14 February 2012
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Bletchley Park Post Office to release commemorative Alan Turing covers
Bletchley Park Post Office will release a first day cover celebrating English mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing’s centenary year this month. ...
On 23rd February Bletchley Park Post Office will release a first day cover celebrating Alan Turing's centenary year. The cover, pictured right, will carry a single 1st class Royal Mail 'Turing Bombe' stamp cancelled with a unique postmark for its first day of issue.
It has been produced in association with the Alan Turing Year Committee and Bletchley Park Trust, and proceeds will go towards supporting the preservation of Bletchley Park. The intention is to release only 500 as a numbered limited edition at £9.99 plus post and packing of £1.50.
The design is by Rebecca Peacock of Firecatcher Design and is her first in this medium. The theme is Turing's work on the mathematics of patterns in plants. Woven into the design is the Turing Bombe featured on the stamp.
The first day of issue postmark is a facsimile of a Bombe rotor. The Turing Bombe was used to speed up decryption of the Enigma code and was critical to Allied victory in WWII. It was Turing's genius for mathematics in a variety of forms that led to the development of the computers with which we are all familiar.
The three companion covers to Rebecca Peacock's design. These covers, which incorporate paintings by Steve Williams, are the only ones officially sanctioned by the Alan Turing Year Committee and Bletchley Park Trust. They will also be issued on 23rd February.