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As one of the most popular resort towns in the North-East, Scarborough is the place to go for a cheap seaside break.
But for Britain's top spies during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it became one of the most important places in the world.
For it was from there in 1962 that sleuths working for GCHQ monitored Soviet shipping as the world scrambled to avoid a nuclear war.
At 110 years old, GCHQ Scarborough is the longest continuous serving site for signals intelligence in the world. The spy agency boasted of this fact on X last week.
At 110 years old, GCHQ Scarborough is the longest continuous serving site for signals intelligence in the world. The spy agency boasted of this fact on X last week
GCHQ Scarborough in the 1970s. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, it became essential to know where Soviet ships were. The job fell to the GCHQ base in Scarborough
The crisis in Cuba began when it emerged that the USSR was secretly shipping nuclear missiles to Cuba, which is just 90 miles from the US.
Instead of invading the island, US president John F Kennedy blockaded it to prevent more of the deadly deliveries.
However, it became essential to know the position of the Soviet ships that were on their way to beat the blockade.
This job fell to the GCHQ base in Scarborough. Its operators were the first to report that one ship, the Kislovodsk, turned back to the USSR on October 24.
The file was sent straight to the White House's 'situation room', assuring US officials that the missile crisis would not escalate.
Details of the base's involvement were revealed in 2019 after the declassification of the secret report 'Soviet Merchant Ship Changes Course'.
GCHQ Scarborough grew out of the Royal Navy's Wireless Telegraphy station, which was set up in the area in 1912.
The crisis in Cuba began when it emerged that the USSR was secretly shipping nuclear missiles to Cuba, which is just 90 miles from the US. Above: A P2V Neptune US patrol plane flying over a Soviet freighter during the crisis
Instead of invading the island, US president John F Kennedy blockaded it to prevent more of the deadly deliveries
Since 1914, it has conducted signals intelligence (Sigint). It relocated to its present site in 1943.
During the First World War, the station's role was to monitor the German fleet, which was launching attacks on the east coast of England.
After the war came to an end in 1918, Scarborough's mission was expanded to include diplomatic communications.
GCHQ was set up on November 1 1919 as a peacetime 'cryptanalytic' unit made up from staff from the Admiralty's Room 40 and the War Office's MI1(b).
During the Second World War, which began in 1939, the Scarborough base - known as the Admiralty Civilian Shore Wireless Service (ACSWS) - worked to intercept German naval and air communications.
Among those who served there were members of the Women's Royal Naval
