The Forgotten Genius of Gordon Welchman At least a dozen OMs were recruited into the famous Bletchley Park Code and Cipher School in WW2, some straight from the Maths Upper Sixth. This important pipeline was set up by the Maths Beak Alan Robson (CR 1911-47) and Gordon Welchman (C3 1920-25), one of his most brilliant pupils. Sadly, due to the total, absolute and decades-long secrecy demanded from those involved, it is almost forgotten that Marlborough College produced such innovative minds like Welchman’s, who, despite being a major figure in one of the most vital projects in the Second World War, has never been properly recognised as such. James Spender (C2 1987-92) delves into the history of Enigma, the ingenuity and subsequent demise of Gordon Welchman, and the stories of Hut 6.
Marlburian Mathematicians before WWII Like many Marlburians, Gordon Welchman was the son of a clergyman, born in 1906 in Fishponds, Bristol. In 1920, six years after his elder brother, Eric, was tragically killed at Mons, he joined Marlborough on a Foundation Scholarship a term ahead of John Betjeman (B2 1920-25), and two ahead of Anthony Blunt (C3 1921-26) and Louis MacNeice (C3 1921-26). Years later, Gordon reminisced with his son Nick (C3 1954-55) of his enjoyment of cycling, music and Corps field days – so much so he would have become an Artillery officer had it not been for the inspirational Head of Maths, Alan Robson. The school was ‘at the crest of its wave of scholarship winning at this time’ wrote Thomas Worsley (C1 1921-26), in Flannelled Fool. ‘A high proportion of the boys came from bookish homes; and there was always a small hard core of
The Marlburian Club Magazine
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