History Wednesday Code Breakers

Who Was Alan Turing?
Alan Turing was a British mathematician. During the Second World War, he
worked as a codebreaker, cracking German codes created by Enigma machines.
His work was pivotal in the Allies’ victory.
Alan Turing was born on 23rd June 1912.

He had an older brother called John.
Their father worked for the British civil
service in India.
Turing’s parents wanted their sons to be

raised in Britain so the boys stayed with
family friends while their parents were in
India.
Alan Turing’s Education
When Turing was 13, he went to a boarding school called Sherborne School. At
the time, the school did not place much emphasis on mathematics and science so
Alan felt quite discouraged.
While at the school, his close friend

Christopher Morcom died of a disease
called tuberculosis. Turing’s grief
inspired him to dedicate himself to
scientific discoveries.
He later won a scholarship to study

mathematics at King’s College,
Cambridge. He obtained a degree in
mathematics with distinction.
The Universal Machine
In 1936, Turing created the idea of a special machine that could follow simple
codes. He called this the ‘Universal Machine’.
These machines are now known as a ‘Universal Turing Machine’ and they
formed a lot of the ideas behind computing.
Second World War
Cryptanalysis is the study of encrypted messages. During the Second World War,
Germany sent encrypted messages about its military strategies. To win the war, it
was vital that the
Allies were able to decode these messages.
A team of workers at a place called Bletchley Park were set the task of decoding
these messages.
Encrypted – where information is

changed into a code so it can only
be understood by the recipient.
Second World War
Not long after the First World War, a
German man named Arthur Scherbius
invented a machine called the Enigma.
The Enigma was a machine that looked

like a typewriter. As you typed in your
message, a different letter lit up. The
message was converted into a code using
these illuminated letters. The person
receiving the message also had an
Enigma. When they typed in the coded
message, the letters from the original
message lit up and it could be read. This
meant that orders could be passed
secretly.
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is a stately home in Buckinghamshire. During the Second World
War, it was the home of the Government Code and Cipher School (GC&CS).
Turing started work at Bletchley Park. Soon after his arrival, he had devised a way
of cracking the German’s code. He invented something called a ‘Bombe’, which
tried out lots of different solutions for breaking a code before finding the correct
one.
Although the ‘Bombe’ was successful,

Bletchley Park didn’t have enough
machines or the workers to read all the
German messages. Turing wrote to the
prime minister, Winston Churchill.
Before long, Bletchley Park had more
workers and
more ‘Bombes’.
The Impact of Turing’s Work
Breaking the German code meant the

Allies knew when and where attacks
were planned.
Without Turing’s discovery, military

experts believe that the Second World
War could have carried on for another
two years. Consequently, millions of
lives were saved.
Turing’s Work
Turing was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 1946 for his
wartime work.
He died on 7th June 1954.
On 15th July 2019, the Bank of England announced that Alan Turing’s image will
be featured on the new £50 note, which is due to enter circulation in 2021.
L.I: I understand how code breaking
was vital to Britain winning WW2
1. Explain who Turing was and why he was a key figure during WW2
2. Explain his codebreaking technique
3. Try making your own Enigma code:
Swap each letter in the alphabet with another one. For example, ‘A’ might
become ‘Q’ and ‘R’ might become ‘E’.
Once each letter has been allocated a different letter, write a coded message to
your partner. Give them some clues: tell them which letter represents ‘E’, ‘T’
and ‘H’. Can your partner work out the message? They might need to be given
a few more letters.

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Who Was Alan Turing?

Alan Turing was born on 23rd June 1912.

Turing’s parents wanted their sons to be

While at the school, his close friend

He later won a scholarship to study

Encrypted – where information is

The Enigma was a machine that looked

Although the ‘Bombe’ was successful,

Breaking the German code meant the

Without Turing’s discovery, military

He died on 7th June 1954.

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