Bletchley Park Turing archive saved after campaign

A campaign to save a collection of Alan Turing's most important works has succeeded in purchasing them for Bletchley Park.

The collection contains offprints of 15 of Turing's 18 published papers assembled by his friend and colleague Max Newman. It includes Turing's first published paper, as well as his initial plans for computing and artificial intelligence.

Simon Greenish, chief executive of the Bletchley Park Trust, told V3.co.uk that the collection is unique.

"This was our last possible chance. This is a major step forward. To have something Alan Turing owned is really the prize," he said.

A computer enthusiast started an online campaign to raise funds to buy the archive after it was put up for auction at Christie's in November, and Google pledged $100,000 (£62,000) to the cause.

Hopes were raised further when the archive failed to reach the reserve price at auction, although offers went as high as £240,000.

"Our motivation for getting involved was that Alan Turing is a hero for many people at Google. Celebrating one of the great pioneers of computer science is a positive step," Peter Barron, director of external relations for Google, told V3.co.uk.

A grant of £213,437 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), along with a significant sum from a private donor, has made up the funding shortfall, and the Bletchley Park Trust has acquired the collection.

Greenish explained that the final funding had been vital because it provided the money to build a permanent home for the collection.

The documents will be housed in a secure, climate-controlled area at Bletchley, and should go on display within the next few months.

"Alan Turing was a true war hero and played an absolutely crucial role during the Second World War," said Dame Jenny Abramsky, chairman of the NHMF.

"The NHMF was set up in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK, and this grant will now ensure that this extremely rare collection of Turing's work stands as a permanent memorial to the man and to all those who paid the ultimate price in service to this nation."