Audio presentation reveals Bamburgh’s link to an event that changed the course of history

The extraordinary story of Bamburgh’s connection with a deed later described by King George VI as “the most important single event in the whole war at sea” has been revealed in a special audio presentation for Bamburgh Castle, almost 79 years to the day after it took place.

The presentation by Ralph Baker Cresswell tells the story of his grandfather, Royal Navy hero and Bamburgh resident Captain Joe Baker Cresswell’s incredible role in helping defeat Germany in the Second World War. Capt Baker Cresswell’s shrewd decision in the heat of battle led to the capture on May 9, 1941, of a Nazi Enigma cipher machine from a crippled German U-boat.

His quick thinking actions helped famed British mathematician and father of computer science, Alan Turing and his team at Britain’s top secret Bletchley Park codebreaking HQ, to successfully decipher German naval Enigma messages, changing in Britain’s favour the course of both the Battle of the Atlantic and the global conflict.

Ralph had been due to deliver a presentation on VE Day at Bamburgh Castle alongside an original Enigma machine as part of a weekend of VE Day celebrations planned for the castle, which are being postponed due to Covid-19. His shorter audio version talks about his ancestor’s gripping story of derring-do to mark VE Day.

He said: “This is sadly a little known but true and remarkable story of wartime bravery. It wasn’t headline news at the time and was kept secret for half a century, even from the Americans when they entered the war.

“Everyone involved was also sworn to secrecy, and even at the end of my grandfather’s life, when the events surrounding the capture of the Enigma machine had been declassified, it never got the attention it should perhaps have done.

“I am very grateful to Bamburgh Castle for including my grandfather in their VE Day celebrations and for giving me the chance to tell the story of an extraordinary but self-effacing man who made such an immense contribution to victory in 1945.”

You can listen to Ralph’s audio presentation on Bamburgh Castle’s YouTube channel. Click on the You Tube icon to the right to access our channel.

In the sands of time forever

Bamburgh Castle marked 75 years since the end of war in Europe with a supersize Union Jack carved into the beach beneath the famous English castle.

The 1275 metres square etching – the equivalent to almost seven tennis pitches – was created by castle maintenance manager Andrew Heeley following hours of preparation to design and mark out the intricate dimensions, during his lockdown at the castle.

It took him a further four hours and almost 19,000 steps to painstakingly draw the Union Flag – the national flag of the United Kingdom – into the sands of Bamburgh beach, which is part of The Bamburgh Castle Estate.

Bamburgh Castle owner Francis Watson Armstrong said: “The Union Flag sand art Andrew has created is a remarkable commemoration for VE Day.

“Although the tribute will be washed away by the North Sea tides, Bamburgh Castle’s VE Day flag will remain as a legacy in the sands of time, paying tribute to the dedication and service of the entire Second World War generation – from the British, Commonwealth and Allied Forces to those who served on the home front and the sacrifices they made.

“Our flag is also a testament to the shattering impact Covid-19 has had upon so many people around the world. But, like the Second World War, there will be an end to this and we look forward to the day when we can celebrate with everyone here at Bamburgh once again.”

Andrew Heeley is maintenance manager at Bamburgh Castle where he lives in lockdown with his partner, Jo and her daughter Mathilda. He said: “It’s given me a few sleepless nights thinking about it as I like to make sure everything is just right. There was a lot of measuring, calculating and planning for it to be accurate and to scale up, as well as taking into consideration the tides which are especially high at the moment due to the super Flower Moon – and making sure I got it the right way up.”

The castle is temporarily closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the ongoing care and maintenance of one of Britain’s best loved attractions continues day in, day out for people to safely enjoy visiting as soon as the time comes for its drawbridge to be lowered once again.

Picture credit: Owen Humphreys / PA

Bamburgh Castle shines blue to show support

Iconic Bamburgh Castle shone blue to show its support of NHS, carers and key workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

The castle, which stands 150 feet above the Northumberland coastline on a whin sill outcrop, was illuminated by castle stonemason Stuart Baillie who devised an ingenious way to light the castle blue using perspex sheets attached to the castle’s existing floodlights, during his routine maintenance visits to the castle.

Bamburgh Castle owner Francis Watson Armstrong said: “Stuart has done the most incredible job to create this amazing tribute as a salute to our brave NHS, carers, frontline and key workers in the fight against the coronavirus.

“While the castle is temporarily closed, we wanted to be able to use the castle – which is one of the British Isles’ best-loved landmarks – and the skills of our team – to say thank you and show our support to those who are putting their own lives at risk to help others and who are keeping our country going during the outbreak.

“We will be joining the nation this evening at 8pm for a mass round of applause as we continue to show our thanks and support.”

Bronze for Bamburgh

It was an awards ceremony with a difference as the results were revealed via an online ceremony from the region’s eagerly awaited North East Tourism Awards.

Bamburgh Castle was delighted to take to the virtual podium with a Bronze award in the Large Visitor Attraction category amid stiff competition at the prestigious awards which celebrate the best attractions, hotels, pubs, experiences, bed and breakfasts and visitor services across the North East of England.

Visitor Services manager Will Douglas said: “We are delighted that Bamburgh was recognised at the awards, which are a true showcase for exceptional tourism operators and businesses. Going head to head with some of the best attractions in the country was nail biting and we are really pleased to be a Bronze winner.. Bamburgh Castle is so well-loved by people across the world, yet behind it all is a small and dedicated team. It means so much to us to be recognised in this way. On behalf of the Armstrong family and myself I’d like to thank all of our team for their hard work and dedication which has helped us to take this award. We’ll be going all out for gold next year!

“We were expecting to go to the awards in our black tie dress and be celebrating with our tourism partner friends from across the region, so it was all a little surreal to be watching the results come up in front of the computer instead. We’d like to say a big thank you to the event organisers and judges for pulling out all the stops to deliver a virtual ceremony that brought us all together digitally which was uplifting in these difficult times. .

“Congratulations to all the winners and finalists – together we do the North East proud!”

“We’re looking forward to celebrating with our visitors just as soon as we safely can and showing them why Bamburgh really is among the best the region has to offer and of course to next year’s awards when we have even more exciting developments and improvements.”

Sarah Green, Chief Executive at NewcastleGateshead Initiative, who organise the awards, said: “A huge congratulations to this year’s winners and all those who continue to contribute so much to the North East tourism sector. Covid-19 is having a devastating impact on the sector but these awards demonstrate the quality of the North East tourism offer and give us confidence that once the current situation eases the region will be in a strong place to benefit from a predicted upturn in domestic and day tourism.

“Along with our colleagues in tourism organisations across the North East, we will continue to invest in marketing, with a strong digital and media presence, to ensure that tourists are aware of our fantastic region and have us front of mind when planning for future visits.”

Thank you NHS and Key Workers

Bamburgh Castle is flying a Thank You flag in recognition of the nation’s NHS staff and key workers across the country.

The castle’s Armstrong family crest was lowered as the Thank You NHS flag was unfurled and raised to fly high above the castle’s Norman Keep in a show of support for the nation’s heroes going above and beyond during the coronavirus.

Francis Watson Armstrong, owner of Bamburgh Castle said: “We are proudly flying a Thank you NHS flag high from magnificent Bamburgh Castle as a fitting show of respect and gratitude for the heroic and brave efforts of ever NHS worker, from surgeons to nurses, carers to kitchen staff, porters to midwives, doctors to technicians – each and every one of you – thank you. We also want to thank all the key workers out there, from the police, the fire brigade, to the farmers, postal workers, courier drivers, waste collection teams, shop keepers and supermarket staff, factory workers, journalists and more – there are so many of you who are all going beyond the call of duty to keep our nation going and look after us all in these extraordinary times.

“What you are doing is superhuman in the face of all of this adversity. We appreciate your efforts so much and we want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts – and from the very top of the nation’s favourite castle.”

Bamburgh Castle’s maintenance manager Andrew Heeley is on lockdown at the castle. He created a 60 foot sand art message of support on the shoreline beneath the castle from Bamburgh Castle to the NHS and key workers. Created during his daily exercise on the beach, Andrew drew out in giant letters Thank You NHS and Key Workers.

Bamburgh Castle one of England’s largest inhabited castles and is one of the best loved coastal fortresses in Britain.

Staying connected with Bamburgh Castle

Bamburgh Castle might be temporary closed physically to visitors, but we are open virtually for people to enjoy some welcome escapism at their favourite fortress.

Fans of Bamburgh Castle can connect with us on Facebook, Instagram Twitter  and our new YouTube channel for inspirational photographs, competitions, virtual tours, behind closed doors films and meet the people looking after Bamburgh Castle and keeping it safe for you until we reopen.

Bamburgh Castle’s new resident Dragon, Hope, has started a weekly slot on our Facebook page where she will be reading out birthday messages, greetings to family and friends separated by social isolation or to anyone who is feeling isolated and in need of some cheering up.

Visitor services manager Will Douglas said: “While Bamburgh Castle together with the nation is  in lockdown, you can still enjoy a magnificent Bamburgh Castle virtually  without even leaving your armchair. We want to let people know we are all going through his situation together and we’re doing what we can, safely, to send some Bamburgh sunshine out to help brighten up people’s days and to stay connected with people around he world who know and love Bamburgh and miss being able to visit us in person.

“Although the castle is closed to visitors, we still have an amazing small core of people who are taking care of the castle round the clock, and we’re sharing some of their fascinating behind the scenes work on social media.

“We have had an amazing response to Bamburgh dragon Hope’s first video, with people getting in touch from all over the world, from Argentina and California and across the UK, while maintenance manager Andrew has added social media guru to his CV by putting together some fascinating behind the scenes tours on  YouTube about life behind closed doors at the castle.

If you want Hope the Bamburgh Dragon to read out a message of support to someone, send a birthday message or give you a shout out, please email your message to administrator@bamburghcastle.com or click here.