Hi: Here is the official GCHQ press release: https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80 Cheers Brian Randell — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html
Hi, Any ideas on this puzzling sentence in the press release? “The Colossus computer was created during the Second World War […] but its existence was only revealed in the early 2000s after six decades of secrecy.” As far as I know the existence of Colossus has in no way been a mystery at least since the early 1970s, right? Best --Joris From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Brian Randell via Members <members@lists.sigcis.org> Date: Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 12:50 To: Sigcis <members@sigcis.org> Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Colossus at 80 Hi: Here is the official GCHQ press release: https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80 Cheers Brian Randell — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html
Hi Joris: I was shown the photographs, and given permission to interview the developers, in mid-1975. A set of photographs, and a single-page description, were released to the Public Record Office in 1975. My (cleared) paper revealing the Colossus was given at the splendid Los Alamos conference in June 1976 – see https://computerhistory.org/blog/computings-woodstock/. (I had previously, in 1972, published such few facts as I could discover about the project in my 1972 paper “On Alan Turing and the Origins of Computers” - http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/Papers-Books/126.pdf.) Cheers Brian Randell — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html On 18/01/2024, 13:42, "Joris van Zundert" <joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl> wrote: Hi, Any ideas on this puzzling sentence in the press release? “The Colossus computer was created during the Second World War […] but its existence was only revealed in the early 2000s after six decades of secrecy.” As far as I know the existence of Colossus has in no way been a mystery at least since the early 1970s, right? Best --Joris From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org>> on behalf of Brian Randell via Members <members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>> Date: Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 12:50 To: Sigcis <members@sigcis.org<mailto:members@sigcis.org>> Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Colossus at 80 Hi: Here is the official GCHQ press release: https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80 <https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80><https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80%3e> Cheers Brian Randell — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html
Hi Brian, Brilliant! Thanks for this firsthand account. (Still a mystery why the British broadcast confusion then.) All the best --Joris -- Dr. Joris J. van Zundert Researcher & Developer in Humanities Computing Dept. of Computational Literary Studies / DHLab Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl<mailto:joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl> @jorisvanzundert +31624461051 http://jorisvanzundert.net/ https://www.huygens.knaw.nl/en/medewerkers/joris-van-zundert-2/ visiting address Oudezijds Achterburgwal 185 1012 DK Amsterdam The Netherlands postal address P.O. Box 10855 1001 EW Amsterdam The Netherlands -- Jack Sparrow: I thought you were supposed to keep to the code. Mr. Gibbs: We figured they were more actual guidelines. ________________________________ From: Brian Randell <brian.randell@newcastle.ac.uk> Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2024 5:19:55 PM To: Joris van Zundert <joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl> Cc: Sigcis <members@sigcis.org> Subject: Re: Colossus at 80 Hi Joris: I was shown the photographs, and given permission to interview the developers, in mid-1975. A set of photographs, and a single-page description, were released to the Public Record Office in 1975. My (cleared) paper revealing the Colossus was given at the splendid Los Alamos conference in June 1976 – see https://computerhistory.org/blog/computings-woodstock/. (I had previously, in 1972, published such few facts as I could discover about the project in my 1972 paper “On Alan Turing and the Origins of Computers” - http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/Papers-Books/126.pdf.) Cheers Brian Randell — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html On 18/01/2024, 13:42, "Joris van Zundert" <joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl> wrote: Hi, Any ideas on this puzzling sentence in the press release? “The Colossus computer was created during the Second World War […] but its existence was only revealed in the early 2000s after six decades of secrecy.” As far as I know the existence of Colossus has in no way been a mystery at least since the early 1970s, right? Best --Joris From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org>> on behalf of Brian Randell via Members <members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>> Date: Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 12:50 To: Sigcis <members@sigcis.org<mailto:members@sigcis.org>> Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Colossus at 80 Hi: Here is the official GCHQ press release: https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80 <https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80><https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80%3e> Cheers Brian Randell — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html
Hi Joris: I told the story of the uncovering of Colossus in a lecture I gave at The National Museum of Computing about ten years ago – see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl6pK1Z7B5Q Cheers Brian — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html On 18/01/2024, 16:54, "Joris van Zundert" <joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl> wrote: Hi Brian, Brilliant! Thanks for this firsthand account. (Still a mystery why the British broadcast confusion then.) All the best --Joris -- Dr. Joris J. van Zundert Researcher & Developer in Humanities Computing Dept. of Computational Literary Studies / DHLab Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl<mailto:joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl> <color:rgb(0,120,212)> @jorisvanzundert +31624461051 http://jorisvanzundert.net/ <http://jorisvanzundert.net/><http://jorisvanzundert.net/%3e> https://www.huygens.knaw.nl/en/medewerkers/joris-van-zundert-2/ <https://www.huygens.knaw.nl/en/medewerkers/joris-van-zundert-2/><https://www.huygens.knaw.nl/en/medewerkers/joris-van-zundert-2/%3e> visiting address Oudezijds Achterburgwal 185 1012 DK Amsterdam The Netherlands postal address P.O. Box 10855 1001 EW Amsterdam The Netherlands -- Jack Sparrow: I thought you were supposed to keep to the code. Mr. Gibbs: We figured they were more actual guidelines. ________________________________________ From: Brian Randell <brian.randell@newcastle.ac.uk<mailto:brian.randell@newcastle.ac.uk>> Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2024 5:19:55 PM To: Joris van Zundert <joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl<mailto:joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl>> Cc: Sigcis <members@sigcis.org<mailto:members@sigcis.org>> Subject: Re: Colossus at 80 Hi Joris: I was shown the photographs, and given permission to interview the developers, in mid-1975. A set of photographs, and a single-page description, were released to the Public Record Office in 1975. My (cleared) paper revealing the Colossus was given at the splendid Los Alamos conference in June 1976 – see https://computerhistory.org/blog/computings-woodstock/ <https://computerhistory.org/blog/computings-woodstock/><https://computerhistory.org/blog/computings-woodstock/%3e>. (I had previously, in 1972, published such few facts as I could discover about the project in my 1972 paper “On Alan Turing and the Origins of Computers” - http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/Papers-Books/126.pdf <http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/Papers-Books/126.pdf><http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/Papers-Books/126.pdf%3e>.) Cheers Brian Randell — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html On 18/01/2024, 13:42, "Joris van Zundert" <joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl<mailto:joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl>> wrote: Hi, Any ideas on this puzzling sentence in the press release? “The Colossus computer was created during the Second World War […] but its existence was only revealed in the early 2000s after six decades of secrecy.” As far as I know the existence of Colossus has in no way been a mystery at least since the early 1970s, right? Best --Joris From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> <mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org>>> on behalf of Brian Randell via Members <members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org> <mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>>> Date: Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 12:50 To: Sigcis <members@sigcis.org<mailto:members@sigcis.org> <mailto:members@sigcis.org<mailto:members@sigcis.org>>> Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Colossus at 80 Hi: Here is the official GCHQ press release: https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80 <https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80><https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80%3e> <https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80><https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80%3e> <https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80%3e><https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80%3e%3e> Cheers Brian Randell — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> <mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk>> PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html <https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html><https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html%3e>
Brian, Given that the GCHQ release confirms that at least one Colossus was still in active use in the 1960s, it's in fact a bit surprising that they cleared anything as early as 1975. There's at least one well-known case (the Venona material) of intercepts having great value many years later. When was the rumour about Churchill ordering all the machines to be destroyed first circulated? Regards Brian Carpenter On 19-Jan-24 05:19, Brian Randell via Members wrote:
Hi Joris:
I was shown the photographs, and given permission to interview the developers, in mid-1975. A set of photographs, and a single-page description, were released to the Public Record Office in 1975. My (cleared) paper revealing the Colossus was given at the splendid Los Alamos conference in June 1976 – see https://computerhistory.org/blog/computings-woodstock/ <https://computerhistory.org/blog/computings-woodstock/>. (I had previously, in 1972, published such few facts as I could discover about the project in my 1972 paper “On Alan Turing and the Origins of Computers” - http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/Papers-Books/126.pdf <http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/Papers-Books/126.pdf>.)
Cheers
Brian Randell
—
School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG
EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923
URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html
On 18/01/2024, 13:42, "Joris van Zundert" <joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl> wrote:
Hi,
Any ideas on this puzzling sentence in the press release? “The Colossus computer was created during the Second World War […] but its existence was only revealed in the early 2000s after six decades of secrecy.” As far as I know the existence of Colossus has in no way been a mystery at least since the early 1970s, right?
Best
--Joris
From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org <mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org>> on behalf of Brian Randell via Members <members@lists.sigcis.org <mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>>
Date: Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 12:50
To: Sigcis <members@sigcis.org <mailto:members@sigcis.org>>
Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Colossus at 80
Hi:
Here is the official GCHQ press release:
https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80 <https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80> <https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80> <https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80%3e>
Cheers
Brian Randell
—
School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG
EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk <mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> PHONE = +44 191 208 7923
URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html <https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html>
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
However the information got out, I heard about it in the late 1970s, although obviously not to the level of detail that we all acquired by 2000. Jim Cortada On Thu, Jan 18, 2024 at 2:13 PM Brian E Carpenter via Members < members@lists.sigcis.org> wrote:
Brian,
Given that the GCHQ release confirms that at least one Colossus was still in active use in the 1960s, it's in fact a bit surprising that they cleared anything as early as 1975. There's at least one well-known case (the Venona material) of intercepts having great value many years later.
When was the rumour about Churchill ordering all the machines to be destroyed first circulated?
Regards Brian Carpenter
Hi Joris:
I was shown the photographs, and given permission to interview the developers, in mid-1975. A set of photographs, and a single-page description, were released to the Public Record Office in 1975. My (cleared) paper revealing the Colossus was given at the splendid Los Alamos conference in June 1976 – see https://computerhistory.org/blog/computings-woodstock/ < https://computerhistory.org/blog/computings-woodstock/>. (I had
On 19-Jan-24 05:19, Brian Randell via Members wrote: previously, in 1972, published such few facts as I could discover about the project in my 1972 paper “On Alan Turing and the Origins of Computers” - http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/Papers-Books/126.pdf < http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/Papers-Books/126.pdf>.)
Cheers
Brian Randell
—
School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle
upon Tyne, NE4 5TG
EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923
URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html
On 18/01/2024, 13:42, "Joris van Zundert" <
joris.van.zundert@huygens.knaw.nl> wrote:
Hi,
Any ideas on this puzzling sentence in the press release? “The Colossus
computer was created during the Second World War […] but its existence was only revealed in the early 2000s after six decades of secrecy.” As far as I know the existence of Colossus has in no way been a mystery at least since the early 1970s, right?
Best
--Joris
From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org <mailto:
members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org>> on behalf of Brian Randell via Members <members@lists.sigcis.org <mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>>
Date: Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 12:50
To: Sigcis <members@sigcis.org <mailto:members@sigcis.org>>
Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Colossus at 80
Hi:
Here is the official GCHQ press release:
https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80> < https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80> < https://www.gchq.gov.uk/news/colossus-80%3e>
Cheers
Brian Randell
—
School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle
upon Tyne, NE4 5TG
EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk <mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> PHONE
= +44 191 208 7923
URL = https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html <
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html>
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion
list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada@umn.edu 608-274-6382
participants (4)
-
Brian E Carpenter -
Brian Randell -
James Cortada -
Joris van Zundert