A temporary export bar has been placed on Alan Turing’s unpublished Second World War papers relating to his ‘Delilah’ project
An export bar has been placed on Alan Turing’s unpublished Second World War papers relating to the ‘Delilah’ project, which developed a portable encryption system for use in military operations.
Arts Minister Sir Chris Bryant said: "The Delilah project papers offer unique insights into the extraordinary mind of Alan Turing, who is famed for decoding the Enigma machines, being instrumental in ending the Second World War and saving many lives.The British mathematician was central to the development of our modern digital world. It is right that a UK buyer has the opportunity to purchase these papers to give people the opportunity to continue to study and appreciate his work as an important part of our national story."
RCEWA Chair Andrew Hochhauser KC said: "The United Kingdom owes a debt of gratitude to Alan Turing. His extraordinary work on the Enigma project at Bletchley Park played a major part in winning World War Two and saved so many lives. Turing is closely connected to our modern digital world. He is generally accepted to be the founder of computer science and is also widely considered to be the father of Artificial Intelligence.The regard in which he is held is illustrated by the fact that in 2019 he was voted by a BBC audience the most iconic person of the twentieth century. He appears on the current £50 note. Explaining the Bank of England’s choice, the then Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, observed, ‘All around us, his legacy continues to hold. Turing is a giant on whose shoulders so many now stand.’"