Summer in Bude

GCHQ Bude held its inaugural Community Day on Friday 19th July. The morning was attended by local dignitaries including the MP for North Cornwall, the chair of Morwenstow Parish Council, Assistant Chief Constable Devon & Cornwall Police, Bude’s Mayor, a local County Councillor and a number of local Headteachers.

In the afternoon we were delighted to welcome local schoolchildren to site. Students were invited to submit artwork that depicted their view of technology in 100 years’ time. The winning entry, from St Mark’s School in Morwenstow, was buried with a number of other items in a time capsule, to be retrieved in another 100 years.

For one day, we opened our doors to the families of staff for Family Day. The activities on the day were banded into 3 themes: History – a chance to celebrate GCHQ’s Centenary and Bude station’s varied history; Mission – displaying our pride in what we do to support GCHQ’s mission and to share that with our families; and Community – an opportunity to say thank you to families and those who support us and the broader community we engage with.

Around 400 people were welcomed throughout the day, with visitors getting the chance to climb our biggest antenna, take on some puzzle-solving games and tour our data centre. They were also given briefings about the various strands of our mission and were shown many previously unseen artefacts from our history.

Bude site has a rich history dating back to 1938 when it was originally bought on behalf of the MOD and became RAF Cleave Camp during WW2. It was primarily used for training anti-aircraft units including some of the very first drones which were launched off the cliffs using steam catapults. After the war, the camp fell into disuse until it was identified as a prime site for setting up a new satellite communications station and the site was acquired by GCHQ in 1969. Building work began in the early ‘70s and CSOS Morwenstow was declared fully operational on 16 September 1974.

From these sparse beginnings with only two antennas, the site has now grown to become a much larger and indispensable operation with 30 antennas of all shapes and sizes collecting data and enabling GCHQ Bude to play its role as a vital cog in the wider mission.

All of this and much much more has been captured in our new museum which was brought into being by a raft of Bude staff, featuring artefacts spanning our history.