The "unbreakable" coded message found on the skeleton of a dead World War II carrier pigeon has finally been broken, reports the Telegraph.
A team of Canadian researchers believe the message was sent by a British Army paratrooper sent to occupied Normandy to scout German tank and infantry groupings for RAF Bomber Command.
The code was found by David Martin when he was restoring his old fireplace.
Carrier pigeons were an integral part of D-Day invasion plans
Martin's house in Surrey is close to the hotel in Reigate where General Montgomery secretly planned the D-Day invasion and kept military pigeon lofts.
It was sent to the 'Pigeons at War' exhibition but stumped experts there as the original log books used to decipher messages had been destroyed.
Even the code breakers at GCHQ did not have any success.
The contains 27 codes - each made up of combinations of five numbers and letters, and was addressed to X02
According to the Daily Mail, Canadian, Gord Young who works at Lakefield Heritage Research in Ontario, eventually provided the material needed for decryption, a First World War artillery code book.
Young believes the code was sent by 27-year-old Sergeant William Stott, a paratrooper from the Lancashire Fusiliers.
It reads: "Artillery observer at 'K' Sector, Normandy. Requested headquarters supplement report. Panzer attack - blitz. West Artillery Observer Tracking Attack.
"Lt Knows extra guns are here. Know where local dispatch station is. Determined where Jerry's headquarters front posts. Right battery headquarters right here.
"Found headquarters infantry right here. Final note, confirming, found Jerry's whereabouts. Go over field notes. Counter measures against Panzers not working.
David Martin originally thought it could have been a racing pigeon
"Jerry's right battery central headquarters here. Artillery observer at 'K' sector Normandy. Mortar, infantry attack panzers.
"Hit Jerry's Right or Reserve Battery Here. Already know electrical engineers headquarters. Troops, panzers, batteries, engineers, here. Final note known to headquarters."
More deciphering is required although Young believes extra bits of code may have been inserted to confuse the enemy if they got their hands on it.