AN enigma machine from Bletchley Park, which was vital to breaking enigma codes during the Second World War, recently came to the Kitchen Front in Bude for a series of informative sessions with historian, Thomas Briggs.

Each lecture group of around 30 people were able to get up close to the machine, which played a vital role during the war.

Sessions for Budehaven’s top maths and IT sets were held during the day, with two community sessions held in the evening.

Curator, mathematician and Bletchley historian, Thomas Briggs, was ‘captivating’ as he told his audiences how the enigma machine was first made in the 1920s in Germany as part of banking security.

Audiences heard that during the Second World War, some 10,000 people worked for Bletchley Park around the clock. Around 6,000 of these workers were code breakers, some of which were recruited through a crossword puzzle, if they could complete it within ten minutes.

Famous films, such as The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing who developed the Bombe decoding machine which broke the code during the war, have captivated audiences.

However, none of this was possible without the code sheets that had to be changed every day by enemy operators, according to Thomas. The code sheets told operators which of the five wheels to use, where to place them, which letters to pair up, and the starting points on each wheel.

The audience heard that sheets, ‘pinched’ by the Royal Navy, were invaluable in helping Bletchley break one of the 158 quintillion variations, and every time a letter on the keyboard was pressed, a wheel would turn a notch, and the next letter pressed was from a completely new code. This meant, for example, a five-letter word was made up of five different codes.

Clair Roberts, from the Kitchen Front, was fascinated by Thomas’ presentation of the enigma machine. She said: “I have been asked why I got the enigma machine to come to Bude. It was simple to me; I am very interested in the social history of World War Two, as it was a pivotal time in British history. The moment I found out that Bletchley did an outreach programme, I booked them.

“Simply without breaking the enigma codes, which by the end of World War Two were being cracked in under five hours, the outcome would have been horribly different. Without those incredibly clever people, and the bravery of those fighting around them, we would not have the freedom we have today.

“I hope to bring other 1940s inspired events and speakers to Bude, so please do keep your eyes open for new things.”

Clair added: “I would like to thank Thomas Briggs of Bletchley Park, who was simply outstanding, and everyone who came along to the sessions. We only scratched the surface of code breaking, but we will be staying in touch with Thomas, as I found out that he does code breaking master classes. Anyone fancy that?”