Bletchley Park, the home of Station X where Alan Turing worked to break German ciphers during the Second World War is asking for help to ensure that a collection of Alan Turing's offprints remain in this country.
Alan Turing, who lived in Wilmslow, was a brilliant mathematician, most famous for breaking the German Enigma codes during the Second World War. In 1999 Time Magazine named him as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century and last year Gordon Brown issued an apology for the "appalling"and "utterly unfair" treatment he received as a result of admitting to being homosexual.
Auction house Christie's is to auction off an impressive quantity of Turing's offprints, including his first published paper. It's thought to be the largest collection in the world, put together by Turing's friend Professor Maxwell Newman to whom Turing presented the offprints.
Gareth Halfacree who has organised the appeal said "They belong in a dedicated museum, but Bletchley Park can't afford the £300,000-£500,000 guide price.
"As a result, I'm asking for volunteers to dig deep and see to it that these papers not only stay in this country, but stay where the public can see them and benefit from them. Let's save them from being locked away in the vaults of a private collector.
"It's a big ask, looking for half a million pounds, I know - but if you work for a high-tech company, use a 'universal computer,' or are in any way connected with modern computing, you owe Turing a debt of gratitude - and this could be a way to help repay that debt.
"Please, consider donating. Every little helps, as a certain supermarket chain would say."
If you'd like to donate, you can do so online at Gareth Halfacree's dedicated justgiving page. The auction will take place on Tuesday, November 23rd and so far only just over £15,000 has been donated - so you need to act quickly if you want to help save this historic treasure for future generations to enjoy.
