A statue of Alan Turing, created in

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

Stephen Kettle Stephen Kettle (born 12 July 1966, in Castle Bromwich, Warwickshire, England) is a British sculptor who works exclusively with slate. Career Kettle is a self-taught sculptor with no formal training. His best known works include Supermarin ...

in 2007, is located at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

as part of an exhibition that honours Turing (1912–1954). It was commissioned by the American businessman and philanthropist

Sidney Frank Sidney E. Frank (October 2, 1919 – January 10, 2006) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He became a billionaire through his promotion of Grey Goose vodka and Jägermeister. Early life, family, education Frank was born to a Jewish ...

(1919–2006). The slate for the sculpture was selected from

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

because the sculptor learned that Turing used to holiday there as a child and adult. The slate originated from Llechwedd, near

Blaenau Ffestiniog Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,00 ...

. Turing is depicted seated and looking at a German Enigma machine. He is dressed in a jacket, but there is some deliberate untidiness in his clothing. In 2007, it was commented that the statue acknowledges Turing as a

codebreaker Cryptanalysis (from the Greek ''kryptós'', "hidden", and ''analýein'', "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic se ...

but not as a

gay icon A gay icon is a public figure who is regarded as a cultural icon of some members of the LGBT community. The most widely recognized gay icons are often actresses and singers who garnered large LGBT fanbases, such as Judy Garland, Madonna, Diana Ros ...

. The statue became part of a new exhibition at Bletchley Park on Alan Turing in 2012, the centenary year of Turing's birth. Sir

John Dermot Turing Sir John Dermot Turing, 12th Baronet (born 26 February 1961) is a British solicitor and author. Education Turing was educated at Sherborne School and King's College, Cambridge. He then undertook a DPhil degree in genetics of the fruit fly as ...

, nephew of Alan Turing, attended the opening of the exhibition and posed with the statue.

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Alan Turing statue
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2007 establishments in England 2007 sculptures Statues in England Stone sculptures Cultural depictions of Alan Turing Monuments and memorials in Buckinghamshire Sculptures of men in the United Kingdom LGBT monuments and memorials in Europe Bletchley Park Slate industry in Wales {{UK-sculpture-stub

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