A code breaker, whose work has been described as ‘the greatest single intellectual feat of the Second World War’, has been recognised with a monument in his honour.
The sculpture unveiled in Newmarket today is a contemporary tribute to Professor William ‘Bill’ Tutte, who is credited with changing the course of the war with his mathematical and code breaking skills.
Tutte was a former pupil at Cheveley Primary School near Newmarket and won a scholarship to the Cambridge County High School for Boys while he was at the primary school in the 1920s.
Designed by Cambridge sculptor Harry Gray, the Tutte memorial on Rutland Hill features six 7ft tall brushed stainless steel panels pierced to represent the punched paper tape used in the transmission of the code.
When viewed from a particular angle they reveal Tutte’s image suggesting the unique approach required to crack the code.
Among the guests as the unveiling ceremony yesterday morning were primary school students, members of the community and councillors.
Also in attendance was Tutte’s great great nephew Edward Youlden, who is also a pupil at Cheveley Primary.
Tutte’s significant contribution to the war effort went unknown until the mid-1990s because of fears for national security.
It is now known that he cracked the German Lorenz cipher, nicknamed Tunny, a machine with 1.6 million billion combinations used by the German military to transmit top secret messages between its headquarters. The intelligence obtained from these decrypts had a significant impact on the Allied victory in Europe.
The memorial project has cost around £300,000, including a £50,000 donation from Suffolk County Council, £12,500 from Forest Heath District Council and £30,000 from Newmarket Town Council.
Private and corporate donations have topped £77,000 with Tesco and Morrisons giving £68,000 and £70,931 respectively through planning legal agreements.
Alison Hayes, chair of the Bull Tutte Memorial Fund, said: “This has been a real community effort and we are so proud that we can now properly commemorate a hero and a son of Newmarket.
“We all hope the residents of Newmarket will cherish it, visitors to our town will enjoy it and that it will be an inspiration to the next generation of mathematicians and computer scientists.”
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