Discover the life and works of Marian Rejewski, the first to theorise the mathematical equations which would eventually lead to the breaking of the Enigma by the Allies. 

During a historic and little-known meeting in Pyry, Warsaw, on the 25th and 26th July 1939 representatives of the Polish Government and Intelligence Services agreed to share with their British and French Allies information and machines related to their cryptographic analysis and deciphering of the German Enigma cipher. Included in this was the exceptional work of Polish codebreaker, Marian Rejewski, who was the first to theorise the mathematical equations which would eventually lead to the breaking of the Enigma by the Allies.  

Join Robert Gawlowski, author of the biography The Untold Story of Marian Rejewski, who Passed the Baton to Alan Turing and Tim Flack, of King’s College, Cambridge, as they explore the life, work and codebreaking machines of Rejewski, and their influence on the activities of Bletchley Park. 

Included in this event will be a demonstration of a fully functional replica Cyclometer – the first electromechanical device created by Rejewski to aid in the daily breaking of Enigma keys, and which was succeeded by the Polish Bomba, the forerunner to Alan Turing’s Bombe.  

Copies of Robert Gawlowski’s book ‘The Untold Story of Marian Rejewski, who passed the baton to Alan Turing’ will be available to purchase at the event, and Robert will be hosting a book signing and there will also be an opportunity to get hands-on with the Cyclometer after the talk has concluded.  

ROBERT GAWŁOWSKI was born in Bydgoszcz, the same city as Marian Rejewski. This is his first biography, but he has also published extensive scientific research in the field of social sciences, as well as many journalistic articles. He is a political analyst and academic working at a university, where he specialises in teaching subjects related to public administration and public management. 

TIM FLACK is a University Lecturer in the Engineering Department at Cambridge, where his main research themes concern renewable electricity and electric drive systems. He is also a Fellow of King’s College where he became aware of the work of Alan Turing, who was also a Fellow there. However, it was only following a visit to Bletchley Park that Tim’s interest in all things related to the Enigma was stimulated. There, he learned that the work of the Polish cryptographers played a significant part in the success of Turing’s work, and that was what inspired his work on the Polish Cyclometer.