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Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

bbc.com

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Re: Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

#61

Post by MrMcCall »

hermitcrab wrote: post #49
hermitcrab wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It's a really fascinating perspective on WWII and how crap Monty was at being a general; he was reading the Germans' messages and still couldn't defeat Rommel. He did defeat Rommel though, didn't he?

And he defeated him twice. In the desert in 1942 and in France in 1944. Not bad for a crap General.

Eisenhower defeated Rommel, my friend, with Patton's brilliant help, dragging a limping Monty along by the hair. He was nearly sacked for insubordination.

The Germans only feared one Allied General, and it wasn't Monty (it was Patton).

If fact, Patton being relieved of command for slapping his soldier allowed him to serve as the uber-decoy in Great Britain to distract the Germans from being ready for a Normandy landing. God works in mysterious ways, indeed.

The Germans thought Patton's sacking for slapping a soldier was a ruse; that's how much esteem they had for him.

Re: Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

#63

Post by aaron695 »

andrepd wrote: post #35
icosian wrote: post #23

Only about a dozen years ago Bletchley was inviting former codebreakers back for an annual reunion. I used to go along to hear the talks, meet some of them and get books signed, including by Betty Webb. I'm glad they eventually got the recognition they deserved. We have almost lost the chance now to hear personal testimony of WWII. I've met several Battle of Britain pilots too, but the last died in Dublin recently: h…

It's insane how the largest conflict in human history is just now passing out of living memory. It's also insane how 1 in 4 Americans under 40 believe the holocaust is a fabrication or exaggeration.

[dead]

Re: Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

#64

Post by philipkglass »

rjsw wrote: post #59
Tainnor wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> all the propaganda and misinformation to be had these days about the events of WWII, the Holocaust, Hiroshima/Nagasaki and so many other things I'm curious as to what sort of propaganda or misinformation you're referring to. I'm in Europe and I haven't seen much of it, but maybe it's different in the US.

There are several downvoted comments from butthurt Nazis in this thread.

Those comments appear to be from reincarnations of the same user. There are a few serial trolls who spew out terrible comments on HN and register new alts when their latest comments/accounts get killed.

Re: Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

#65

Post by louthy »

andrepd wrote: post #35
icosian wrote: post #23

Only about a dozen years ago Bletchley was inviting former codebreakers back for an annual reunion. I used to go along to hear the talks, meet some of them and get books signed, including by Betty Webb. I'm glad they eventually got the recognition they deserved. We have almost lost the chance now to hear personal testimony of WWII. I've met several Battle of Britain pilots too, but the last died in Dublin recently: h…

It's insane how the largest conflict in human history is just now passing out of living memory. It's also insane how 1 in 4 Americans under 40 believe the holocaust is a fabrication or exaggeration.

> It's insane how the largest conflict in human history is just now passing out of living memory.

Don’t worry, there will be another one along any minute now.

Re: Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

#66

Post by louthy »

AndrewOMartin wrote: post #42
billfruit wrote: post #26

Any good book that delves into the detail of the code breaking done at Bletchley park?

The Hut 6 Story, goes into enough detail that Gordon Welchman (Simply put, Turing's boss) lost his security clearance. If you care about the human side, but are keen to take on the details there's no better book possible.

Another vote for The Hut Six Story.

The title includes ‘Six’ not ‘6’ (not that it should trip up a search algo, but you never know)

Re: Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

#67

Post by slg »

louthy wrote: post #65
andrepd wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's insane how the largest conflict in human history is just now passing out of living memory. It's also insane how 1 in 4 Americans under 40 believe the holocaust is a fabrication or exaggeration.

> It's insane how the largest conflict in human history is just now passing out of living memory. Don’t worry, there will be another one along any minute now.

It seems more than coincidental that global fascism started to rise as soon as the generation that last defeated it had mostly died off.

Re: Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

#68

Post by jwagenet »

slg wrote: post #67
louthy wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's insane how the largest conflict in human history is just now passing out of living memory. Don’t worry, there will be another one along any minute now.

It seems more than coincidental that global fascism started to rise as soon as the generation that last defeated it had mostly died off.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss%E2%80%93Howe_generat...

Definitely controversial academically, but the idea of a generational cycle has been considered.

Re: Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101

#70

Post by wil421 »

andrepd wrote: post #35
icosian wrote: post #23

Only about a dozen years ago Bletchley was inviting former codebreakers back for an annual reunion. I used to go along to hear the talks, meet some of them and get books signed, including by Betty Webb. I'm glad they eventually got the recognition they deserved. We have almost lost the chance now to hear personal testimony of WWII. I've met several Battle of Britain pilots too, but the last died in Dublin recently: h…

It's insane how the largest conflict in human history is just now passing out of living memory. It's also insane how 1 in 4 Americans under 40 believe the holocaust is a fabrication or exaggeration.

Do you have a source or are you flamebating[1]?

The myriad of trash google results on the topic aren’t even close to 1 in 4. Even an Israeli tabloid says it’s 1 in 10.

[1]https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html

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