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MACMILLAN CHILDREN’S BOOKS

 a
First published 2012 by Macmillan Children’s Books
a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-1-4472-1632-2

Text and illustrations copyright © Macmillan Children’s Books 2012

Brands and trademarks copyright © The Scout Association 2012
Text, design and artwork by Dan Newman
All rights reserved. Gilwell Park, Chingford, London E4 7QW
Registered Charity Numbers 306101 (England and Wales) and
SC038437 (Scotland). Incorporated by Royal Charter.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written
permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized
act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal
prosecution and civil claims for damages.

135798642

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from

the British Library.

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CRO 4YY

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not,

by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out,
or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent
in any form of binding or cover other than that in which
it is published and without a similar condition including this
condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

www.scouts.org.uk/join
Contents
Introduction
Caesar’s Secrets
Wheel Out the Code Wheel
Possibly Polybius
Super Steganography
Now You Don’t See It, Now You Do
Stick It Under the Grille
Cracking Caesar
Shop Signals
Scrt Shrthnd
Pigpen Code
Not Waving, But Signalling
That’s Handy
Talking Fingers
‘England Expects That Every Man Will Do His Duty’ 49
Zigzag or Swap?
Baden-Powell’s Butterflies
My Way on the Highway
Can You Get There from Here?
It’s Morse, of Course
Your Very Own Code Book
Bravo, Charlie!
Wartime Tweets
Crossword Code
Read Your Cornflakes
Calling Inspector Sands
Where in the World?
Sorted
Pick a Proper Password
Answers
 Recor ubeoiseanrens! Bed
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Introduction
Ao is a way of turning information (letters or
words) into other letters or symbols.

This could be because the information needs to be kept

secret. You encode a message to stop people reading it,
and your friend can decode the message to read again.
There are lots of these codes in this book.

Or it could be because the information is impossible to

send without encoding it. You can’t speak to a friend at
the other end of a field, but you can ‘talk’ to him in a code
like semaphore. There are lots of these codes in this book too.

Another reason for using a code is to give complicated

information in a quicker, simpler way. An example would
be the barcode on the back cover of this book, or a road
sign (which is part of the Highway Code). There are lots of
these codes in this book as well.

Actually, there are loads of codes in this book. Let’s get

started!
Caesar’s Secrets
ulius Caesar was a Roman general two thousand years
|ie He was clever and ambitious, and ended up as
Emperor, in charge of the whole Roman Empire. Caesar
used codes to keep secrets from his enemies.

The most well-known of Caesar’s codes was simple: every

letter in his message was changed to a different letter.

How to do it
‘L: Write out the alphabet neatly.

ABCDEFGHI|KLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Now write the alphabet out again underneath, but

start in a different place - under the J. When you
reach the end of the row, go back to the beginning
to finish writing letters. It should look something
like this.

A.B CoD E FG Welean

RSTUVWXYZABCD
 Here’s the message you want to encode:

YOU ARE BEING WATCHED

Find the first letter of your message in the top

alphabet, and write down the letter underneath it:

YOU ARE BEING WATCHED

Pp

What will the whole message read?

Your answer

Answer on page 92

(OT OS 50 7 NE GA ee eae 2
PPctlhikKLMN
OP @
A BAC DVET (Garreiaes
i

Now let’s try decoding a Caesar code.

Here it is:

G BUPY SIO QILEYX NBCM ION

Remember you wrote the second alphabet starting from J?
This time you will start writing at G - the first letter in this
coded message. This first letter is called the code key.

1 Write out the second alphabet - make sure you

start in the nght place. A goes under G.

vy The code key isn’t part of the coded message. This

time, find the letters of the coded message in the
bottom alphabet, and write down the letter above
each one. So above B is H, then above U is A.

3 Can you decode the whole message?

G BUPY SIO QILEYX NBCM ION

Your answer

Answer on page 92
NO Pe Sir) yyavax eZ

Now try writing your own message.

See if a friend can decode it.

Wheel Out the
Code Wheel
t takes a long time writing out all those alphabets for
Caesar codes. You can make things easier with a code
wheel. A code wheel is two circles of card that are fixed
together in the middle so they can turn. Around the edge
of each circle is an alphabet: the outer one for your plain
message, and the inner one for the coded version.

How to make a code wheel

You need two circles of card like the ones opposite.
a) Photocopy, scan and print or trace the page
opposite.
b) Stick the copy on to thin card (an old cereal box).
c) Cut the circles out.

D Make a small hole in the centre of each circle.

a) Stick a lump of modelling clay to a table.
b) Place the middle of one circle over the clay.
c) Push a pencil through the card into the clay.
d) Repeat with the other circle.

3 Fix the two circles together with a paper fastener,

so they can turn.

Make two sets of wheels, so a friend can solve your

messages as quickly as you can encode them!
» , Gode Key -
a)
@
te

op
Using your code wheel

di Pick a code key letter, and turn the circles to line up

A on the inner alphabet with the code key on the
outer alphabet.

Z Clip the two circles together with a paperclip or

clothes peg so they don’t slip while you’re encoding
your message.

5 Remember to write the code key as the first letter in

your coded message.

4. The plain message uses the outer alphabet, and the

coded message uses the inner alphabet.

12
Try using your wheel to encode this message, using W as
the code key.

GET ME A BISCUIT
Your answer

And now try solving this coded message - remember, the

first letter is the code key.

N TRG VG LBHEFRYS
Your answer

Answers on page 92
Now try writing your own messages
and see if a friend can decode them.
If you haven’t made a code wheel yet, use this one,
which we've set to code key F!
15
Possibly
Polybius
he Caesar codes are fine, but they depend on being
able to pass on the coded message. Sometimes that
isn’t possible. A clever Greek chap called Polybius worked
out this code over two thousand years ago. It was perfect
for signalling quickly to people you can see or hear - ona
battlefield, for instance.

How to do it
1 Draw a five-by-five grid of squares.

Fill the grid with the alphabet. Yes, there isn’t

enough room for every letter - put I andJ in the
same square. As you work out the message it will
become clear which of these two letters you need
to use.
 Number each row and column of the grid with
numbers - along the top and down the left side,
like this.

4. Every letter is in a row (with a number) and a

column (with a number). So every letter can be
turned into two numbers - the row first, then the
column. So H becomes 2-3 and E turns into 1-5.

5 See if you can use the grid to work out the numbers
for each letter in this message:

Meike Ae
Your answer

Answer on page 92
 There are lots of ways to send your coded message.
Use a torch to flash it, with a little gap between
numbers:

GO becomes 2-2, 3-4 — which is

flash-flash ...
flash-flash ...
flash-flash-flash ...
flash-flash-flash-flash.

7 Or use a whistle or drum to send

the numbers by sound. Write down vag
the code for STOP so you can 2p jek
clap it or tap it on the table.

Your answer

Answer on page 92
Now try sending your own messages.
Write your message, then work out the code.

| BS
Super
Steganography“
he best way to hide a secret message is in a normal-
looking message. Hiding secrets this way is called
steganography. The word comes from Greek words
meaning ‘concealed writing’.

Can you spot the hidden instruction in this letter?

(Look at all the capital letters.)

There are lots of other ways to hide a message in a

message:

® Move some letters above or below the line

@® Prick a tiny hole under some letters with a pin

@® Use a different colour ink or typeface for some

letters (a bit obvious)

@ Write a tiny message on the corner of an envelope

and cover it with the stamp

Could you write your own secret this way?

* This is not a dinosaur

20
 Greetings, friend.
Ow are you? Tom's here
with me. Old Tom, you
remember. He says hi.
Everyone here ts well.
Hope you're well, ’'m
feeling fine. Do write
back. Expect another
letter soon. Or write fo me
instead. Unless we meet
first.
Tom

Your answer

Answer on page 92

Zi
Can you find the messages in these letters?
Remember the different ways steganography can be used.

Dear Kelly,

Anna has asked again tf you

are coming fo her party. | said |
didn’t know if you were allowed
to, and probably wouldn't make
it. Anna would really like you
and jo to come to the party if
you can. George and Kitty said
they are going, so do come/
Carn

Your answer

22
 Dear Sir

Attached is the information you

requested (version 2). We do not
normally keep older types in
stock, but we can Zet hold of the
ones you want in a day or So. Let
us know whether you need more
advice.

Yours faithfully,

Greedy Gus

Your answer

Answers on page 92

ZO
Now You
Don’t See It,
Now You Do

Ae way to hide a secret in a letter is to use

invisible ink. It’s easier than you'd think to make
your own!

The best way to use invisible ink is to write on an

ordinary letter — on the back, or round the edges of the
front. Use a cotton bud, a cocktail stick or a small brush
to write with the invisible ink. Make sure it’s dry before
you pass on the letter.

Recipe 1
1 Mix a big spoonful of baking soda in half a glass of
water. Stir it until all the powder has dissolved.

2? To reveal this ink, pour

some lemon juice in a
saucer and use a sponge
or a piece of kitchen
roll to wipe it over the
back of the letter. If you
haven’t got lemon juice,
then orange, grape or
cranberry juice will do.

24
Recipe 2
1 Write your message with a
small amount of lemon juice.
If you haven’t got lemon juice,
then milk, apple juice or white
vinegar will work.

2 To reveal these inks, you need to heat

the letter carefully. Try taping it toa
radiator for an hour. Or get an adult
to iron it gently (put a clean sheet of
paper over the letter first). It can also be warmed
in a low oven (100°C) for ten minutes. Don’t use an
iron or oven without asking an adult first.

Revealing Red Cabbage

Another way to reveal messages written with either
recipe is to use red cabbage water. Ask an adult to boil
half a red cabbage, chopped up, in a small saucepan
of water for fifteen minutes. Pour the water off into a
bowl through a sieve and leave it to cool. It will be dark
purple. You can save this water
and use a sponge to wipe it
over letters with invisible
messages on.

25
Stick It Under
the Grille
ere’s a Super-safe way to send a secret message to a
friend: a code grille. This method is best for sending
quite short messages.

How to do it
To send the message, you both need your own
1 copy of a book - exactly the same book, obviously!
It won’t work if you have an old hardback version
and your friend has a new paperback. You also need
some tracing paper and a pencil.

2? Choose a page with lots of words on it. Place a sheet

of tracing paper over the page and mark where the
corners of the page are.

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and

remember what peace there may be in silence. As far
as possible without surrender be on good terms with
all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and :
listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they &
too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are &
vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with
others, you may become yain or bitter; for always
there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is @ real possession in the changing fortunes of
time,Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the
world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to
what virtue there is; many persons strive for high
ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all
aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully

surrendering the things of youth, Nurture strength of
Spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not
distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears
are born of fatigue and loneliness,
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with
yourself, You are a child of the universe, no less than
the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
arcn
P
ine
er
Sites
onan
ircrvs
ERCP
ee
prc
Be
se
ater
Dard
Ne
64

26
3 Read the page through the tracing paper until you
find the first letter of your message on the page.
Draw a circle round it.

Carry on reading, looking for the second letter, third

letter, and so on. Ring each letter as you find it.

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and

remember what peace there may be in silence. As far
as possible without surrender be on good terms with
all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and
listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they
too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are
vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with
others, you may become vain or bitter; for always &
there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. i
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. :
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; t
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of
time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the ii
world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to :
what virtue there is; many persons strive for high :
ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. é
Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all E
aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the :
grass. é
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully
surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of Q
spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not i
distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears SS

are born of fatigue and loneliness. ‘

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with
yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than i
the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
i
64
g
y
Z

If you can’t find the next letter you need, just draw
it on the tracing paper.

When you’ve finished, write the page number in the

UI
OV corner of the tracing paper. Fold the tracing paper
up so you can pass it to your friend secretly.

Your friend finds the right page in their copy of the

book, puts the tracing paper on top and lines up the
corners, then reads the circled letters in order.

27
Time for you to do some grilling!
Copy this pattern on to tracing paper, and hold it over the
opposite page to reveal the hidden message.

Top right corner weg

Ee tea TO)
@Sijte@ O
O O Pa oes
O
O
O Oe
O O
O eRe)
OQ ps aaea) O
O Oise)
O

or.
Oe iw
O
OQ O
@) G
O Chee.
O

28
Nihicitiis maionsed magne sit et eossum harchil
modicimus ditaque dolupta veliquiamet officaborepe
aditios simolup tatquia vero di sum cus pero consend
itaturepero bla qui ilibusciis pellor aspeliquam faccus
autatiusa quam quas sitatem dolorio riassi totas nihil ipic
tem venimporpor simpe sum et rerestiurit facero volupta
quaest ommodigent et parum reicia alisit omnimus
dentis et, tem quid mincima gnihit experi qui apersperro
ium quis et etusamus doluptae perum nonestis ipitate
vent elum andae earumquodi aut debitae nonsera vit,
comnihilit, autat harum quis ulpa cupturibusa conem aut
esciae nullupti non nonsend antiber umquiae natibus
rerrum quaesti issimporum as molupti simus.

Ebitibus. At occus dolupicatem velic te cumque nit

acerum imus, consequia cone officta tassim quo dolore
velest, que dolorepta antiur, vent magnihit, aliquodi
nimentore vellupt atiorerum dis qui verist que volenestia
nullabo restrumet min corit, sima volorit lit alia venda.
Nulluptaque nobitin tetur? Miniateni ne nusandis illupta
tusdaesto offictem qui nam int dolora dolupta tiorum
et am, untotas reperisciam, cum ex erorrum quatus,
seque voluptatate dolorerrum hitem reius ant perum et
aut labo. Molent quod maximporum, to maionse ribusci
sit qui velent, seque volorum facilic iendend amustru
mendandunt et pratectempor maionse. Nequunt mo
dolupta exped qui cum voluptat moluptat.

Your answer

Answer on page 92

29
Cracking Caesar
t didn’t take long for clever people to work out how to
Hee any Caesar code, because there are two problems
with them. Firstly, there are only 25 different codes (you
can’t use A as a code key). And secondly, they work the
same way throughout the message, swapping letters so
that every A always becomes an H, for instance.

If you think a message was encoded with a Caesar code,

you can just try all 25 codes (with a code wheel) to see
which one works. It’s even easier if you think you know a
word hidden in the coded message.

For instance, if you know these messages contain the

word Caesar, it’s easy to spot which code key was used by
checking the table opposite. Can you solve the messages?

I) HYIXFW MEX F GFQi MFI

2) FYNM UYF ECKF WOYMUL
3) JUARER QBRF PNRFENE YVIR
Your answers

Answers on page 92

30
Code Key Word
A CAESAR
B DBFTBS
c ECGUCT
D FDHVDU
E GEIWEV
E HFJXFW
G IGKYGX
H JHLZHY
1
I KIMAIZ
J LJNBJA
K MKOCKB
L NLPDLC
M OMQEMD
N PNRFNE
O QOSGOF
P RPTHPG
Q SQUIQH
R TRVJRI
S USWKSJ
43 VTXLTK
U WUYMUL
V XVZNVM
WwW YWAOWN
X ZXBPXO
x a GQYP.
Z BZDRZQ
Shop Signals
ou can send a message using whatever is handy, as
long as you know how the code works.

A shopkeeper sends messages across the street to

her brother by arranging tins and packets in her shop
window in a special way. Here’s the code:

oe
T

W
“ og
X Y/Z

Hoe’
What is she saying today?

Your answer

Answer on page 93

33,
Scrt Shrthnd
n the seventeenth century, people working on
| al and in offices had to be able to write down
speeches - which meant writing really fast! They used
codes called shorthand.

Shorthand looks like a lot of squiggles. Each squiggle may

mean more than just a letter —- it could mean a sound,
part of a word or all of a word. And the squiggles can be
written as quickly as people talk. If no one knows how
to read your shorthand, it can even make a pretty good
secret code.

_ Famous Shorthand
- Possibly the most famous shorthand user was Samuel
Pepys (say it like ‘peeps’). He was born in London in 1633,
__ and lived through the English Civil War, the Fire of London
and the Black Death. He also had an important job in the
» navy, when Britain was fighting a war with Holland. His
diaries are interesting and funny, and he wrote them in
» shorthand — probably so he could write more quickly, but
possibly so his wife couldn’t read the rude bits!

4 2-44 c of f { R oe i Oy. ee Y a > 9) 2

Vv % — av
shee INGE es and hoe Ox o> =f ] Os Uf TW?

GAC WAS NE ee y? 6 ffwrun L- i a

1 Awa ~ Monkey 6 0 « mw 4 Set®

34
 Eh tety he IS Gin Bey toe, ea) ae

CO Bs Wyraepriry BILE Ay Rg ny

Dy ote sic GS VOM oot, AAMS ZA,

BesOad:
a fie
edibcieetings CaceLos:
+

YE etn tein lh Sak ge ell Sa

~ bom yhte
4 - > ro PP Sahara aaRiyen! Boe ere) B41,
Se Sn ge EF

How fast can you write?

Get a friend to read out the sentences below while you
try to write them down at the same time.

The quick brown fox Jumps over

a lazy dog. Pack my box with five
dozen liquor jugs. Six zips were
quickly picked from the woven jute
bag. The five boxing wizards jump
quickly.

Could you keep up? How many mistakes did you make?
Can your friend do better than you?

And did you notice anything unusual about the sentences

in the test?

Answer on page 93

35
Pigpen Code
he Freemasons is a secret club that’s rather
popular - there are millions of Masons today, divided
into groups called Lodges.

In the eighteenth century, Lodge leaders sent secret

messages to each other using a grid code called a pigpen.
Today there are still gravestones and buildings with
pigpen messages carved into them.

How to do it
1 Draw four grids and then draw in the alphabet, one
letter in each space, like this. Don’t forget the dots!

36
 The code for any letter is the shape of the grid
space it’s in.

So Ais | and O is |A |

Try encoding this message:

ey Od ON PL
Your answer

Now try working out what this coded message says:

a a > Sar a a |
UIITINGLIL >
Your answer

Answers on page 93

37
What does this message say?

SV LSETsence] Lae ee a
oo a pe EC)
Your answer

Can you encode this message?

ME IS REALL YPOWE

Answers on page 93
Now try sending your own messages.
Write your message, then work out the code.

OY
Not Waving,
But Signalling
ending codes by signals that people can see is
San semaphore. The most well-known method
of signalling this way involves waving your arms about!
There is a different arm position for every letter.

These little figures show where to put your arms.

Semaphore flags make it easier to see where your arms
are from a distance, but you could use handkerchiefs or
hats if you haven’t got flags.

The pictures show what you see when you're looking at

someone else’s semaphore — you need to reverse arms
when you’re sending a semaphore message.

40
 O — © 6 of
kt rf ia

At) Br Bio CR 3) SD (e4) CLE (& 5}

_“
=
Ga O Oo O O

4H" He "s k
oa = ; A

F (& 6) G(&7) H(&8) 1(&9) J

ft AC a ap %
OC

K (& 0)
of

i
O

M
O

N
Oxo

5 ° > o) or # ¢ %
| bp | he! |Aw .

P Q R S ali

A Error Numbers’ Space

or Attention follow or Rest

4
What do these messages say?

44g 0
RET TAR
Your answer

_ B-P’s semaphore writing

_ Lord Baden-Powell worked out that you
could write semaphore as well. Just draw
__ the arm-shapes for each letter, joining
them together into a wiggly line. Start
at the top or the bottom. Adding dots
between the shapes can help to make it
_ clearer. You could then disguise
the line as a pattern in the edge
of a picture.

This says HELLO - can you read it?

 igs
MAPICS
Your answer

Answers on page 93

Try writing your name in semaphore writing.

43
That’s Handy
ou can use your hands to ‘talk’, using sign language.
There are many different sign languages around the
world, each with local ‘accents’, just like speech. Around
20,000 people use British Sign Language every day.

Soldiers also have their own simple sign language, for

when they have to keep quiet on a mission.

You may have seen sign language on television, for

viewers who can’t hear well.

Something Special
_ If you’ve seen Something Special on CBeebies, then
~ you’ve seen Justin (and Mr Tumble) using Makaton,
a group of signs and pictures based on British Sign
Language that even babies can learn before they speak.
Here are the signs for ‘mum’ and ‘dad’.

tap twice

MUM DAD

4
Have a go!
You know more sign language than you think. How could
you ‘say’ these phrases to a friend on the other side of
the room, using only your hands?

Hello
Do you want a drink?
Good
Stop/

Be quiet
| can't hear you
There's a phone call for you
Come here
GO forsieep
| dont understand

Can you think of any other phrases you can ‘say’ with
your hands?

45
Talking Fingers
f you think sign language is interesting, see if you and a
friend can learn this version that only uses one hand.

This is the alphabet in American Sign Language. Rather

than spell out whole words, you could just use the first
letter —- so instead of signing ‘Hello James’ you could sign
‘HJ’ instead.

What does this say?

Your answer

Answer on page 93

46
at
Can you read this message?

Your answer

Answer on page 93

46
‘England Expects
That Every Man
Will Do His Duty’
he British navy used to use flags to send messages
from ship to ship. Admiral Nelson sent this famous
announcement just before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Every ship carried dozens of flags. There was a different

flag for every letter of the alphabet, and every number,
and others for things like asking questions. The biggest
flags were almost ten metres wide!

Rather than spelling out whole words, which would take

ages, Nelson used a navy code. It only used ten flags, for
the numbers 0 to 9. All the words and phrases he might
need were turned into numbers, using a code book. So to
say ‘England’, which was ‘253’, three flags were tied to a
rope and hauled up the mast so that other ships could
see. Then those flags were pulled down, and the flags for
‘269’ were raised next — meaning ‘expects’.

Heavy Code
The navy code books had covers made of lead. This
meant they would sink quickly when they were thrown
overboard, if the enemy captured your ship. It also meant
. they stayed still in a storm!

49
After signalling ‘England expects that every man will
do his duty’, as the battle was about to begin, Nelson
signalled ‘Engage the enemy more closely’ - which used
only two number flags in code: ‘16’.

In just two hours the British won the battle, but Nelson
was seriously wounded and died later that day.

Here are the flags for A to Z and 0 to 9. To colour them in

you will need red, yellow and blue. If part of a flag has R
in it, colour it red; if it has Y in it, colour it yellow; and
colour a shape blue if it has a B in it. The other areas will
be white or black.

Ee,
es ee
cs. 50
_ Blue Peter
» The flag for P is a blue square around a white square. It is
_ known as the ‘Blue Peter’, and is hoisted by a ship to call
- everyone on board, as it is about to set sail and head off
on a journey. That’s why the TV show is called Blue Peter
» and has a sailing ship as its logo.
abe:
iO
Now you know the flags, use them to decorate things.
These flags have meanings you could use.

B: Iam discharging E: The crew are eating

dangerous cargo (for (for the kitchen)
the bathroom door)

Swe
¥.
L: Infectious disease
LS
M: I have stopped

VA
aboard, stay clear (for moving (for when
your bedroom door you’ve gone to bed)
when you have a cold)

eee
O: Man overboard (for
a.
V: I require assistance
when you’ve gone out) (for when your homework
is too hard)
Zigzag or Swap?
he American Civil War (1861-5), between the
northern and southern states, was fought over
slavery — the south wanted to keep it, the north wanted
to ban it.

Both sides used many different codes, which often

involved mixing up a message to make it unreadable.
Here are two of them.

Zigzag Code
Use a pencil to draw a big zigzag across some lined
paper. Keep it neat, so you always start and stop on
the same lines, like this.

a4
We Write your message along the zigzag one letter
at a time, with each letter going where the zigzag
crosses a line. Fill the zigzag with letters if your
message is too short.

3 Copy your message out again, reading across the

lines.

WRLXRUMEISIOEGKITYSAEHEST
This is what you send to your friend.

To unravel a zigzag message, draw another neat

4. zigzag. This time, write the message out one line at
a time, with each letter going where the line crosses
the zigzag.

<*
fs

So.
Solve these messages.

DPIXOULARDWD IFGNNNKARUAEO

COTA PIEK NS
IWECYUTOLIONS

es he : i

Your answers

Answers on page 93

50
Now try sending your own messages.

DST
Swap Code
Squared paper is useful for this code. Start by
numbering four columns like this. Remember the
order - 2431.
2 4 e |

2 Write your message in rows under the numbers.

—-zO-ErnN
F
Ft
COZY
me
7)
We 41S)

Now write the message out again, but swap the

columns so the numbers are in order.

2
W
|
OQ
N
6)BET
| Oe
So
= PYF
CUTZ
F
(pee
 The coded message is read off down the columns,
from left to right - ignoring the numbers.

TRATY WION| ABNSK HSAWDC

This is what you send to your friend.

To decode the message, write the numbers again

5 (2431, remember). Then write the message down
in columns, starting under the 1. Try it with this
message — it’s been started for you. Fill in column 2
next.

ETILSX TTHHI GOORE OTEED

inde
taie ai
E
~
--
>
Xx
Read the decoded message one row at a time. There
may be letters at the end you can ignore - they were
added to fill out the space.
Your answer

Answer on page 93

SY
Now solve these swap codes.

COKHQ KKCOE ONWTE NKKSR

Your answer

MMOTE HAEET WYDIK ONNSA

Your answer

Answers on page 93

60
Baden-Powell’s
Butterflies
B Pre for British military intelligence in the
es late nineteenth century. He travelled around
the Mediterranean, pretending to be a butterfly collector
while secretly drawing military forts, noting the position
and size of their guns.

Here is one of the forts that Baden-Powell spied on. He

noted the position and size of the guns.

|
Then he hid the plan in a drawing of a butterfly. Some
of the blobs on the wings show the size of the guns, and
lines lead from the blobs to their position in the fort.

Here are some other drawings that need disguising. What

can you turn them into so your enemies won’t suspect
you are spying?

O2
o3
My Way
on the Highway
n the 1950s, British road signs were very confusing.
When drivers went faster, they didn’t have time to
read complicated signs as they drove past them. To make
things worse, different places had different styles of sign.
To end the confusion, the Highway Code was introduced:
a standard set of bright, clear signs.

All round signs give orders - things you have to do. All
triangular signs give warnings - things you should look
out for. And other shapes give different instructions. The
signs we have today were designed and drawn by just two
people, Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert, between 1957
and 1967.

.
Here are a few of the signs you should help your parents
to watch out for!

ln
Stop at the Speed cameras Give way
white line ahead ahead to traffic at
junction
20mph speed limit No entry No stopping

No cycling No right turn All traffic must

go this way

Wild animals Slippery road Children

Pedestrians Roadworks Railway crossing

on road with no barrier

@5
Can You Get
There from Here?
ake your way across town from the start to the
finish, obeying all the traffic signs on the way.

oO
Answer on page 94
It’s Morse,
of Course
MM: code is probably the most widely used code
ever. It was quick and simple, and could be sent in
many ways. It was widely used until the 1990s.

In the 1840s, Americans knew how to send electric

signals through long wires - the electric telegraph.* But
they couldn’t work out how turn the signals into sound
yet, so they needed another way to send messages.

At first the signals would make a little needle tap on to

a strip of paper in a pattern that operators could learn
to read. But soon the operators realized they could
understand the message more quickly by just listening to
the clicking noise the needle made - they didn’t need the
paper.

Morse code is made up of short and long

ms Signals that could be sent by telegraph
ay with a single button, called a key.
The operator pressed the key
to start a signal, and let go to
stop. They listened to signals
with headphones or a
loudspeaker.

* Poles holding up phone lines are still called telegraph poles.

08
Operators learned and practised Morse by saying the
codes, ‘dit’ or ‘di’ for a short signal and ‘dah’ for a long
signal. So A is ‘di-dah’. The international distress signal,
SOS, is ‘di-di-dit dah-dah-dah di-di-dit’.

Morse worked well by telegraph, between two places

linked by a wire. It worked even better by radio, as it
meant messages could finally be sent to ships at sea, or
aeroplanes, or armies on the move. It still worked when
the radio signal was too weak to transmit voices.

Morse can be sent quickly by expert operators, because

letters that are more common in English, like E and T,
are shorter and easier to send than uncommon letters
like X and Q.

Key
o =m Ueo mm
| Vecom=
a © mE © Wem ma
—=m © @ X Ze 0 mm
& Yume a am
eo mm e ZZ © ©
a]
ee
ee
e 1 6 oe oe oe eee
© mm e6 6 200 i aa law
aa Sae 36060060 i laa
= © 4e06e000 i=
me 5@@ee¢ee
ol mw e 6 Mm™eee eo
ma 8 Ee 7 =m mmee 6
© im 6 S am mam Game 6
eee ° = i aa mam 6
HNDAOVOZZrMAM“TAMMUAWD
ce 0 ma a me Gert Bae

oF
 Murderer caught by Morse
In 1910 Henry Crippen killed his wife and tried to escape
to Canada by ship with his girlfriend Ethel. The captain
was suspicious, because Ethel was disguised as a boy.
_ He sent a Morse message back to the police in Britain,
and a detective set off after the couple on a faster ship.
He arrested Crippen before he landed in Canada.

What does this Morse message say?

=i aie cae

en) ay Oks eve | Sey eee tyae Ro

Da AineEs Oy gs

ie eee

Your answer

70
 CaO

ed
Eg
a OL a aM

ae
2

Can you write the Morse for this message?

Will there be chips

Your answer

Answers on page 94

7
 Flash Bang Morse
Morse can be sent in many ways apart from the telegraph
or radio. You could flash a light; ships used to do this
to send messages when they thought enemies might be
_ picking up their radio signals. Or you can tap the code out
on a metal pipe — prisoners have done this to ‘talk’ to their
friends in other cells.

Solve this morse message.

anf
a Sf & TRB, [Bo

ef Oe ne

iy anceele fl?

BOG (Moms OE Ss PS

Your answer

Answer on page 94

(OZ
Your Very Own
Code Book
elegraph wires connected the whole world by 1900.
But the public didn’t have to learn Morse code to use
them — they just went to the Telegraph Office. You wrote
out your message on a form, and an operator sent it by
Morse code. At the other end your message was typed
out on paper and delivered straight away by a messenger.
This was called a telegram.

You paid for every word you wrote, so telegrams were

short, used codes, and missed words out. Sounds
familiar? Yes, they were tweeting and texting over a
hundred years ago!

To save money on telegrams you could buy a code book

that turned long common phrases into single words.
There were several different ones, often written to help
businesses dealing with suppliers and agents in other
countries — sending telegrams abroad was REALLY
expensive!

‘Happy Birthday to You’

- You could pay a bit extra to have a pretty printed telegram
- for a special occasion, like a birthday. Or you could pay
more and have your message sung by the messenger —
a Singing Telegram. You can still get Singing Telegrams
today, usually involving fancy dress!

73
For example, the Unicode Universal Telegraphic Phrase-Book
said that instead of sending ‘I am unable to work today,
send a messenger with any letters’ you should just send
Anxietas. Memoratus meant ‘Have not received any
letter from you. Write at once.’ Abneptis meant ‘Had an
accident, come as quickly as you can.’

Your Code Words

You could use a similar system to send messages quickly
and secretly. You need to agree with your friends what
these words mean to you — here are some suggestions to
get you started. Write out a copy of your code book for
your friend and keep it secret!

I can’t talk now, people are listening Aurifex

Meet me at our usual place Absolvo

I can’t meet as we arranged Agilitas

Ben ee ae ee SME CRORE eR ne ees Candesco

OS ree ye ee Le Se ORC ENT Chelonia

Be AR RO SN Se oO a RENO TL ee Curiosus

B50 STAD aliasgl cata aes)SoeNR a ie aa Deformis

Vi aces. aephegs Syteihlaan 9 asym peels aS aR Ger ree _ Dormisco

ib gh, 5 OTE Bs Oe see See 2k SY sas Folium

T4
o Teitere: [erre: eae «eke ls) Rive, eWel eS) levis’ ‘oh eile) se” 4. s\lalte TebelLivtie es 6) 4) 6. a0 3: Forfex

S58 Lomi Fey ore oun] te) Omens Te. 16's) ees eae) te, fee) (el b) elie Tee” wile les erate a ee Imprecor

©) e, emeyialce) (oie Melle) -m.lene: .¢/.1¢1 1&6) (606 (ole: e! eieNeire' (3)(6 8b) hie’ le «sie! 8. 6 8 se Inflammo

SA, CONG Sree ee) lelue! isle is: (ele: (9... ee] (8) 6.0: (6) 6,(a) 66 6, 6:6) 6. a6. 6 0. 6 66 Majestas

a; 97 ee ollph wee vel feewn eoiisis.> wis: Yee) 8:felis’ ee i6: 66: lei/e,0@ ie) 6 tal a! 2,(enlehe Mordax

preva, )6. el te! #wi/.es ete) te’ ce, 0 8) (0) 1 6) SC e 0k e os: 0 ove “s. '* 9 0 oe 8) 0, 6 “e060 Nimio

9) 0) 6.50 e) am erte) @ (ejpelsayre) tee (ele! Te) 9 e Te.s jeltel te 6) Ses Of ov ah alata: eos ete Nugator

2: G28) a) SONNE Oe Sigie (6S 10\48, 0 (6 8.16/0 le) 6 (6. \e' eto wilis el 6.06 (6.0) 6 ‘el 6. 816. 6 Oblivio

a (ooo 5e .cule@ke! mS) ©, 60) (5, 6) 4 \e: 6)“6 Je" <@ (0/8) \¢) 01£0; 6: 6:9) 1e 0! 0) 0) 01 0 16: 0 0 6. Opulus

Parumper

pole .e) viele Apice: ele) aie! <e, 16Lo .8 Ue) 8,1esei ve: 6. © (69 1p!te.'s Gatie| ‘ele 01's] ise) #0 Propola

piekwirel! sie) eel eis -< We) 76)ce7 6) 610) 6 (0 0) 6) 6) 10) (6 (6 0)(6) 0) 9.0. 8 (ee) Je. 6) 0) 0) 6 16 Rejectus

(eto po Male) 6) Bip ie os PU CNYS op ehe a Leica) & ie) lo fede Oe iS) 0 6) oe foo elie “o's Rigatio

ee) ce) s |e iw) el 8) wo (aw 6 ism 10! le, #9 @! 06) 8)‘ey (6) 0)18: ‘0 (@ (014; o 'e: @-18\,.60'.0, "6 Saxifer

ia ae wirepie; je” 8) 0 vice. 6 © er 9. oe 6 © (6 19.Je, “@ @ © ie -0: ©; © 980 [e, 0)(6, 6 0 10,10 Sigma

a. 0) a)fe 1) ce 16 lelalhoclic © ©) 0. <4 6 wlieile we! sue 6.6 .6'- siielienelels 9 6 6 6 ‘ese Venetus

a) a! al(a) bid we <6 e)Je. epetet w, © vel 1610) (e)//er 411@> i) 18" '6) 01.0: .¥.c6: 18) e106) © Gi sive 16 od Viridis

{5
Bravo, Charlie!
adio messages weren’t always clear and easy to hear.
The problems got even worse when people from
different countries were trying to speak to each other.
Spelling out words could be confusing, because some
letters sound alike - was that M or N?

The answer was to use a word instead of each letter of

the alphabet. This is called a phonetic alphabet. There
have been different versions over the years. In the First
World War this was used:

Ack Beer Charlie Don Edward

Freddie Gee Harry Ink johnnie
King London eMma Nuts Oranges
Pip Queen Robert eSses Toc

Uncle Vic William X-ray Yorker

Zebra

In the Second World War, soldiers were using this version:

Able Baker Charlie Dog Easy
Fox George How Item Jig
King Love Mike Nan Oboe
Peter Queen Roger Sugar Tare

Uncle Victor William X-ray Yoke

Zebra

76
In the 1950s, a standard phonetic alphabet was chosen
for all international radio signals. Ships, aircraft, armies
and the police all over the world use it today.

Alpha Bravo Charlie

Delta Echo Foxtrot
Golf Hotel India
Juliet Kilo Lima
Mike November Oscar
Papa Quebec Romeo
Sierra Tango Uniform
Victor Whiskey X-ray
Yankee Zulu |
How many of these words do you know?
Can you write your name with them below?

Have a go!

ati
Wartime Tweets
Y° may feel very modern putting LOL at the end of
your texts. But soldiers writing home in the early
twentieth century did exactly the same thing.

They were only given small cards to write on, to save

paper and postal costs. This meant there was only room
for a few words, so they used acronyms, words where
every letter stands for another word - like LOL stands for
Laugh Out Loud.

What do you think these acronyms meant when soldiers

wrote them ninety years ago?

SWALK
a) Sealed With A Loving Kiss

b) Shall We Always Love Kindly

ITALY
a) I Try And Like You

b) I Trust And Love You

HOLLAND
a) Hope Our Love Lasts And Never Dies

b) Have One Last Look At New Deal

78
 WALES
a) With A Love Eternal, Sweetheart

b) We Are Laughing Every Second

FRANCE
a) Final Romantic Advice: Never Chew Eggs

b) Friendship Remains And Never Can End

BOLROF
a) Better On Lips Than On Paper

b) Boring Old Lady Trying On Pants

Answers on page 94

(a
Crossword Code
ecret messages to spies have been hidden in
Se. - in the crossword. Solve this crossword,
and then read the letters in the grey squares to spell out
a message. All the answers are in this book.

Across
1 What was the Freemasons’ code called?

3 Who commanded the British Navy at Trafalgar?

6 What sign language is used on Something Special?

9 What is a message sent by waving flags called?

10 What is a message sent by electric telegraph called?

11 Who was the Roman general who became emperor?

Down
2 What is the phonetic alphabet word for E?

4 What method helped Samuel Pepys to

write quickly?

5 What vegetable can reveal invisible messages?

6 Which code is made of dits and dahs?

ie Which London airport has the code LHR?

8 Which Greek invented a code better than Caesar’s?

50
 Answers on page 95

61
Read Your
Cornflakes
Me must have seen these little pictures on
packaging - but do you what do they mean?
Can you match each symbol to its meaning?

Fragile
Keep dry
This way up
Can be recycled
Dispose of This
packaging carefully
Made from responsibly managed
wood
The person who supplied this
product was paid a fair price
This product meets European
safety standards

B82
Answers on page 95
Calling
Inspector Sands
ome places use special codes to tell staff something
without the public knowing. These are all phrases
you might hear in a rail station, shopping centre or
hospital. Four are ordinary messages that the public
can understand, and four are codes for the staff that
have a secret meaning. Can you spot the important
announcements?

The store will

be closing in
Ten minutes.

Code Adam,
Code Adam.
Code Blue,
room 4iI7.

Passengers are
reminded to take all
their luggage with
them.

84
 Who is Mr Sands?
_ Old theatres were dangerous places, because they had lots
_ of candles and gaslights that could catch fire. So buckets
of sand were kept handy, to throw over fires and put them
_ out. And if anyone spotted a fire, they would shout ‘Mr
Sands!’ rather than ‘fire!’ — which might make people in
the audience panic.

Calling Inspector Sands,

Inspector Sands To
Platform 6.

Cleaner to the
checkouts,
please.

Mister Strong To
Tye Maingenirance,
please.

Could Mr Roberts
come To reception
where his daughter
is waiting for him.
Answers on page 96

85
Where in the
World?
LHR = London Heathrow

BOS = Boston

50
E airport in the world has its own three-letter
code. When you check in your luggage to go on
holiday, the code for your destination is put on your bags
so they get sent to the right place.

This map shows the location of ten airports and their

codes. Can you connect the names to the right places?

PEK = Beijing (Peking

SYD = Sydne ®
ae : Answers on page 96

67
Sorted
lothes have codes on their labels that explain how
they should be washed. Here are some of the pictures
you see on clothes labels, and what they mean.

\30"| Cool wash C) Dry-clean only

(30°)

Warm wash Do not tumble-dry

(40°)

Hot wash Cool iron

(60°)

\20"| Very hot wash pc not iron

(90°)

yiHand wash only HHH] Drip dry

66
Can you sort these items into the right baskets?

WARM HOT HAND DRY-

WASH WASH WASH {CLEAN

Answers on page 96

89
Pick a Proper
Password
hey may not seem like codes, but the passwords you
choose when you’re online need to be secret.

It’s a bad idea to use the same password for every website
you visit. If someone looks over your shoulder and spots
your password, they could get into all your different
accounts and get you into trouble.

It’s even better if you can remember them without

writing them down. There’s a trick to doing this — you
make your passwords from two parts: a part about you,
and a part about the site you’re visiting.

How to do it
For the part about you, choose something you can
definitely always remember. It could be your name
(all of it or just part), your favourite colour or an
animal. For example:

GaR|S BRED iy:

4 For the part about the site you visit, use the first
four or five letters of the site’s name (after the
‘www’). For example:

fACeE MATH OUT

70
3 The whole password is both parts together.
For example:

ene aa Manone
CHRISMATH
CHRISYOUT
4 To make it harder to guess, mix up capital and
small letters in the password.

CHRISface
chrisMATH
cHrisYoUT
5 And if you want to make your passwords really
really good, swap some letters with numbers or
other characters. These are good swaps, because the
numbers look a bit like the letters and are easy to
remember:
1 forlori ZiorZ o17, “Store ore
4forAora SforSors 6forGorg
7 for Lor 1 8forBorb OforOoro

So now your passwords look like these:

CHRI5f4c3
chrisM4TH
cHhrisYour
No one will ever guess those!

91
Answers
Caesar’s Secrets
Page 7: PFL RIV SVZEX NRKTYVU
Page 8: HAVE YOU WORKED THIS OUT

Wheel Out the Code Wheel

Page 13: W KIX QI EFMWGYMX
GET IT YOURSELF

Possibly Polybius
Page 17: 2-3/1-5/3-1/3-5 3-2/1-5
Page 18: 4-3/4-4/3-4/3-5

Super Steganography
Page 21: GO TO THE HIDEOUT
Page 22: Read the letters with dots under them.
I DON’T WANT TO GO EITHER!

Page 23: Read the letters moved up or down.

HAVE YOU GOT ANY SWEETS

Stick It Under the Grille

Page 29: MEET ME AFTER SCHOOL IN THE TREE HOUSE
BRING SOME FOOD

Cracking Caesar
Page 30: 1) CAESAR HAS A BALD HEAD, code key F.
2) LET’S ALL KILL CAESAR, code key U.
3) WHERE DOES CAESAR LIVE, code key N.

G2
Shop Signals
Page 33: CAN YOU BRING ME A CUP OF TEA PLEASE
Scrt Shrthnd
Page 35: All the sentences in the writing test contain
every single letter of the alphabet. Sentences like this are
called pangrams.

ee el Nal
Pigpen Code

Soin eNO aaa ala

IT IS INTHE BATHROOM

Page 38: DON’T TRUST THE CHICKEN

ele le
ee ZX IN
Not Waving, But Signalling
Page 42: HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Page 43: THANKS VERY MUCH
Talking Fingers
Page 46: YOU EAT BOGEYS
Page 48: YOU NEED TO WASH YOUR HANDS
Zigzag or Swap?
Page 56: DOWN AND UP LIKE A FAIRGROUND
CAN YOU STOP IT NOW I FEEL SICK

Page 59: TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE

Page 60: KNOCK KNOCK WHO’S THERE

HOW MANY MEN DOES IT TAKE

7S
Can You Get
There from Here?
Page 66:

It’s Morse, of Course

Page 70: COME QUICKLY TEA IS READY
Page 71:¢--/ee/e-ee/e-ee
—-[ecee/e/eoe-—e/e
—eeceece/e
—e-e/ecsceoe/ee/e--e/ece

Page 72: NOT ANY MORE THE DOG ATE YOURS

Wartime Tweets
Page 78-9:
SWALK = Sealed With A Loving Kiss
ITALY = I Trust And Love You
HOLLAND = Hope Our Love Lasts And Never Dies
WALES = With A Love Eternal, Sweetheart
FRANCE = Friendship Remains And Never Can End
BOLTOP = Better On Lips Than On Paper

94
Crossword Code Page 80-81:

The highlighted
words spell HELLO.

Read Your Cornflakes Page 82-3:

Can be a®y : = The person who
recycled
ue e supplied this product
was paid a fair price
thy. This product meets
Keep dry sates C E Eupeas
safety standards

This way up 11 / } Made from

responsibly
mea
managed wood
S
Fragile f? Dispose of this
= packaging carefully
Calling Inspector Sands Page 84-5:
‘Inspector Sands’ means a fire alarm has gone off ina
railway station and needs to be checked by staff before
alerting passengers.
‘Code Blue’ is a medical emergency, needing special
doctors.
‘Mister Strong’ is asking for security guards to help with
a violent customer.
‘Code Adam’ means a child has gone missing in a shop
and staff should watch the exits.

Where in the world? Page 86-7:

1 = LAX/Los Angeles, 2 = MEX/Mexico City, 3 = BOS/Boston

4 = MAD/Madrid, 5 = LHR/London Heathrow,
6 = BER/Berlin, 7 = CAI/Cairo, 8 = PEK/Beijing,
9 = HKG/Hong Kong, 10 = SYD/Sydney.

Sorted Page 89:

Warm wash: d, h and k. Hot wash: a, g and 1.
Hand wash: b, f and i. Dry-clean: c, e and j.

GO
 ~The TOP SECRET Code Book is
"V\\” packed with A etalebb etemtcoye|
oTtare Mi
Coll aa o\viar-lolelbm aet-Vebelemr-vele!
breaking the cleverest codes around.

S
With the help of this book you’ll soon be
communicating with your friends in secret
languages such as Morse, semaphore,
pigpen code and sign language. You’ll
learn how to make a code wheel, create
your own invisible ink, and even get a
message to a friend who is right at the
other end of the playground.
Just make sure you keep your
new code skills TOP SECRET ...