We received the following release. --RL The on-line Enigma machine at www.bletchleycovers.com functions just like the one featured in the movie of the same name being released on March 17. Instructions on how to encode and decode messages are provided so encrypted messages can be sent to friends and relatives by e-mail. In doing so you will have spanned 80 years of communications technology. During WW2 the Germans would have used morse code to transmit their Enigma coded messages. The Enigma film is about the British race to crack the German U Boat codes and save a vital convoy on its way to England from the USA. The site also has the facility for sending unique Code-breaker identity cards to anywhere in world from Bletchley Park’s secret little post office at the ‘Station X’ mansion somewhere in rural England. The ID card is a replica of those used in wartime Britain and used by the code breakers in the movie. It will be sent in specially illustrated envelope that includes replica ration book, coded message slips and background information. Details are under ‘Send A Secret on the web site. Bletchley Park Post Office is one of 25 exhibits at Bletchley Park. During WW2 it served as a mailroom for the 30-40 despatch riders per hour bringing top secret mail in and out of Bletchley Park. In 1947 the British General Post Office opened it as a sub-post office when they took over Bletchley Park as their training centre. In 1994 the Park opened as a heritage site and the Bletchley Park Post Office issued a simple first day cover. It is now one of the top five postal cover producers in the UK and its limited editions have seen dramatic increases in post-issue prices as collectors around the world try to complete their collections. Each first day or commemorative cover features designs specially commissioned from local artists to link with people or events connected with Bletchley Park’s history or special issues of Royal Mail postage stamps. Many Park visitors and casual collectors are having them mounted and framed as special display pieces rather than tuck them away in albums. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II recently added them to the Royal Philatelic Collection. A big accolade that makes the output from this tiny post office even more collectable. The web site features a cover gallery where these little pieces of art and history can be viewed and ordered. Back to 1st Quarter 2002 List of News Items Back to Master List of News Items Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by Coalition Web, Inc. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com