Turing is voted Greatest Hero and Pioneer of Milton Keynes

Bletchley Park Trust was delighted to be awarded the honour on behalf of Alan Turing.

 

Press Release reads;-  Winner of Greatest Milton Keynes Pioneer or Hero is announced

After two weeks of frenzied voting across Milton Keynes the winner of the Greatest Pioneer or Hero was announced at the OurPlace:MK exhibition on Tuesday 22 January. The accolade went to Bletchley Park codebreaker, Alan Turing.

Alan Turing is often considered to be the father of modern computer science, having made many technical contributions to the computing community. During World War II Turing worked at Bletchley Park, Britain's most famous codebreaking centre, and was head of Hut 8, the section responsible for German naval cryptanalysis.

He devised a number of techniques for breaking German ciphers, including the method of the Bombe, an electromechanical machine that could find settings for the Enigma machine. In December 1940, Turing and his team cracked the German Enigma code at odds of 12 million to one and this act alone is thought to have shortened WWII by around five years. Turing committed suicide in 1954 by allegedly eating an apple laced with cyanide.

Turing was chosen by the public from a shortlist of ten names, both past and present, all of whom have made huge contributions to the local area in the fields of sport, medicine, business, entertainment, art and truly world-changing history.

The Living Archive, together with the Milton Keynes Citizen, launched the public vote to find Milton Keynes Greatest Pioneer or Hero to encourage people to explore their own area’s history and tie this in with the OurPlace:MK exhibition.
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The exhibition brought to life some of the area’s most famous Pioneers and Heroes with a range of displays showing how their lives unfolded and how what they achieved has affected us all and left an undeniable legacy.

In this, its second year, it is planned that the exhibition will become an annual event within the Milton Keynes community.

For more information contact the Living Archive on 01908 322568 or via info@livingarchive.org.uk.

-ENDS-

For further information or general press enquiries about the Greatest Milton Keynes Pioneer or Hero vote contact Carys Underwood via carys@copywriteservices.co.uk or on 07958 546284.

 

EDITORS NOTES:

1. The full shortlist was:

Alan Turing – Bletchley Park codebreaker  Jim Marshall – Businessman/philanthropist
Margaret Powell – MK benefactor   Pete Winkelman – Businessman
Lord ‘Jock’ Campbell – MK Development Corp. John Newton – Writer/composer
Liz Leyh – Artist/Concrete Cows   Dr John Radcliffe – Physician
Dame Cleo Laine/Sir John Dankworth – Musicians Craig Pickering – Athlete

2. Established in 1984, Living Archive has worked hard to develop a coherent approach to
heritage, arts, education and community development which has been nationally recognised and emulated. For more information visit www.livingarchive.org.uk.