# Saving Bletchley Park: How #socialmedia saved the home of the WWII codebreakers

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/books/saving-bletchley-park-how-socialmedia-saved-the-home-of-the-wwii-codebreakers/
- Published: 2016-03-11T07:42:52+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Appropriately enough, at the time of funding this was “the fastest crowdfunded
book in the world ever”.**

Author Dr Sue Black is now a trustee of Bletchley Park, and was also instrumental
is securing the Turing papers for the nation.

There have been many histories of Bletchley Park and the heroic work of Alan Turing
and the code-breakers, work so important that it changed the course of the Second
World War, shortening it by two years.

This book tells a different story, of how this intensely iconic historical site 
was saved using the power of social media and the very computing technology that
was born here.

When Dr Sue Black first visited Bletchley in 2004, her preconception was that it
had been run by a small group of tweed-jacketed, pipe-smoking men. To her surprise
she discovered that ten thousand people worked there during the war, that half of
them were women, and that most were in their late teens and twenties.

As a woman in computer science herself, she was hugely inspired by their stories.

When she discovered that Bletchley was under threat of closure due to lack of funding,
she set about a campaign to transform it into the heritage site it deserved to be.
Harnessing the pride and inside knowledge of the surviving code-breakers, the power
of Twitter, plus the reach of the modern broadcast and online media, Sue Black’s
campaign brought together thousands of supporters, from all walks of life.

Supporters range from celebrities like Stephen Fry to the veterans, enthusiasts 
and computer geeks who offered their time and passion to save the extraordinary 
place.

This is a wholly inspiring story of community-building, and how the determination
of committed people can stop one of our most significant historical treasures being
swept away by the bulldozers.

[[**10% of all profits from this book will go to Bletchley Park**.
 

> WOOHOO!!!! [@SavingBletchley](https://twitter.com/SavingBletchley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> already NO. 1 BESTSELLER on [@AmazonUK](https://twitter.com/AmazonUK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)!!(
> In history of engineering and tech) [pic.twitter.com/mIY457YwKa](https://t.co/mIY457YwKa)
> — Professor Sue Black OBE Keynote Speaker 🇺🇦 (@Dr_Black) [March 10, 2016](https://twitter.com/Dr_Black/status/707987545888522242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

## WATCH: Dr Sue Black on Saving Bletchley Park