The entrance to Pembroke Park

Image: © Marathon Taken: 31 Jan 2018

The new housing development of Pembroke Park takes its name from the Second World War base HMS Pembroke V. From 1943 to 1945 it was an outstation of the Government Code and Cipher School (GC & CS) at Bletchley Park and as such played a significant role in deciphering enemy signals. The site was home to 800 Wrens who worked on 110 ‘bombes’ electro-mechanical decoding machines with the support of 100 RAF technicians. After the War, (GC & CS) changed its name to Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and moved to this site. It remained here until the relocation of most of its functions to Cheltenham in the early 1950s. A small unit remained at Eastcote until the late 1970s. The names of the roads and some of the buildings in Pembroke Park were chosen to reflect the history of the site. This is the view from the entrance off Eastcote Road. The information here is taken from a memorial plaque on the brick structure in the foreground with the wreath of poppies on it.

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