You really are walking through history

Bletchley Park exhibition aims to shine a light on the "normal people doing extraordinary work". Bill Gibb chats to Peronel Craddock to find out more.

- Bill Gibb

IT was the top-secret location that saved countless lives. The work at Bletchley Park, including the cracking of the Enigma Code, changed the course of World War II.

Those responsible, like Alan Turing, deservedly have their place in the history books.

But Bletchley was more than a group of geniuses.

At its peak, there was a workforce of nearly 9,000 - three-quarters of whom were women.

It's their story that's being shared in a new permanent exhibition, "The Intelligence Factory", which shines a light on the "normal people doing extraordinary work".

That work was initially done in London, but moved to the Buckinghamshire country house site for safety as the war began.

Bletchley Park was tucked away, but convenient for transport links at the same time.

It was relatively small scale but, as its importance grew, so did its size.

It became a massive operation between 1942 and 1945.

"We've spent three years planning this exhibition, which is our largest ever, and is housed in Block A," Head of Programmes Peronel Craddock explains.