HISTORIANS in Canada have deciphered a code found on a secret message – after GCHQ experts admitted defeat.
The code was tied to the leg of the bird which was found dead in the chimney of David Martin, 74, from Bletchingley, Surrey.
It is thought the carrier pigeon fell into the chimney pot during the Second World War.
But staff at the base said they were stumped and could not crack the 60-year-old message as Sir Winston Churchill ordered most codebooks destroyed.
Now military experts at the Lakefield Heritage Research in Peterborough, Ontario, claim they have cracked the code.
They said it was sent by Sergeant William Stott, 27, who parachuted into occupied Normandy in 1944. He sent the message back to HQ Bomber Command at RAF High Wycombe about his mission.
Gord Young said he cracked the message using a First World War artillery code book. Mr Young said: "We have been able to unravel most but not all of the so-called unbreakable code of the pigeon remains in the chimney. The message is indeed breakable."