From the page headed: "Fireside Fun" in the magazine for June 1954. "Can You Decipher This Message?" " Police were expecting a crook to disclose his movements in a message to his confederate. On interception the message read as follows: 113120718122519514419120 (Signed) 1212
" The key to the secret message lies in the signature '1212'. This told the confederate to take one numeral and then two numerals and so on alternately, and then to convert the numbers into letters accodring to their position in the alphabet." AM AT GRAVESEND SAT.
Methinks my deciphering skills would be Send reinforcements. We are going to advance. Send three and fourpence. We are going to a dance.
From February 1954 "Fireside Fun" : " A bank clerk placed 1,000 £1 notes in 10 piles, in such a way that he could make up any amount required without untying the 10 separate bundles. How many notes were there in each of the 10 piles?" Joke in March edition: Teacher: "Johnny Jones, spell 'weather' " Johnny: " W e t t h u r " Teacher: " Well, that's the worst spell of weather we've had for a long time."
That number is imprinted in my memory from hearing so often on the radio during the 50s and 60s "..........................anyone with information, telephone Whitehall 1212". That along with the police telephone boxes flashing to attract the nearest constable. Tim
See here for an article concerning BBC distress messages: The personal SOS messages the BBC used to send Apparently the 1212 number is still used to contact the police, but not urgently, preceded by 0300 123... The answer to the question: " The solution to the puzzle concerning the bank clerk is as follows: the numbers of bank notes in the 10 separate bundles were respectively 1,2,4,8,16,32,63,126,254,493."