Codebreaking Outstations from Eastcote to GCHQ
About
Few people are aware of the tremendous contribution during WW2 of the teams that helped crack the German Enigma encoding machines and others, to gain an advantage in reading enemy intelligence reports. Even fewer realised that not only was Bletchley Park the HQ of codebreaking in England, but that a significant quantity of satellite outstations were developed to support Bletchley. The presentation will outline how these came about and evolved over time, who managed and ran them and how they made an important difference to cracking enemy codes. Furthermore, how after the end of the war, the last site was established as GCHQ and became a key factor in monitoring the start of ‘the cold war’. Female contribution in WW2 is rarely mentioned in many publications, but the speaker will demonstrate how relevant and significant female servicewomen and civilians were to help the war effort. Were Alan Turing’s codebreaking machines the start of Artificial Intelligence or just a crude machine? These questions and others will be considered by the published author and speaker.
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Continuing Professional Development
This event can contribute towards your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours as part of the IET's CPD monitoring scheme.
07 May 2026
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Organiser
- London Local Network
Speakers
Ronald Koorm FRICS
Ex Chartered Building Surveyor
Ronald Koorm is a published author in codebreaking and a lecturer in related subjects of military intelligence. He researched codebreaking satellite stations which supported Bletchley Park and had a book published in 2020, (Backing Bletchley-The Codebreaking Outstations from Eastcote to GCHQ), largely on Outstation Eastcote, one of several codebreaking outstations. The research carried out then, together with subsequent research after publication, has enabled the author to facilitate writing the Glossary in a series of books.
As a retired Chartered Building Surveyor, Ron Koorm has written technical publications on other subjects and writes articles, blogs and lectures on a wide range of topics including military history, and inclusive design. In 2019 he gave a talk on the 75th anniversary of D-Day at the Battle of Britain Bunker Museum at Uxbridge, on codebreaking and how it influenced D-Day. He has also lectured at Bentley Priory Museum, Headstone Manor Museum, and Universities on military history, including Support systems to intelligence operations, and Fake News-Or how to deceive the enemy during WW2. The author has been in contact with several Ex-Wrens who operated codebreaking machines at outstations during WW2.
Programme
18:00-18:30 Registration, Networking & Light Refreshments
18.30-19.30 Speaker take to stage
19.30-20.00 Audience Q&A