AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The organisation will extend the awareness of the world changing inovations of Tommy Flowers and his achievements while leading the Post Office Research Team, with the aim of showing how much an individual can achieve, no matter what their background. BBC broadcaster Paddy O’Connell has been invited to be the Foundation’s Patron, having been key in bringing together members of Tommy’s family and close relatives of veterans who worked with Tommy at Bletchley Park in 1944-45. Paddy’s mother Betty worked there with Tommy as a teenage Wren, operating the Colossus code breaking computer.

The formation of an incorporated community business with charitable status and a strong group of Trustees along with community membership input will help the organisation reach wider demographic and ethnic groups attracting a much wider range of people and engaging them creatively. Now working from a long empty Post Office, the Foundation aims to especially engage with the 70% of the local population who are Bangladeshi, Pakistani or Somalian, many of whom are not comfortable within a licenced premises such as The Tommy Flowers Community Pub.
 

The son of an East End bricklayer, Tommy was awarded his honorary doctorate in 1977. Our initial engagement will reflect his education through scholaships, by collaborating with local schools and colleges in the immediate Poplar area.
 

By creating a high profile for the Foundation via effective PR, we will be able to develop strong partnerships and attract more investment,while building up local community membership so residents are stakeholders. Ideally it will be able to offer bursaries and scholarships to people from minority and socially challenged backgrounds, to develop skills and improve future employment prospects. 

The organisation will also extend the awareness of the history of Tommy Flowers and his R&D team, with the aim of showing how much an individual can achieve, no matter what their background.