| Broadcast area | RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Several shortwave frequencies between 5.422 and 16.084 MHz |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Format | Numbers station |
| Affiliations | Royal Air Force (speculated) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | MI6 (speculated) |
| Cherry Ripe (speculated) | |
The Lincolnshire Poacher was a powerful British shortwave numbers station that transmitted from HM Government Communications Centre near Gawcott in Buckinghamshire, England,[1] and later from Cyprus, from the mid-1960s to July 2008. The station gained its commonly known name as it uses bars from the English folk song "The Lincolnshire Poacher" as an interval signal. The radio station was believed to be operated by the British Secret Intelligence Service.[2] Amateur direction finding linked it with the Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri, Cyprus, where several curtain antennas were identified as being its transmitter.[3] It consisted of a pre-recorded English-accented female voice reading groups of five numbers: e.g., '0-2-5-8-8'. The final number in each group was spoken at a higher pitch. It is likely that the station was used to communicate to undercover agents operating in other countries, to be decoded using a one-time pad.[4]
Cherry Ripe, a numbers station of identical format, is believed to have been broadcast from Guam, and later Australia, for agents working in Asia. Like the Lincolnshire Poacher, it used several bars from its namesake folk song as its interval signal.[4][5] Cherry Ripe ceased broadcasting in December 2009.[6]
- ^ "E3 - Lincolnshire Poacher - Part Two". E.N.I.G.M.A. Newsletter. No. 14. January 1998. pp. 34–37.
- ^ "E03 The Lincolnshire Poacher". 27 January 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "Lincolnshire Poacher". Numbers and Oddities. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ a b Simon Mason. "The Lincolnshire Poacher". Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ "Profile of Cherry Ripe". Spynumbers. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ "Hundred forty-seventh edition of the N&O column / Spooks newsletter". Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2011.