Spy letters show secret orders sent ahead of VE Day
Newly declassified documents reveal GCHQ 's key role in disseminating news of Germany's unconditional surrender on VE Day.
A letter from General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, to GCHQ, timestamped 8:30 am on May 7, 1945, instructed Allied forces to 'cease all offensive operations'.
The documents highlight the excitement among GCHQ staff upon receiving news of the surrender, with annotations revealing their eagerness to share the information.
Another document, dated May 4, 1945, shows that GCHQ staff were among the first to know about the impending war's end.
GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler expressed pride in the agency's contribution to ending WWII.
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