GC46AP2 AMACS (Unknown Cache) in South West England, United Kingdom created by staticman1

This cache has been archived.

staticman1: Many thanks all glad many of you enjoyed this and gave it a favourite point. Unfortunately, the maintenance trips started to out number the finds and with the recent bad weather parts have gone missing again. Rather than replace again it is time for this one to go.

Happy caching all.

GC46AP2 ▼

A cache by staticman1 Message this owner

Hidden : 2/20/2013

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Little is known of the AIR Ministry Animal Communication Section (AMACS) based in the Stapleton area of Bristol and operating out of the former quarries of Snuff Mills. Concerned with the number of carrier pigeons being intercepted or shot-down during World War II and doubts about the security of modern communication methods this top secret research unit was created by the Air Ministry to investigate whether other ornithological creatures could replace the more discernible pigeons. The unit investigated the use of ducks, geese, crows, buzzards, robins and owls for communication purposes. The unit was made up of a group of extremely intelligent individuals whom, for an array of psychological reasons, were prevented from either working in the main intelligence corps or from fighting with other men on the front line.

Disappointed with the progress of the group and with urgent need for a break through, higher ups in the Air Ministry decided to motivate the group by sending various birds from allied countries to AMACS headquarters. The birds would carry an encoded message with the location of various rewards ranging from solid gold bars to small childhood toys and all manner of objects in between. To claim these prizes agents of AMACS merely had to locate the birds, decode the message, travel to the co-ordinates and claim their prize. For official reasons agents were asked to sign and date a logbook enclosed and to exchange another item of interest for any prize claimed.

The first set of these birds were released in 1941 and wave after wave were released for the next 15 months of the war. Despite over 200 birds being released not a single prize was claimed from the group and the unit was disbanded in 1943. An official report described AMACS as “a group of zeroes, making zero progress on an idea of both zero potential and importance”. Embarrassed by the failure of the group all official records were destroyed and great efforts gone to by the Ministry of Defence to remove any trace of its existence. Even to this day there are no published sources detailing their involvement in the war effort.

I only came to know of this group through my work at a secure psychiatric hospital near to AMACS’s former headquarters. During the early noughties an elderly man by the name of Professor Alfred Briscoe was sectioned under the Mental Health Act at the facility. A distinguished ornithologist during his working life he had authored nearly all the seminal papers on the subject of bird migration. An extremely intelligent man he had suffered from paranoia since his early twenties. During World War II, too mentally unstable to work at either Bletchley Park or to fight in the trenches he was deployed to AMACS. A secret he would take to the grave having only shared it with one other person…. me.

Alfred was a particularly difficult patient with his behaviour deteriorating as time went on. I remember a particular incident when Alfred was in the very early stages of dementia he had managed to escape from the hospital being found four hours later exhausted and covered in mud. I remember whilst interviewing Alfred following the incident he said, as calm as anything “I won’t forget my secrets! I won’t share my secrets! I won’t share my gold!”. He said he had gone to find his bird, the only bird left to find. He said he has seen it just under head height on a long branch with the needed coordinates attached to his leg just as we caught up with him. He said if he didn’t collect it now he would never work out the migration pattern to get to its location again. He mentioned he had put a sticker in a lamppost near the former home of Oliver Cromwell in case anyone else could calculate the birds flight and gather the treasure once his mind had gone. It was clear to me he was fully aware of the mental predicament which would soon be facing him.

Alfred’s mental and physical health sadly quickly deteriorated and it was at this point he shared with me the secret of AMACS. He asked me to go and seek the final bird he had been unable to find. He said that I could find gold worth in the many millions of pound but he also warned the prize may only consist of a few toys and others objects of minimal value. Whilst I listened to this I didn’t take much notice, after all ramblings of secret organisations and treasure are textbook symptoms of paranoia.

I hadn’t thought much of this until shortly after Alfred passed away. Sadly death was part of the job working with elderly patients but never before had a deceased’s possessions and psychiatric notes been taken, in their entirety, by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) especially as Alfred had many known relatives. In fact the only thing that they didn’t take was his notebook containing illegible scribblings and this grid which I could not make head or tails of. Thankfully, I had moved these to my office for study shortly before Alfred’s death. I started to believe Alfred’s story following the MODs visit. Sadly I was too late. I remember during the many meetings we had together I repeatedly asked him about the location of this lamppost outside his old allotment. Despite asking many times I consistently got the same answer….bird.
Update 30/01/16: Whilst renovating Alfred’s former room, we found this hidden behind a wardrobe. It is a photo with the words final written on the reverse. I reproduce it here in the hope it may be of use to someone.

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The Smallprint.

Keep the grid on you at all times whilst completing this cache. I hear the MOD is keen to have a look at it.

The cache is set in a former quarry! Whilst it’s been in use as a leisure garden since 1926 you do come into contact with two main dangers- water and steep drops. Please take care, especially when it is wet. You only need to leave footpaths and well-trodden routes briefly to gather some of the physical stages. You also need to cross a busy road although it is very safe given the pedestrian crossing. Whilst I have given this the ‘not suitable for children’ attribute, I can’t see why for this cache, as with every other cache I’ve ever found, WELL supervised children can’t enjoy it safely.

No specialist equipment is needed for this cache and there is no need for any complicated climbing, caving or boating. I would highly recommend that you wear good footwear with quality grip as there are some steep and potentially muddy sections.

Tree cover can cause the usual problems in this area so generous hints are given for all stages.

Nearly all parts of this cache are unsuitable for wheelchair users.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Chmmyr: OV EQ vf gur jbeq A51, J002 naq qrpvzny cbvagf abg vapyhqrq Culfvpny Fgntr bar: Ybbx sbe fgvpxre, sbhe yrggref, uvtu hc. Hfr tevq Bgure Fgntrf: Hfr fgbel naq cubgbf

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

This cache has been archived.

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AMACS Mystery Cache

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