February 7, 2012

On 23rd February Bletchley Park will release four first day covers celebrating Alan Turing’s centenary year. Each will carry a single 1st class Royal Mail “Turing Bombe” stamp cancelled with a unique first day of issue postmark. The intention is to restrict the issue to just 500 of each.

Produced in association with the Alan Turing Centenary Year Committee and Bletchley Park Post Office, proceeds will go towards supporting the preservation of Bletchley Park. Similar stamp and envelope combinations from Bletchley Park Post Office have fetched several times their original issue price. So at £9.99 each these little pieces of art and history could be a good investment. They can be previewed and ordered at bletchleycovers.com

The first design is by Rebecca Peacock of Firecatcher Design and the theme is Turing’s work on the mathematics of patterns. It was Turing’s genius for mathematics that made his work so vital to Bletchley Park and the development of modern computing.

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The other three are original paintings by artist Steve Williams who has donated his work to Bletchley Park. They depict three buildings at Bletchley Park associated with Alan Turing. These are the cottage and hut where he worked and the room that housed the Bombe machines.

The stamp features a rebuilt Turing Bombe. The first day of issue postmark is a facsimile of one of the Bombe’s 36 rotor wheels.

A dedicated team spent 15 years rebuilding the working Turing Bombe that is now on display at Bletchley Park. A marvel of electro-mechanical engineering used to crack the enigma code that is now essential viewing for visitors. Bletchley Park Post Office was once the code breakers’ undercover mail room then a sub post office when Bletchley Park became a GPO training centre. Its re-creation of a 1940’s post office is a popular attraction. The first day covers and special stamps it began issuing in 1994 are sought after by collectors from around the world.

More information can be obtained on the issue through bletchleycovers.com or calling 0044 (0)1908 363489