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Earl of Wessex visits Lakeside - 28 October 2004
Earl of Wessex unveils statue
The University of Surrey was pleased to welcome His Royal Highness, The Earl of Wessex to unveil a bronze statue of Guildford scientist Alan Turing. For lunch the Earl visited the Lakeside Restaurant where he was served by Hospitality Management students from the School of Management. On the menu was Loin of Lamb followed by Chocolate Roulade. The Earl spoke to the chef and his team afterwards complimenting the students on their handmade truffles.
The statue was created by John W. Mills and took over 18 months to complete. It depicts Alan Turing striding across the University piazza in front of the Austin Pearce Building, which houses the University's computer labs. Turing, who lived in Guildford in his earlier life, led the team that succeeded in breaking high-level secret German codes in World War II, using the first practical programmed computer, called Colossus. In 1937 he suggested a theoretical machine, since called a Turing Machine, that became the basis of modern computing. In 1950 he suggested what has become known as a "Turing's test," still the criterion for recognising intelligence in a machine. Turing died in 1954.