THEIR unsung heroics have for years been entangled in the web of secrecy surrounding a Suffolk military base.

The intelligence, bravery and dedication of research scientists at Orford Ness have been credited with playing a crucial role in helping the Allies triumph in the Second World War.

Now a campaign has been launched to recognise the Orford “boffins” and put their importance on a par with the code-breakers at Bletchley Park.

Expert Paddy Heazell, author of The Hidden History of Orford Ness, wants to erect a memorial or plaque to hail their achievements.

He is keen to get them recognition at Orford Quay by next year – the centenary of the War Department taking over the land in 1913.

It was at Orford that radar was first developed and later, after the war, that Britain’s first atomic bomb, Blue Danube, was tested.

Mr Heazell, who lives in Snape, said it would be a “thundering shame” if the boffins were not given any recognition.

“These findings, like the radar, were as important in the history of the 20th Century as the code-breakers,” he added.

“It is such an opportunity in the centenary year – we feel it should be recognised.

“It would be a thundering shame if the significance of Orford Ness was not given recognition and that it wasn’t on the same level of recognition as Bletchley Park.” Mr Heazell said the National Trust was supportive of his idea and that he was working to get similar backing from the RAF and groups in Orford.

Paying tribute to the boffins, he added: “They were not white-haired, eccentric, nutty professors. On the contrary, they were down-to-earth scientists who made things work.

“It relates to the people who were working at Orford Ness – they were extremely practical and extremely brave, some of them were killed, such as a man who blew himself up testing the effectiveness of a self-sealing fuel tank.”

In 2009, it was announced the 5,000 surviving code-breakers and other staff who worked at Bletchley Park during the Second World War – including those who cracked the German Enigma codes – would receive service medals in recognition of their efforts.

Orford Ness closed as a military base in the 1970s.

It was bought by the National Trust in 1993 and is an internationally-renowned nature reserve.