Frederick Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Bletchley Park may have done great work during world war 2 and hats off to the good people who worked there . But ... does it justify a lottery grant of over 4 million pounds to rebuild Nisson Huts to show visitors their wartime working conditions ? I think this is the wrong time and the wrong project for such a huge amount in these times of big cut backs .The Lottery Fund people seem to have a history of giving money for what I consider to be "Wrong " causes ... Paying out for wartime papers Winston Churchill took home springs to mind . They should have been returned to the state by his family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachapapa Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 [quote user="Frederick"]Bletchley Park may have done great work during world war 2 and hats off to the good people who worked there . But ... does it justify a lottery grant of over 4 million pounds to rebuild Nisson Huts to show visitors their wartime working conditions ? I think this is the wrong time and the wrong project for such a huge amount in these times of big cut backs . The Lottery Fund people seem to have a history of giving money for what I consider to be "Wrong " causes ... Paying out for wartime papers Winston Churchill took home springs to mind . They should have been returned to the state by his family[/quote]I do so wish that you would respect mining engineers and spell their names properly.Between April 16 and April 18, 1916, Major Peter Norman Nissen of the 29th Company Royal Engineers began to experiment with hut designs. Nissen, a mining engineer and inventor, constructed three prototype semi-cylindrical huts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 I have slept in a few and at the time did not give a ***** who designed them or how his name was spelt ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 From my understanding, not lot of the money is actually going to rebuild Nissen huts: a lot of it will be spent on the development of educational material, displays, exhibitions etc to explain the technology used, the science, engineering and mathematics behind the codebreaking that went on, etc. Itwill also look at the development of computer technology. Anything that raises the profile of technical subjects, science and manufacturing gets my vote.RegardsPickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I think the more interesting question is 'why is it costing 4 million pounds?' thats a lot of money for what seems a fairly straightfoward project. Likewise the Roald Dahl preservation of a garden shed ! I believe that 'Friends of Bletchley Park' are a well organised and vocal group so I'm not surprised they got the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Sam Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 An excellent read on the history of the subject, "Nissen of the Huts: Biography of Lt.Col.P.N.Nissen, RE DSO by Fred McCosh", sadly now out of print but copies do spring up from time to time on ebay or Amazon.Nissen must be turning in his grave at the thought of the cost of the lottery funded restoration. Following the end of the First world War, Nissen as the patent owner was offered £500 in royalties from the War Office, subsequently accepting the sum of £13,400 after the intervention of his patent agent in the negotiations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 OK one for you anoraks.Is there actually any difference between a Nissen hut and a Quonsett hut? Did one pay royalties to the other? used to rent a Nissen hut to operate my part time car repair business when i was an apprentice and saw loads of Quonsett huts in the Pacific islands, I even lodged in a few in Vanuatu but to my untrained eyes they were the same animal, perhaps the ones used by the septic tanks were bigger [6] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Araucaria Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 They aren't Nissen huts at Bletchley Park: they are wooden huts.The Quonset hut (according to Wikipedia) was simply the US-manufactured WWII version of the UK-manufactured WWI Nissen hut, no doubt updated slightly. Wikipedia also says that Nissen Buildings Ltd waived their patent rights for the duration of the war, so no royalties then.I'll try to post a picture of the Bletchley Park huts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Araucaria Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 This is one of the huts at Bletchley Park in need of restoration:[IMG]http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss293/Vanman15/800px-Hut6.jpg[/IMG]In need of quite a bit of restoration, I'd say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Sam Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 [quote user="Chancer"]OK one for you anoraks. mmmmmm, I'd prefer the term 'military history enthusiast'.[:)]Is there actually any difference between a Nissen hut and a Quonsett hut? Did one pay royalties to the other?Interesting to see in some publications, the Americans like to refer to the Nissen hut as being the "British version of the Quonset hut". Some differences in constuction but a very similar design. As to royalties payable or breach of copyright, the company waived all patent rights during the war years, something the US obviously took full advantage of.Nissen himself died in 1930 aged 58, but the firm he founded continued with the Second World War bringing back a surge in demand. It continued production and finally ceased trading in 1971. used to rent a Nissen hut to operate my part time car repair business when i was an apprentice and saw loads of Quonsett huts in the Pacific islands, I even lodged in a few in Vanuatu but to my untrained eyes they were the same animal, perhaps the ones used by the septic tanks were bigger [6][/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 That hut looks just like my abode in the UK would if I let the maintenance lapse for a couple of years.Now that it is recognised a dwelling in its own right the local authority are leaning on me to replace it with a traditional brick and tile construction, perhaps I should let things slide for a few years and apply for lottery funding [I]There are many people both in my village and in the local town living in dwellings virtually identical to the hut pictured just in a worse state of repair, many of them resemble the batten and asbestos construction Marley garages of the late 50's early 60's, the money would be better spent spivving up all of them to make them more habitable and less a health risk.Editted. The hut in the photo is far from needing a lot of restoration, clearly money has been spent over the years to protect it, the roof is in good condition probably only needing refelting and the windows have been boarded up to protect the interrior from the elements, even most of the bardage could be re-used after removing and dipping if you wanted to keep it historically correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachapapa Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 If that hut was in Gourgé and I filled in Category 5...mauvais.The maire would change it to Category 1...Bonto make me pay more taxe foncière.C ÉTAT D’ENTRETIEN DE LA MAISON :1. Bon. . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Assez bon . . . . . . 3. Passable . . . . . . . 4. Médiocre . . . . . . . 5. Mauvais . .[:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 [quote user="Russethouse"]Edited: I think the more interesting question is 'why is it costing 4 million pounds?' thats a lot of money for what seams a fairly straightfoward project. [/quote]Hear, hear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 The hut pictured doesn't look anything like a Nissen hut! It's just a big shed. Surely Nissen huts are those corrugated iron huts with the curved roofs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 [quote user="sid"][quote user="Russethouse"] Edited: I think the more interesting question is 'why is it costing 4 million pounds?' thats a lot of money for what seams a fairly straightfoward project. [/quote]Hear, hear![/quote]It looks as if that includes the cost of a new visitor centre.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Wood or Tin whatever its called who cares ! It is still a lot of lottery money to spend when there are cuts to health services and old people are being moved out of homes due to lack of council funding . That Bletchley Park hut in the photo needs a match putting to it as far as I am concerned and the money spent on a more community minded projects .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Once refurbished perhaps they could put the old people in them? I mean most are of 'that age group' and it might be quite nice for them. Nice cup of tea in the morning and hot coco at night. [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 [quote user="Quillan"]Once refurbished perhaps they could put the old people in them?[/quote]They already have!They were called pre-fabs. [:D][:P][:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 [quote user="Frederick"]Wood or Tin whatever its called who cares ! It is still a lot of lottery money to spend when there are cuts to health services and old people are being moved out of homes due to lack of council funding . That Bletchley Park hut in the photo needs a match putting to it as far as I am concerned and the money spent on a more community minded projects ....[/quote] Hmm - My feeling is that the huts should be preserved, its part of the countries heritage after all, and once they are gone we can't get them back, but perhaps the visitor centre could wait or the funds raised another way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 This is not Woolybanana speaking... I am a long-term member of the forum, temporarily taking advantage of the WB connection [Www].I have been to Bletchley Park, and am in awe of the work that was done there; in fact my father and uncle were involved in it during WW2.The place is run on a shoestring, and in desperate need of improvement/restoration. Valiant volunteers do their very best to explain the intricate computer manoeuvres involved in cracking the Enigma code, but the presentation is very primitive. The cafe is worse than horrible. The informed visitor already familiar with the extraordinary abilities of the crossword addicts and others recruited along with Alan Turing, and armed with a guidebook, can just about keep up with the display panels in the decrepit huts, but I can see that an investment on this scale will turn Bletchley into a visitor destination worthy of these geniuses.We on the forum are of an age to know what Bletchley Park stands for, but future generations need to be shown that British eccentricity/originality of thinking can win the day over sometimes blinkered traditional military planning. One only has to look at the storming of the Heights of Abraham in the Battle of Quebec in 1759; Barnes Wallis's bouncing bombs in 1943; the D-Day invasion of 1944...Woolybanana's friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarkkent Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Bravo Woolybanana's friend. You have expressed my own feelings far more eloquently than I could.Posts on this thread have reminded of Oscar Wilde's characterisation of a cynic: someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachapapa Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Depressing "little englanders" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Better than just be 'depressing' Pachapapa.......[:)]In addition I think you'll find that in the context of WW2 its Great Britain, not specifically England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoddy Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I wish there was some way to preserve the spirit of the people who worked there as well as the buildings. A friend of mine's father had worked there during the war. When I knew him he was a quiet, unassuming headmaster of a successful local boy's school. Feeling himself bound by the Official Secrets Act, he never talked about his war service even to his family and the role that he had played was not know until he died. Thank goodness he was not a little Englander.Hoddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 Will future generations want to go and look round these huts ? Or will they prefer to look on line for a virtual walk through of the place and listen to a commentary ? Given the world my grandchildren seem to live in they seek to get all information off the internet . I cant imagine them wanting to travel to Bletchley Park and walking round . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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