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The Documentary

The Secret History of GCHQ

How Scarborough saved the world

Duration: 27 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC World Service East and Southern AfricaLatest broadcast: on BBC World Service News Internet

Available for over a year

The work of GCHQ started just after the end of World War One as telegraph became a vital means of military communications. We hear from people who worked at the listening station in the Yorkshire seaside resort of Scarborough during World War Two and the Cold War. BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera reveals how Government Communications Headquarters – GCHQ - has been listening in for 100 years. And Gordon reveals the vital role played by the Scarborough station during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

(Photo: A general view of GCHQ Scarborough during a visit by Prince Charles in 2014. Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) Show less

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