In The News

Engineer who rebuilt the wartime computer Colossus passes away

Engineer who rebuilt the wartime computer Colossus passes away

THE DEATH has taken place of Tony Sale who was credited with rebuilding the first modern computer Colossus which had helped crack German codes during the Second World War.

Mr. Sale, who was 80, was a brilliant electronics engineer.

He had joined the RAF instead of going to university and was soon working on projects aimed at improving radar.

After the RAF he went on to work for MI5 where became the organisation’s principal scientific officer.

Following his spell with the intelligence agency, Mr. Sale entered the private sector where he established and then sold a number of software and engineering companies. 

He went on to develop his interest in preserving old computers while carrying out work for the Science Museum.

It was perhaps only natural that this interest should lead him to embark on the project to rebuild Colossus which had been used at Bletchley Park, where the World War II codebreakers had worked.

After the war Colossus was broken-up and even plans for the computer were destroyed for security reasons. But Mr. Sale spent 14 years rebuilding the computer and re-installed it at Bletchley Park where he also cocoestablished The National Museum of Computing.

He also battled for funding to preserve buildings at Bletchley Park, so that the contribution the codebreakers had made to the War effort would not be forgotten.

To see an interview with Tony Sale about the rebuilding of Colossus click here.

 

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