Secret Code

PRISONER OF WAR ‘TAP CODE’

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Morse Code is a complicated method of communicating which takes a long time to learn successfully.

The Tap Code is much simpler, quick to learn, and is based on a 25 letter grid of the English alphabet.

Each letter is transmitted by tapping two numbers from 1 to 5, to represent the co-ordinates of letters in a grid. The first number indicates the row, and the second number the column [similar to co-ordinates for maps or the game ‘Battleships & Cruisers’].

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(Note that the letter C also represents the letter K).

The letter X is often used to break up sentences, like using a full stop.

Examples:

To tap F – tap twice, pause, then tap once more. [Row 2 / Column 1]

To tap Y – tap five times, pause, then tap four times. [Row 5 / Column 4]

ESCAPE . ….. …. … . … . . … ….. . …..
1-5 4-3 1-3 1-1 3-5 1-5
E S C A P E

The Tap Code can easily be decoded in your head by remembering the layout of the table.

The code has been used for many years as a means of communication by prisoners held in solitary confinement.  The code can be tapped out on bars or pipes that can transmit sound around a building.  Other methods can also be used, such as blinking, coughing, clicking etc., when captives are within sight of each other but unable to communicate by speaking.

These days we are familiar with texting abbreviations, so they could also be incorporated into the messages.