Goosegirdle Posted 3 October , 2017 Share Posted 3 October , 2017 This is from an early 1918 diary of a cadet at OTC. Any ideas of what this is? H.T., uhihtl rh hfl lwuf tht ntitft tw oefl hteu. Ctt tuw, oiw witwf & ihre. Ettt oiw hthef utlftulhp titfefte Ett oiw witwf then titfeft. Iwil uhih. Wootfltl oiw. Ihtt ohih, nihitl otfit. Heihtl rh uith hteii uhw uhel nht uhn hfrintipehel. Ettt hti hthef weflhp titfeftn Aeiip lel fwt trif rhy then titfeft. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 3 October , 2017 Share Posted 3 October , 2017 one for the welsh members Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knotty Posted 3 October , 2017 Share Posted 3 October , 2017 If this has come from Percy Smythe's diary, my own thinking is that the OCR reader messed up on try to recognise those sentences, but they still made it into print. I can't believe it is a language , however willing to be proven wrong,- any code breakers out there? Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clive_hughes Posted 3 October , 2017 Share Posted 3 October , 2017 Not the Language of Heaven! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPT Posted 3 October , 2017 Share Posted 3 October , 2017 In the foreword, Smythe's daughter, who transcribed the diary said that it is a code. I don't like "Ettt" though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knotty Posted 4 October , 2017 Share Posted 4 October , 2017 Thank you for that snippet IPT, I have never fully read through his diary so had no idea that it is mentioned in the foreword. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 4 October , 2017 Share Posted 4 October , 2017 10 hours ago, IPT said: In the foreword, Smythe's daughter, who transcribed the diary said that it is a code. I don't like "Ettt" though. Never mind, have a 'titfeft' or three! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPT Posted 4 October , 2017 Share Posted 4 October , 2017 My comma drill is getting poorer and poorer. I did run it through a few online code breaking tools, but it would take a lot more time than i've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 4 October , 2017 Share Posted 4 October , 2017 The Field Service Pocket Book gives an illustration of the use of the Playfair cipher, based on a 5x5 square grid (I and J doubling up) but without knowing the key word it is virtually impossible to break. It is unlikely to be a simple substitution cipher, because "Ettt" would still decode as a word with three consecutive letters the same, which eliminates English and most other languages. I do agree that it is a code, and possibly its use had been the subject of a recent lecture at the OTC, and he was just practising. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosegirdle Posted 5 October , 2017 Author Share Posted 5 October , 2017 Hi, Knotty and IPT, well recognised. It is from Percy Smythe's Diary. Thanks for all those replies, "Ettt" threw me too. Percy does mention the Playfair cipher somewhere in the diary, so Ron's answer looks good. There is not much I can do in the podcast other than to identify that there were 4 sentences in code that can't be de-ciphered. In case you hadn't seen the posts in here on the podcast, here is the direct download link to Episode 2.1. The quality has improved in the 32 episodes recorded since then. New microphone, more experience in tech and delivery on my part, etc: http://traffic.libsyn.com/6bobaday/Episode_2.1_Percy_Smythe_Build_up_that_chest.mp3 Thanks, Phil Mannell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaySearching Posted 5 October , 2017 Share Posted 5 October , 2017 Percy Smythes Diary Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 5 October , 2017 Share Posted 5 October , 2017 to do anything the key word would be needed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 5 October , 2017 Share Posted 5 October , 2017 (edited) I am not a cryptographer but the Playfair code came about in1854 and continued to be used until 1942 when its weaknesses were pointed out to the SOE by the brilliant code-breaker Leo Marks. His book Between Silk and Cyanide is hugely informative on the subject and at the same time very humorous. I do not know if this will help but there is a chance if it is Playfair you can find an encode on the net if that is what this code is. TR Edited 5 October , 2017 by Terry_Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healdav Posted 6 October , 2017 Share Posted 6 October , 2017 13 hours ago, johnboy said: to do anything the key word would be needed Playfair was a pretty simple code, so, if you want to go into frequency distriburio of letters, it may not be too difficult to find the codeword. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 6 October , 2017 Share Posted 6 October , 2017 beyond me but would be good if someone finds it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullerTurner Posted 6 October , 2017 Share Posted 6 October , 2017 The multiple TSB in ettt are not filling one with confidence, until you consider it might be a number of course? Still no nearer the bull! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helpjpl Posted 6 October , 2017 Share Posted 6 October , 2017 (edited) H.T., - the first letters of someones name? http://www.dcode.fr/playfair-cipher JP Edited 6 October , 2017 by helpjpl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 6 October , 2017 Share Posted 6 October , 2017 15 hours ago, RaySearching said: Percy Smythes Diary Ray Ray, thanks for posting. It amused me to identify the various locations around Cambridge. Incidentally, the bike shop in Mill Road (18 March 1918) is still there! Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosegirdle Posted 8 October , 2017 Author Share Posted 8 October , 2017 On 10/6/2017 at 23:27, Ron Clifton said: Ray, thanks for posting. It amused me to identify the various locations around Cambridge. Incidentally, the bike shop in Mill Road (18 March 1918) is still there! Ron Ron, I'd love to see a photo of that bikeshop! Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosegirdle Posted 8 October , 2017 Author Share Posted 8 October , 2017 (edited) I wonder if Percy wrote the code word in the margin of his diary (That would make sense)! Unfortunately, his daughter passed away a few years ago, so the Smythe's may have difficulty locating the original, I have asked them to look at the original if they can locate it. Phil Edited 8 October , 2017 by Goosegirdle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 8 October , 2017 Share Posted 8 October , 2017 2 hours ago, Goosegirdle said: Ron, I'd love to see a photo of that bikeshop! Phil https://www.instantstreetview.com/@52.197236,0.146506,0h,31.21p,0.4z Pity about the scaffolding! Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosegirdle Posted 14 October , 2017 Author Share Posted 14 October , 2017 Thanks Ron! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosegirdle Posted 22 October , 2017 Author Share Posted 22 October , 2017 Thanks again folks The episode is in production, will be a couple of weeks, maybe, before I release it. The one before it, Episode 3.25 is here: http://traffic.libsyn.com/6bobaday/Episode_2.35_A_very_manly_letter.mp3 Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosegirdle Posted 3 November , 2017 Author Share Posted 3 November , 2017 Thanks folks, Here is the link to the episode. Unfortunately the code remains unbroken. http://traffic.libsyn.com/6bobaday/Episode_2.36_The_sports_strike.mp3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healdav Posted 4 November , 2017 Share Posted 4 November , 2017 How about sending it to "Only Connect". They do this every week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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