>Timeline
>Intelligence. Vital to our past.
1919-39 The Inter-War Period
The Government Code and Cipher School (GC&CS) is established with 25 cryptologists and 30 support staff.
It studies the methods of cipher communication used by foreign powers - and advises on the security of British ciphers and
codes. As well as examining worldwide coding methods and practices, it is committed to the maximum extraction of
information from signals intelligence. In 1922, the School is put under control of the Foreign Office. Navy, Army and Air
Sections are added in the following years as Europe starts to slide into war once more.
1939-45 The Second World War
As German forces march across Europe, the odds are seen by many as insurmountable. But British Intelligence has already
started work on German codes. Mathematicians, chess masters, professors and linguists are recruited from across
Britain to the new Bletchley Park site of the GC&CS. One of these is Ian Fleming, who later writes the James Bond books.
It's in these crucial years that the codebreakers really prove their value. Cracking the 'impenetrable' German Enigma code
enables Britain to foil Luftwaffe bombing raids, minimise U-Boat attacks and secure sea-based supply routes. GC&CS's
expertise is seen as a decisive factor in winning the Second World War - and makes Bletchley Park famous, but not until
the 1980s. For more information on Bletchley Park, click here.
1945-1991 After WWII, the Cold War Period
With over 7000 people now employed in signals intelligence, the organisation which will become GCHQ in 1946, moves to
London for a short period. In 1952 GCHQ puts down roots in Cheltenham at two sites. The local residents continue to refer
to it as 'the Foreign Office' for many years. They are discreet about the secret organisation in their midst which is still largely
unheard of outside Whitehall and the Cotswolds.
In 1983, GCHQ gains a national profile when its function is
avowed to Parliament. In 1984, the organisation that has shunned the limelight for so many years is thrust into the public
eye when trade union rights are removed from its staff. However, GCHQ has a vital role to play and work goes on.
The unthinkable happens in 1989: the Berlin Wall comes down, symbolic of the thaw in East-West relations. It is the dawning of
a new period and 1991 sees the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
1992-2000 The New Landscape
The 1994 Intelligence Services Act defines GCHQ's role in the post Cold War world. New threats emerge to take the place of
the old. National security, economic well-being and the prevention and detection of serious crime are its headline
interests.
GCHQ must provide Government with the right intelligence. It also has the task of ensuring the security of Government
communications.
At the same time as setting GCHQ's work on a statutory footing, the ISA also brings into being formal oversight of the
intelligence agencies. The Intelligence and Security Committee is formed as is the Intelligence Services Tribunal.
In 1997, trade union recognition is restored to GCHQ.
Robin Cook pays tribute in 1998 to the way that GCHQ has
responded to the government's fresh priorities. He describes GCHQ as a world leader in technology.
GCHQ plans to amalgamate its two sites - Oakley and Benhall - by means of a major new construction project. In May 1999,
the foreign Secretary announces that he has chosen the Benhall site for GCHQ's new accommodation. The circular,
space-age design is well suited to support GCHQ in meeting the challenges the future will bring.
To quote robin Cook, 'In a world in which information is increasingly the single most important commodity, GCHQ
helps ensure that Britain can go forward with confidence'. Into the next millennium.
© Crown Copyright 1999
Crucial to our future