54 Broadway
| 54 Broadway | |
|---|---|
 Broadway Buildings | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Westminster, London |
| Coordinates | 51°30′00″N 0°08′00″W / 51.49989°N 0.13347°W |
| Completed | 1924 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 9 |
54 Broadway, sometimes known as Broadway Buildings (now renumbered 50 Broadway), is an office building in Broadway, London.
History
[edit]The building, which has a prominent mansard roof, was completed around 1924, when it became the main operating base for the Secret Intelligence Service.[1][a] In 1925, the Government Code and Cypher School co-located within the building, although it was on a different floor to the Secret Intelligence Service.[2][b] GC&CS moved out to Bletchley Park in August 1939.[3]
During the Second World War it had a brass plaque identifying it as the offices of the "Minimax Fire Extinguisher Company".[1] Sir Stewart Menzies, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, had access to a tunnel, which connected 54 Broadway to his private residence in Queen Anne's Gate.[4] Kim Philby, who worked in the building during the war, described it as, "a dingy building, a warren of wooden partitions and frosted glass windows...served by an ancient lift."[5]
The Secret Intelligence Service moved out to Century House in 1964.[6] During the 1990s, the building was used by the project team for the Jubilee Line Extension to the London Underground.[7]
Notes
[edit]- ^ SIS had previously been based at 2 Whitehall Court.
- ^ GC&CS had previously been based at Watergate House, York Buildings, Adelphi.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Berkeley, Roy (1994). A Spy's London. London: Leo Cooper. pp. 7–8. ISBN 9781473827202. OCLC 973676356.
- ^ Johnson, J. (1997). The Evolution of British Sigint 1653–1939. Cheltenham: HMSO. p. 44.
- ^ Smith, Michael (2001) [1999]. "An Undervalued Effort: how the British broke Japan's Codes". In Smith, Michael; Erskine, Ralph (eds.). Action this Day. London: Bantam. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-0-593-04910-5.
- ^ Judd, Alan (24 September 2000). "One in the Eye for the Vauxhall Trollop". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ Philby, Kim (2003) [1968]. My Silent War. London: Modern Library. p. 64. ISBN 9780375759833. OCLC 892590995.
- ^ "Top Secret: A Century of British Espionage". The Independent. London. 6 October 2009. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ Mitchell, Bob (2003). Jubilee Line Extension From Concept to Completion. Thomas Telford. p. 12. ISBN 978-0727730282.