Code on dead WWII pigeon finally cracked
London, December 16 (ANI): A Second World War code from 1944 attached to a dead carrier pigeon in a fireplace which had left all code-breaking analysts and experts from GCHQ stumped, has finally been decoded y a historian to reveal what it actually says. The despatch, which was sent by 27-year-old Sergeant William Stott, identified German troop and panzer tank positions in Normandy and highlighted 'Jerry' headquarters and observation posts to target for attacks. "Hit Jerry's right or reserve battery here," the Daily Mail quoted it as saying. "Troops, panzers, batteries, engineers, here. "Counter measures against panzers not working," it said. Expert Gord Young decoded it by consulting a Royal Artillery codebook that had been kept by a relative who fought in the conflict. Young, who works at Lakefield Heritage Research in Ontario, Canada, says that the message proves paratrooper Sgt Stott went behind enemy lines to help military planners direct the D-Day offensive. "We have been able to unravel most, but not all, of the so-called unbreakable code of the pigeon remains," Young said. "The message is indeed breakable," he added. The message was originally discovered by retired probation officer David Martin, 74, when he was renovating his home in Bletchingley, Surrey. (ANI)
