Tommy Flowers Mural Relocated to Bletchley Park

A significant piece of art and a powerful tribute to a crucial wartime figure, the Tommy Flowers Mural, has found its new and fitting home at Bletchley Park, thanks in part to the expertise of MK Marking Systems Ltd.

The striking portrait, created by renowned Australian street artist Jimmy C (famous for the David Bowie mural in Brixton), celebrates the life and overlooked legacy of Tommy Flowers. Flowers, a brilliant Post Office engineer from Poplar, East London, was the visionary designer and builder of Colossus, the world's first programmable electronic computer, which played a vital role in deciphering high-level German codes at Bletchley Park during World War Two.

The mural originally adorned the gable end of the Tommy Flowers Community Pub on the Aberfeldy estate in Poplar, near Flowers' birthplace. The pub, a community engagement project spearheaded by Garry Hunter of the Tommy Flowers Foundation, was a local celebration of the hidden hero's achievements. However, facing demolition, the mural needed a new location that could truly preserve its heritage significance.

Bletchley Park, the place most closely associated with Colossus and Flowers' pioneering work, emerged as the ideal choice. The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC), located on the Bletchley Park site, proudly unveiled the mural in its new, prominent position in August 2025 as part of an event titled "Preserving the legacy of Tommy Flowers: uncovering lost histories." The re-establishment of the mural was a collaborative achievement, ensuring that the remarkable story of Tommy Flowers—the man who laid the groundwork for the present-day tech industry—will be seen by a new generation of visitors at the place where his greatest contribution was made. The whole project has been made possible by TNMOC, Heritage Fund UK, the Tommy Flowers Foundation and of course the artist Jimmy C.

Photo credit: Harry Urgent

Sign fitters Mark (L) and Martyn (R) from MK Marking Systems Ltd with artist Jimmy C.