Evening Talk by Alan Watson, OBE

📅 Thursday 5th December, 2024

🕒 18.30

📍 The Kincaid Gallery, The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum

Join us for an insightful exploration into the Enigma machine’s role in history and the complexities of its decryption during World War II.

While the British breakthrough in deciphering Enigma is renowned, the narrative is far from straightforward. This talk will delve deeper into the Enigma’s design, compare it to contemporary cipher machines from around the world, and discuss its operational use and eventual decryption.

You’ll also have the chance to view several machines on display including an original 3-rotor Enigma machine, a Swiss NEMA, a Swedish Hagelin, and a Russian Fialka, along with a selection of documents.

Alan Watson OBE is a former Merchant Navy electronics Officer and part of his duties at sea and part of his training and duties included the coding and decoding of messages from the UK government and Royal Navy.  This sparked a lifelong interest in cipher systems and security.  Alan is now retired but spends much of his time with the WW2 ship, HMS Medusa, for which he is captain.

Doors open at 17.45 for light refreshments. Tickets are available to purchase in our online store. Alternatively, they can be purchased over the phone from Monday to Friday between 10am and 4pm at 01962 828549.

If you’re unable to attend in the talk in person, you can also buy a ticket to watch the talk live online via Zoom. We will be able to take questions from Zoom during the Q&A section of the talk. If you wish to attend the talk via Zoom, simply select ‘Zoom’ under ticket price when checking out in our online shop.

Image Credit: School of Mathematics - University of Manchester, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons