GCHQ Can't Crack Pigeon's Secret Wartime Code (PICTURES)

Pigeon Carries Secret Of Coded Wartime Message To The Grave

Government code-breakers say they will never be able to crack the encrypted message which was recently discovered on the remains of a carrier pigeon.

GCHQ experts have been trying to break the code since August, when "Percy" - the aforementioned pigeon - was found in the chimney of a house in Surrey. But they now say the message was so skilfully written, they can't crack it without access to the "original cryptographic material", which has since been destroyed, reports the Daily Express.

It's believed the message was sent from the World War II frontline - possibly from the Normandy beaches on D-Day.

You know, it seems a shame to just give up on this fascinating project. After all, this isn't the kind of attitude that made our nation great. So let's have a go at cracking it ourselves, shall we?

As you can quite clearly see, it contains 27 codes - each made up of combinations of five numbers and letters, and was addressed to X02.

A few early guesses? "We're all out of chicken and turkey. Will pigeon do instead?" "Help - I'm stuck down a chimney." "They don't like it up 'em, Captain Mainwaring." But, truth be told, it's probably none of these, is it? Right, we'll keep working on it.

Right... Erm... Er... Any ideas?

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