The largest gathering of veterans who operated the Colossus code-cracking computer in World War Two has been held at Bletchley Park. The operators met at the National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) which has a replica of the pioneering machine. It was held after publicity around Colossus's 70th anniversary led many former operators to contact the museum. Read more
As the code-cracking Colossus celebrates its 70th anniversary, John Cane, a former Post Office engineer who helped maintain it, reminisces for the first time about working on the pioneering machine. His testimony gives a glimpse into the early days of GCHQ's efforts to employ technology in its spying efforts. Read more
The National Museum of Computing in Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, has staged a re-enactment of an attack by a Colossus computer on a German Lorenz cipher machine using a rebuilt Colossus computer. The re-enactment comes 70 years after Colossus, Britain's first electronic computer, went into operation to help decrypt the messages of German High Command. Read more
Testimonials from the last living engineers who worked on the wartime code-cracking machine Colossus have been gathered for a film celebrating their work. The codes cracked by the device helped ensure the success of the Normandy invasion that led to the Allied victory in World War II. Colossus is regarded as being the world's first digital, electronic computer but the story of its creation is not widely known because it was broken up after the war. Read more