General Chat

Horrified to learn of this on the news today - this brilliantly clever man whose work cracked the Enigma Code cut the war short by about two years and therefore saved thousands of lives, was prosecuted for being a homosexual and was chemically castrated!!

To think this happened in my lifetime - the poor chap committed suicide by taking cyanide - he been pardoned apparently - fat lot of good that is

Wonderful gesture by the Queen. I remember attitudes back then. My mother told me she had never heard the word homosexual till she was 30 (born in 1924), it was not natural and she and many others considered it a treatable illness.

Turing did commit a crime and had to be punished under the law as it was then. But chemical castration!!!

What a brilliant codebreaker and mathematician he was, and he will ever live in history. What a shame he did not live today, when he would be feted rather than hated. A tragic end for a brilliant man, who saved many many lives as you have reminded us, AnnC.

I was also appalled by this, I read about it a while back as several people including some MP's were pushing for a pardon for him.

It is unbelievable that this could have happened just over 60 years ago in a so called civilised society. Apparently he agreed to chemical castration by having injections of oestrogen to avoid being sent to prison.

As you say AnnCardiff a fat lot of good a Royal Pardon will do for him as he is dead.

R.I.P. Alan Turing

I did a history project sometime ago about Alan Turing for my Nans home (long story)...

My Nan said he was an amazing man and she had actually met him twice. She said he was the most loving and caring man, who believed in helping others, he was a very timid man in ways, who believed if he could help in anyway he would.....he certainly did that!! A man who used his mind and helped more than he ever knew....

RIP...Alan Turing......A man (with the biggest heart and gave his life for us) *My Nans words*

lovely story Mersey - what a privilege to have met him

To think that his work is thought to have shortened the war by 2 years......

A gentle man who did not deserve what happened to him

This chap seems to have acquitted himself with honour, dignity, and courage in the face of eventual ridicule. It is difficult to entertain the concept of his defeat. Unfortunately, history cannot be changed.

Manchester City Council named the by-pass road through what is now known as Eastlands Alan Turing Way many years after he had died., some compensation for his family I must say!

Pardon my ignorance, but what is chemical castration, what did it do to his body, how long did it last, seems very cruel to me.

Chemical castrationFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chemical castration is the administration of medication designed to reduce libido and sexual activity. Unlike surgical castration, where the testicles or ovaries are removed through an incision in the body,[1] chemical castration does not actually castrate the person, nor is it a form of sterilization.[2]

Chemical castration is generally considered reversible when treatment is discontinued, although permanent effects in body chemistry can sometimes be seen, as in the case of bone density loss increasing with length of use of Depo Provera.[3] Chemical castration has, from time to time, been used as an instrument of public and/or judicial policy despite concerns over human rights and possible side effects.[4][5]

Thanks AnnCardiff, I must try to remember that I do have Wikipeda :-)

How about a Royal non-posthumous pardon for the Duchess of York?

and what about all the other homosexuals who were targeted in the same way Alan was, surely they also deserve a pardon - some of them must still be alive today

I am very pleased to hear the news that Alan Turing has at long last received a pardon. Yes, I know he committed a crime and had to pay for it, but he did contribute an enormous amount to the war effort and to the development of the modern day computer. The man was a genius, a brilliant mathematician, and did the most amazing work at Bletchley Park during WW2. I think some consideration to the way he was treated could have been given.
I believe Gordon Brown issued an apology for the way he was treated, and I wonder if the petition to clear his name was started about then (2009?).
There is memorial statue to him, unveiled at Sackville Park, Manchester in 2001.

RIP Alan M Turing.

All of them deserve a pardon, dead or alive, but this is a start which is better than nothing.

Quite frankly, as far as I am concerned, there should never have been a law, making homosexuality a crime, in the first place.

I agree ChAoTicChristmas, that what they are by nature not nurture and how can that be breaking the law?

I just hope that Alan Turing is now allowed to rest in peace, but on a cynical note I hope that the granting of this pardon is not hijacked for electioneering purposes to boost the gay vote in the run up to the election.

I didn't know that the great Alan Turing was punished for being homosexual.

What a terrible law that was, thank goodness it no longer stands.

So many good men must have suffered under this law.

It would be good to think that Alan Turing was able to "look down at the world today" and know that things have changed. That he would no longer be considered a criminal. Bur lauded for his good work.