As part of the school’s Diversity Day on Friday 21 October, the Maths department looked at the life of Alan Turing. The students learnt that Alan Turing had many talents, including inventing the world’s first computer, but is perhaps most famous for cracking the Enigma Code. This code was used by the Nazis in the Second World War to communicate with their U Boats (submarines) which were used to sink British ships. Alan Turing was one of the country’s best mathematicians and worked at a top secret intelligence base called Bletchley Park. It was Turing who cracked the Enigma code and saved our navy and supply ships from the U Boats. He was a national hero.
However, in 1952 he was arrested for having a sexual relationship with another man – at that time homosexuality was illegal in the United Kingdom. He did not deny it and told everyone that he saw nothing wrong with his actions. Turing was found guilty. Two years later, aged 41, he was dead – the death was ruled as death by suicide, although his mother insisted that it was accidental.
There is now a statue of Alan Turing in a park in Manchester, where he worked at the university. He also appears on the new £50 note.
Students attempted to follow in his footsteps by applying their code-breaking skills to a variety of challenges, see pictures. They also watched part of the film of Turing’s life, The Imitation Game.
