During the Second World War, the village of Simpson (now part of Milton Keynes) was home to a number of workers from nearby Bletchley Park. Local history research has identified that, for well over a year between 1940 and 1942, two of the occupants of White Cottage, Simpson, were John Habakkuk and Harry Hinsley. Later in their respective careers, Habakkuk became vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford (1973-77) and Hinsley vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge (1981-83).
Does White Cottage, Simpson, qualify for a plaque as the only house in the country to have simultaneously accommodated future vice-chancellors of both Oxford and Cambridge – indeed, they shared a bedroom?
Peter Barnes
Simpson, Milton Keynes