In Softcovers, First Edition 1992, Black and White Photographs, illustrations, maps, 261 Pages, An AGPS Press publication. Australian Government Publishing Service Canberra. A Very Good Plus Copy. SCARCE. 'For 20-year-olde Jack Bleakley volunteering for an unspecified 'dangerous mission' and thus becoming one of a select group of wireless interceptors at the beginning of the war in the Pacific was the start of the experience of his lifetime. Jack's war service, his remembrances of the momentous events of that turbulent time and his extensive research into the actions, impressions and memories of his fellow 'eavesdroppers', have culminated in this enthralling and vivid history. Here for the first time is the story of those young Australian men and women whose skill in intercepting Japanese transmissions provided General MacArthur's intelligence organisation with vital information about enemy operations in the South West pacific Area. Their work was so highly regarded that General Willoughby, MacArthur's intelligence chief, stated soon after the defeat of Japan: 'Signal intelligence chopped two years off the war in the Pacific'. It is a story of dedication, hard work and professionalism, often in uncomfortable and hazardous environments with the added awareness that their work 'had to be the best kept secret of the war'. That secret has survived intact for 50 years. Only now can the full story be told'