Dr Swade, agreed that this was the correct approach and said a virtual recreation of the machine could solve "95% of problems" and allow them to use computer to design the thousands of individual parts needed to make the behemoth.
Prior to embarking on the Colossus rebuild, Mr Sale worked at the Science Museum and, with Doron Swade, drove the recreation of other pioneering computers and helped found the CCS. He was also involved in the campaign to save Bletchley Park and was one of the founders of the National Museum of Computing.