W. Gaskell, O.B.E., D.S.O., M.C., sat at the desk which at that moment occupied the centre of a shattered world and contemplated the most appalling and disturbing signal that had come to his attention in his entire military career. It was from the Secretary of State to the Governor of Gibraltar. It had been transmitted in top-secret cypher and decoded privately by the chief of the Decoding Bureau, Wren 2nd Officer F. Bailey. On the margin had been scrawled and signed with the Governor’s initials, “J.W.G., this came this morning. Your toddler, I think. Keep me posted. F.L.” It read as follows: THE PRIME MINISTER HAS EXPRESSED SOME CONCERN AS TO WELFARE OF BARBARY APES ON GIBRALTAR ABOUT WHICH HE HAS HEARD DISQUIETING RUMOURS. HE IS MOST ANXIOUS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO DIE OUT. I HAVE RECEIVED DIRECTION FROM THE PRIME MINISTER THAT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF APES SHOULD BE NO LESS THAN 24 AND THAT EVERY EFFORT SHOULD BE MADE TO ACHIEVE THIS NUMBER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND MAINTAINING IT AS A MINIMUM THEREAFTER.
