E148 - A New Look at Newman

Bletchley Park

February 2023
The breaking of the German Lorenz cipher system was one of BP's most complex technical achievements. This work is often associated with Tommy Flowers from the GPO, however Flowers' work, and the wider mechanisation of the breaking of TUNNY was overseen by a Cambridge mathematician who came to BP only reluctantly in 1942; Professor Max Newman.
To mark the 80th anniversary of the opening of Bletchley Park’s 'Newmanry' in February 1943, in this ‘It Happened Here’ episode, we examine the story of Newman and his crucial role in the breaking of Lorenz.
We are joined by Bletchley Park’s Research Historian Dr David Kenyon to tell us more.
Special thanks to Dr Ben Thomson for voicing our archival documents.
Image: ©Crown. Reproduced by kind permission, Director, GCHQ
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