By Victoria Mckeown-
Alan Turing, the man who cracked “the enigma code” during the Second World War will feature on the new £50 note.
The Mathematician and scientific genius led the way in theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence, however none of this could be recognised at the time due to the Official Secrets Act.
Turing was a talented man who had a phenomenal impact on computer science.
The annual ‘Turing Award’ has been the highest accolade in that industry since 1966. But the work of Bletchley Park – and Turing’s role there in cracking the Enigma code – was kept secret until the 1970s, and the full story was not known until the 1990
Turing is thought to have saved over 14 million lives by shortening the war in Europe by two years through cracking intercepted coded messages from the Nazis.
Worthwhile
The prominent scientist’s selection to be honoured on the new £50 note after a public consultation process is worthwhile.
Turing worked at Bletchley park during the Second World War for the Government Code and Sypher school GCHQ’s wartime name.
It was here that he designed the Bombe, a special-purpose machine designed to break German Enigma-machine ciphers.
Despite his achievements Turing was let down by Britain. In January 1952, he was prosecuted for having a relationship with another man.
At the time, homosexuality was an illegal offence of “gross indecency”, and Turing was given a choice between imprisonment or chemical castration.
Turing chose the latter and two years later at the age of 42 he committed suicide by poisoning himself with cyanide.
In 2009 his family received an official apology from the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown for “the appalling way he was treated”.
The legacy of Alan Turing’s life and work unfortunately did not fully come to light until long after his death.
The work of Bletchley Park – and Turing’s role there in cracking the Enigma code – was kept secret until the 1970s, and the full story was not known until the 1990
The new £50 Note will be launched on 23rd June and will be made from Polymer making it extremely difficult to counterfeit. In honour of Turing it will also feature a cryptic puzzle devised by the intelligence team at GCHQ and its estimated that even an experience puzzler would need seven hours to break it.
Landmark Moment
Director of GCHQ Jeremy Fleming said: “Alan Turing’s appearance on the £50 note is a landmark moment in our history. Not only is it a celebration of his scientific genius which helped to shorten the war and influence the technology we still use today, it also confirms his status as one of the most iconic LGBT+ figures in the world.”