Registered Charity Number 1044195
All content copyright © Bexley u3a and others
Code Name: Santa Fe
The Secret Wartime History of Hall Place
An Exhibition at Hall Place
13 September 2014 - 15 March 2015
Hall Place held an important secret 70 years ago. During the Second
World War it was a Y station, code name Santa Fe, where nearly 200 US
soldiers, or GIs, worked day and night to intercept the German Military's
coded messages.
The GIs arrived in Bexley in late 1943 as part of the Allied build-up to the
Normandy landings and the subsequent liberation of Europe from Nazi
occupation. The men of the US Army Signal Corps stationed in Bexley
played a vital role capturing the scrambled messages that were then
sent to Bletchley Park known as Station X.
The success of the D-Day landings in June 1944, vital if Hitler was to be
defeated, depended on good intelligence about the enemy's activities.
Hundreds of men and women were involved in what was known as
Operation Ultra. This exhibition is a tribute to the US soldiers who worked
exhausting hours in top secret at Hall Place. Several veterans and their
families have kindly lent objects and images so that their remarkable
story can be told.
A group of Bexley u3a members under the guidance of Priscilla
Macpherson is proud to have assisted the curator, Kirsty Macklen, to
assemble some of the background material for this exhibition. It was a
u3a shared learning project and involved archival research and a very
enjoyable visit to Bletchley Park earlier in the year.
Bexley u3a
Hall Place
Welcome to Bexley
HALL PLACE EXHIBITION
Registered Charity Number 1044195
All content copyright © Bexley u3a and others
Hall Place held an important secret 70 years ago. During
the Second World War it was a Y station, code name
Santa Fe, where nearly 200 US soldiers, or GIs, worked
day and night to intercept the German Military's coded
messages.
The GIs arrived in Bexley in late 1943 as part of the Allied
build-up to the Normandy landings and the subsequent
liberation of Europe from Nazi occupation. The men of
the US Army Signal Corps stationed in Bexley played a
vital role capturing the scrambled messages that were
then sent to Bletchley Park, known as Station X.
The success of the D-Day landings in June 1944, vital if
Hitler was to be defeated, depended on good
intelligence about the enemy's activities.
Hundreds of men and women were involved in what was
known as Operation Ultra. This exhibition is a tribute to
the US soldiers who worked exhausting hours in top
secret at Hall Place. Several veterans and their families
have kindly lent objects and images so that their
remarkable story can be told.
A group of Bexley u3a members under the guidance of
Priscilla Macpherson is proud to have assisted the
curator, Kirsty Macklen, to assemble some of the
background material for this exhibition. It was a u3a
shared learning project and involved archival research
and a very enjoyable visit to Bletchley Park earlier in the
year.
You can see more about the exhibition plus photos of
the event on the desktop version of our website.
Bexley u3a