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Commemoration of hero John Herivel

EDM (Early Day Motion) 574: tabled on 14 November 2022

Tabled in the 2022-23 session.

This motion has been signed by 5 Members. It has not yet had any amendments submitted.

Motion text

That this House commemorates hero John Herivel, born on Malone Avenue in Belfast in 1918 and who worked as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park during the war to help decipher the Enigma Code; notes the time spent by John and his colleague Alan Turing in deciphering the code, with Herivel's tip being a vital component in handicapping the Nazi war machines in the 1940s, these being used to send encrypted military messages to Nazis throughout the war; further notes the work at Bletchley Park which was kept a secret for decades but possibly shortened the conflict by two to four years; highlights the blue plaque to honour the efforts of Herivel at Methodist College Belfast, where he was educated and encouraged to expand his ability in maths; and remembers with pride the impacts codebreaking had in World War II.