Cambridge students are running a campaign to raise the funds to put up a small bust of the computer scientist Alan Turing in the city with a plaque commemorating his life and achievements, and are seeking support from Cambridge University alumni from all Colleges.

Turing was an English mathematician and computer scientist who became a crucial participant in the code-breaking which helped lead the Allies to victory in World War Two. In 1999, TIME magazine named him one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century for his role in the creation of the modern computer. He committed suicide in 1954 having been persecuted and prosecuted for his homosexuality. On 10 September 2009, following an Internet campaign, Gordon Brown made an official public apology on behalf of the government for the way in which Turing was treated after the war. A relay is held in Cambridge every year in his honour, which the Christ’s Beagles take part in.

Currently, the only memorial to Turing in Cambridge is a black and white photograph in a basement.

The campaign would be very grateful for any support or contributions from Cambridge alumni. If you're interested in finding out more about the campaign or how you could become involved, please contact Daniel Summerbell on dls43@cam.ac.uk. Alternatively, you can join the Facebook group at:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=159665892666#/group.php?gid=15966