"It was also a chance to look to our future - to the unprecedented rate of change and extraordinary opportunities of the digital age.When Tony Comer, GCHQ's historian, revealed the cipher machine, one of two carried on the Royal Yacht in the 1960’s, Prince Charles remarked: "I'm so glad you kept this”."We're making the most of GCHQ's unique talents to create a new kind of security and intelligence mission fit for our second century.""Much of what is written about us is pretty negative and ill-informed," he said."Its very nature means that your achievements are rarely made public and that few people in this country will ever know just how great a debt we all owe you.On a visit to GCHQ to mark the cyber spy agency’s centenary, Prince Charles was reunited with the encryption device called ‘Noreen’ which used to be carried by the Royal Yacht Britannia.We urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future.As part of GCHQ's centenary celebrations he met staff from across the organisation and received a number of top secret briefings."People speculate about what we do but they haven't got a clue.""But I hope that you will never lose sight of the fact that you are part of an extraordinary world-leading organisation that has achieved remarkable things during its proud 100-year history and which will continue to play an indispensable role over the century to come."Mr Comer described such visits as rare and said they meant a lot to those working at the agency.Paying tribute to the work of staff at GCHQ, Prince Charles said: "few people in this country will ever know just how great a debt we all owe you"."But for those privileged enough to understand something of what you do, the difference you make to our security, our prosperity and to the defence of our values is both clear and invaluable.""Each and every one of you has a part to play in writing the next chapter of GCHQ's history - you quite literally are its future."Tony Comer, 61, who has worked for the agency for the past 35 years, showed photographs of Lord Mountbatten visiting GCHQ before opening a file of top secret intelligence reports.We rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism."GCHQ's true genius lies in the power of its teamwork, collective innovation and shared knowledge," he said.Prince Charles told staff he appreciated the challenges and pressures they face and highlighted "iconic names" such as Alastair Denniston, Alan Turing and Dilly Knox.These included a codebook developed for the royal household in 1939 and a Royal Navy codebook to set up a secure communications path when Charles was serving at sea.Visiting GCHQ’s Cheltenham base, nicknamed the 'Doughnut', Prince Charles toured the building with the director, Jeremy Fleming.
Instead he wrote a letter to his future wife, who worked in the same building as an analyst on the Soviet air force. The pair were happily married for more than 30 years.A shy GCHQ analyst proposed to his wife by posting his overture in the organisation's tube messaging system, the agency’s historian has revealed.Lamson tubes were used by GCHQ throughout Second World War, including at Bletchley Park, and the Cold War until the late 1980s.We rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism.But one intelligence officer in the 1950s, who had met his future wife at the organisation, found a different use for the network of tubes spanning the different buildings across the site.Notes would be rolled up into the Lamson carrier, sent in the tube with directional instruction to the exchange room, and then sent on their way to the relevant room known as “tube stations”.The system was used by the cyber spy agency until the late 1980s.The pneumatic tube system – known as Lamson tubes – was used at GCHQ’s former offices in Oakley, Cheltenham, to send top secret documents up to 400 yards away in a matter of seconds, saving staff up to a 10-minute walk at a time.“He was the shy and retiring type and never quite found the right moment to ask her face to face. GCHQ historian Tony Comer said: “We’ve always prided ourselves on our ability to think outside the box. GCHQ historian Tony Comer said: “We’ve always prided ourselves on our ability to think outside the box.The pneumatic Lamson messaging system was used for secret notes - and chocolate eclairsWe urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future.“They married, and lived happily ever after, and all thanks to the aid of a Lamson tube!”The intelligence officer resorted to sending his wedding proposal to his girlfriend via the organisation’s top-secret tube messaging service rather than risk a face to face rejection, GCHQ has revealed today to mark Valentine’s Day.Rather than reply using the Lamson tube, she walked round to his office and accepted the proposal in person. So he drew on the GCHQ tradition of finding ingenious solutions to the toughest of problems to pop the question.While the tube network was largely used to send top secret documents, it is said chocolate eclairs were sometimes piped down the network due to their convenient shape.The former RAF serviceman, who joined GCHQ as a linguist, struggled to pluck up the courage to ask her to marry him in person.