The machine that arguably won the war for Britain will be on display in Swindon later this month.

People will be able to see one of the few working codebreaking Enigma machines in a demonstration hosted by the Wiltshire Branch of the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT on Monday, May 24.

Nick Miers, from Bletchley Park, and Dr Sue Back will be showing why Churchill described the wartime code-breakers as the “geese that laid golden eggs but never cackled”.

The Germans regarded their cipher as unbreakable, but building on the success of Polish codebreakers, teams stationed at various huts in Bletchley Park were able to read intercepted messages.

To speed up decipher, Alan Turing developed an electromechanical machine known as Colossus – the precursor of the modern computer.

The Enigma machine will be demonstrated between 5.30-6.15pm, and 6.15-7pm. There will then be a presentation on Bletchley Park between 7.15-8pm at New College, Queens Drive. The event is free to attend. To find out more or register contact www.wiltshirebcs.org/ EventsFuture.asp.