Sir Alan Turing

[zita-green]

I heard there will be an official apology given for the way Sir Alan Turing was treated after the war. I thinks it's right after what they did to him but as he has no surviving family who are they going to apologise to?

[ABerrant]

Alan Turing OBE (not Sir) has at least one living niece but these nonsensical apologies are never intended to be made to anybody specific and are always made by people who are not directly involved in the original issue (and therefore have no right to apologise for others).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8249792.stm

[Mr Veritas]

He may have had no children(being gay) but he does have a surviving niece called Inagh Payne.Also by the way he was just plain MR he was never awarded a Knightood,but he did get an OBE>

[blackietwo]

In for a penny in for a pound. I live 5 mins drive from Alan Turing Way. What a clever guy that man was, credit where its due.

[Lonnie]

An apology isn't going to do any good, he's not going to know, and thats what really matters.

The man was treated apallingly, and that can't be changed, but lessons can be learned.

[zita-green]

Thanks to all. I didn't know he had a surviving niece. He was chemically castrated because he was gay. Then he committ suicide. An apology is all that can be offered now. Alan Turing Way is the way I got to know who he was.

[New Judge]

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question807606.html

[HowardKennitby]

I agree that the present obsession with apologising is essentially meaningless. As the link posted by New Judge clearly shows Turing was not treated 'unfairly'. Tha laws of the time were as they were. Given his importance is may be likely that he was 'left alone' while the war was in progress.

[smudge]

We visited Bletchley Park on Sunday & read more about this amazing man whilst there.

It actually brought tears to my eyes that he should have been treated in such a way, especially after all his expertise & efforts during the war. He wasn't given the recognition he so deserved back then - if he had, he may not have commited suicide & could have gone on to teach us a lesson or two.

[smudge]

P.S. It's worth a visit to Bletchley Park, if only to see this fantastic slate sculpture of this very clever man:

http://towcesternews.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/turin.jpg