simply have to find a way to pair this down. Bletchley Park (BP) is really more than anyone could digest in just one day. They have done an amazing job with preserving this historic site and you could easily come to the campus multiple times before seeing everything available to appreciate. So, here are our highlights.
An actual German Enigma machine.
It’s amazing to see how many women made up the ranks of BP.
Statue of the amazing mathematician and code breaker Alan Turing. We both highly recommend the movie about Turing‘s life in The Imitation Game. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s one of our favorite movies.
In September 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued the above unequivocal apology on behalf of the UK government to Alan Turing, the second world war codebreaker who took his own life after being sentenced to chemical castration for being gay.
Alan Turing featured on the £50 note.
Formal recognition of the Importance of Alan Turing's work to the development of the modern computer.
Looking across the lake at The Mansion. In 1938, this is just an old country estate, ready to be broken up for housing. All that changes when it catches the eye of a senior intelligence officer.
For the last 19 years, the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) has been based in London. As war with Germany grows more likely, government agencies start looking for bases outside the city, away from the threat of air raids. This decision is made: GC&CS, will move to BP.
When locals ask questions, staff say they are here for the pheasant shooting season.
This building is where BP's codebreaking story begins. Even before WW-II breaks out, the first codebreakers begin to settle into the empty Mansion.
Under Commander Alastair Denniston's leadership, that handful of people will grow into a vast intelligence operation.
The Ballroom in the Mansion was originally used as a teleprinter room, then a Recreation Club, and later a quiet reading and rest room where staff could relax.
The Morning Room was turned into the office for Commander Alexander (Alastair) Guthrie Denniston, Head of the Government Code & Cypher School (GC&CS).
The Library was initially used by the German and Italian Naval subsections. Later in the war the Library was occupied by the typing section.
Hut 3 was one of the most secret areas of BP, where deciphered messages were translated and analyzed.
Elizabeth Langstaff (later Lady Elizabeth Reed) was assigned to work in Hut 3. You can read about this Langstaff by following this link: https://bletchleypark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/record_attachments/1944.pdf
Another Langstaff inside Hut 3.
Hut 3
Just beyond this door, sat the head of Hut 8—Alan Turing.
It was in this hut that Codebreakers managed to break the top secret German naval Enigma ciphers. Their work provided crucial day-to-day intelligence during the Battle of the Atlantic. It allowed the Admiralty to re-route Allied convoys bringing vital supplies to Britain around the enemy U-boats hunting them down. The team here was led by mathematician Alan Turing and chess champion Hugh Alexander.
There is no denying, we both felt quite a shiver entering Turing’s office.
I really felt tremendous respect and admiration for what Turing and so many others like him did to save untold lives, and turn the tide of the war.
There were, of course, so many who acted heroically during the war. Three men I had never heard of deserve some real recognition.
The very short version is that on October 30, 1942, a spy plane spotted a German U-boat just under the water’s surface. They directed boats to the area who proceeded to depth charge the area for some time, ultimately damaging the U-boat, forcing it to surface, and causing the crew to abandon ship.
Lt Anthony Fasson, Able Seaman Colin Grazier, and Able Seaman Thomas (Tommy) Brown immediately jumped off their boats and swam past the German sailors and climbed into the badly damaged vessel. Passing codebooks up through the hatch, Fasson and Grazier were caught aboard the sub as she suddenly sank. Brown was saved, along with the code books. The code books proved vital to deciphering the new Enigma machine that had been created with four rather than three wheels. Such amazing actions and a story I’m not sure many of us have heard before.
The first Bombe machine was installed in Hut 1. Together with his fellow Codebreaker Gordon Welchman, Alan Turing developed the Bombe machine to help speed up the codebreaking process. Later, as seen here, Huts 11, 11A, and 11B were build specifically for Bombes.
The name Bombe either came from the ticking sound the machines made, or as a tribute to the Polish Bomba—which has two meanings: an exclamation for something really good, or a round scoop of ice cream enjoyed by the Polish Codebreakers.
This manuscript contains Alan Turing's description of he Enigma machine and how to break its encryption. It is known as “Prof's Book,” after Turing's nickname. These pages introduce his thorough analysis of Enigma. Turing expanded on his ideas with annotations and sketched diagrams throughout the typescript.
Block A
It's late 1942 and BP's staff of over 2,500 no longer fits in the Mansion and it’s adjoining “huts.” Block A: The Intelligence Factory is the first of eight large brick buildings created as offices for the growing workforce.
When this block first opened its doors it welcomed a team of almost 500—from librarians to codebreakers. The team working here on the ground floor were known as Naval Section. Their mission was to piece together a detailed intelligence picture of enemy naval activity from an ocean of intercepted enemy communications.
Edward Wilfred Harry “Jumbo” Travis becomes the operational head of BP. He imposes new structures and ways of working appropriate for the organizations new industrial scale, but recognizes the need to keep operations flexible, writing, “a more formal machine could never adapt itself so readily to the ever-changing needs.”
I love that quote because it conforms so nicely to modern leadership theory, even while so many leaders still don’t recognize its value.
My mom and Amanda had read this book and loved it. I was about third of the way through when we toured BP. I was so happy to have not yet finished the book because it was so powerful to have the mental images of BP as I completed my reading. Whether you visit BP or not, you’ll love reading this book!
It was truly an honor to visit Bletchley Park. The world owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the many women and men who worked tirelessly to break the Enigma code. These include names like Turing who have finally received the recognition they deserve. And may we also remember men like Fasson, Grazier, and Brown whose actions often go unrecognized.
Thank you, thank you, one and all!
The Green Dragon
After digesting so much information at Knebworth House and Bletchley Park (not to mention the driving), it was time to unwind with visits to two of Cambridge’s most famous pubs.
This side of the fireplace at The Green Dragon says, “1599-1658 Oliver Cromwell and his friends practiced their knife-throwing skills into this fire lintel & can still be seen today.”
Mirror in the Bathroom by The English Beat played while we were sitting in the pub—a nice touch.
The other side of the fireplace reads, “JRR Tolkien 1892-1975 visited this pub for inspiration for writing The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
The Eagle (& The RAF Bar)
After dinner, we walked to The Eagle.
Just look at this amazing old gate with a wicket (smaller inset door) that leads to the courtyard onto which The Eagle opens.
In the passageway to The Eagle courtyard.
The charming courtyard.
The Eagle is an absolutely amazing pub, full of patrons and buzzing with energy. This is a “must-visit” spot if you ever make it to Cambridge.
You can sit inside an old fireplace, like this couple…or…
…you can sit here, with a plaque behind your back that reads:
“On this spot, on February 28, 1953, Frands Crick and James Watson made the first public announcement of the discovery of DNA with the words ‘We have discovered the secret of life.’ Throughout their early partnership Watson & Crick dined in this room on six days every week.”
On our other side was this quote.
No joke, this very same morning we watched "The Romance Resonance" (S7:E6) of The Big Bang Theory where Howard writes a song for Bernadette for the anniversary of their first date. The lyrics include:
“If I didn't have you, life would be blue,
I'd be Doctor Who without the Tardis,
I'd be a candle without a wick,
A Watson without a Crick…”
Pretty crazy coincidence (and not unlike when Sheldon mentioned “the walled city of York” the same day we visited York)!
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcrCvVQXmgU
The back of the pub is the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bar, the ceiling of which is covered with the signatures of WW-II pilots.
