Can You Crack The Secret Code On This Westminster Plaque?

M@
By M@

Last Updated 31 July 2026

M@ Can You Crack The Secret Code On This Westminster Plaque?
GCHQ plaque
Image: Matt Brown

A little-seen plaque about codebreakers hides its own code.

Walk to the end of the beer wine garden behind Gordon's, head up some steps, and you'll spot this curious green plaque.

The memorial, at 13-15 York Buildings, marks the first home of GCHQ, the intelligence service concerned with signals and codebreaking. The agency is considered so important that Queen Elizabeth II herself unveiled the plaque, to mark GCHQ's centenary in 2019.

The keen eye will spot that this is no simple plaque. Certain letters and numbers are undermarked with dots and lines. It's not too hard to decipher, so we won't print the solution here, but it can be found easily elsewhere online.

A plaque with GCHQ history and a code
Buildings formerly home to GCHQ

GCHQ has grown a bit over the years. From a dozen or so people tucked away off the Strand in its earliest days, it now occupies 'the Doughnut' near Cheltenham, and employs over 7,000 people.

Aerial view of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham, England, featuring a large, circular, ring-shaped building with a central courtyard, surrounded by extensive parking lots and residential areas.
Image: Ministry of Defence, OGL v1.0

By the looks of it, parking is also a little easier in the current home.

With thanks to London Remembers for the tip-off.