Google boosts Turing papers bid

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Today will see the first published papers of legendary World War II code breaker Alan Turing go on auction and Google has lent its support to get the papers to their rightful home.

IT journalist Gareth Halfacree has taken it upon himself to try and raise the funds to buy the papers at the auction, to be held this afternoon at Christies in London, and then donate them to Bletchley Park, the home of code breaking during the war.

However, with a final price expected to reach between £350,000 and £500,000, the attempt was looking futile.

Today, Halfacree and fellow campaigners was given a glimmer of hope though in the form of US internet giant Google. The company, famed for its search engine, has pledged $100,000 towards the fund if the bid is successful.

“Dr Turing is a hero to many of us at Google for his pioneering work on algorithms and the development of computer science,” Google said in a statement. “He’s also an important figure for many across the world who face homophobic attacks and bullying.”

Dr Sue Black, a computer scientist from University College London and a fundraiser for Bletchley, asked Google to support the cause and the company agreed to lay down the significant sum.

“There’s still a long way to go to raise all the money required, and we hope that others will be able to come forward too,” added Google.

An online campaign last year led to Turing being given a posthumous apology from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as despite his work helping to win the war, he was accused of “gross indecency” for being homosexual.

He was forced to choose between jail time or chemical castration in 1952. After choosing the latter, he killed himself two years later.

Click here if you would like to donate to the fund.

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