Lincolnshire Poacher (numbers station)
Encyclopedia
"The Lincolnshire Poacher" was the nickname of a mysterious, powerful shortwave numbers station
that used two 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
and emanated from the island of Cyprus
. Amateur direction finding had linked it with the Royal Air Force
base at Akrotiri
, Cyprus
, where several curtain antennas
had been identified as being its transmitter. It consisted of an electronically synthesised English-accented female voice reading groups of five numbers: e.g. '0-2-5-8-8'. The final number in each group was spoken with a lifted voice. It is likely that the station was used to communicate to undercover agents (spies) operating in other countries, to be decoded using a one-time pad
.
An Asian numbers station of identical format is believed to be broadcast from Australia
, and nicknamed "Cherry Ripe
". It uses several bars from the English folk song of the same name as its interval signal. As of July 2008 the Lincolnshire Poacher seems to be inactive, although Cherry Ripe continued to be online until December 2009 .
(making them some of the earliest radio transmissions) numbers stations such as Lincolnshire Poacher began appearing during the Cold War
, when nations such as the Soviet Union
and the United Kingdom
needed to send messages discreetly to their operatives in other countries. However, after the Cold War, the amount of numbers stations had greatly decreased. The Lincolnshire Poacher remained operating after the end of the Cold War, though, and continued to be broadcast throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
In the 2000s, the station became more prevalent after the dawn of the Internet
, when news articles and investigations became more available to more people across the world. This continues throughout the decade, as the station still existed after some thirty years of broadcasting. And, during the mid 2000s, the amount of numbers stations actually increased.
In July of 2008, the Lincolnshire Poacher mysteriously stopped broadcasting. The last recorded transmission of the station was on June 29, 2008. It is believed that the station's sister station, Cherry Ripe
, began to send broadcasts that used to be intended to be sent over the Lincolnshire Poacher station. This is believed to be true because the "Cherry Ripe" station uses a very similar call signal as the Lincolnshire Poacher did, and broadcasts its messages in 200 sets of five-number IDs.
, a Royal Air Force
base located on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus
. The station is believed to be operated by the British
Secret Intelligence Service
(MI6) and maintained by the Royal Air Force members that occupy the base in Cyprus.
(UTC), and all radio frequencies in Megahertz (MHz).
Numbers station
A numbers station is a shortwave radio station of uncertain origin. In the 1950s, Time magazine reported that the numbers stations first appeared shortly after World War II and were using a format that had been used to send weather data during that war.Numbers stations generally broadcast...
that used two bars
Bar (music)
In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined by a given number of beats of a given duration. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the same length, and in modern musical notation the number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning of the score by the top number of a...
from the English folk song "The Lincolnshire Poacher
The Lincolnshire Poacher
"The Lincolnshire Poacher" is a traditional English folk song.The Lincolnshire Poacher can also refer to:*Lincolnshire Poacher , a numbers station*Lincolnshire Poacher , a type of cheese...
" as an interval signal
Interval signal
An interval signal, or tuning signal, is a characteristic sound or musical phrase used in international broadcasting and by some domestic broadcasters...
. The radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
was believed to be operated by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
and emanated from the island of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. Amateur direction finding had linked it with the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
base at Akrotiri
RAF Akrotiri
Royal Air Force Station Akrotiri, more commonly known as RAF Akrotiri , is a large Royal Air Force station, on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which comprise Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory, administered as a...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, where several curtain antennas
HRS type antennas
HRS type antennas are more or less the standard antenna used for long distance high power shortwave broadcasting .- History of HRS design :...
had been identified as being its transmitter. It consisted of an electronically synthesised English-accented female voice reading groups of five numbers: e.g. '0-2-5-8-8'. The final number in each group was spoken with a lifted voice. It is likely that the station was used to communicate to undercover agents (spies) operating in other countries, to be decoded using a one-time pad
One-time pad
In cryptography, the one-time pad is a type of encryption, which has been proven to be impossible to crack if used correctly. Each bit or character from the plaintext is encrypted by a modular addition with a bit or character from a secret random key of the same length as the plaintext, resulting...
.
An Asian numbers station of identical format is believed to be broadcast from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and nicknamed "Cherry Ripe
Cherry Ripe (numbers station)
Cherry Ripe was the nickname of a mysterious, powerful shortwave numbers station that used several bars from the English folk song "Cherry Ripe" as an interval signal. The station was believed to be operated by the British Secret Intelligence Service and to have emanated from Australia. It was...
". It uses several bars from the English folk song of the same name as its interval signal. As of July 2008 the Lincolnshire Poacher seems to be inactive, although Cherry Ripe continued to be online until December 2009 .
History
The precise date that the Lincolnshire Poacher began broadcasting is unknown; however, it is estimated that the broadcasts started around the early to mid 1970s. While numbers stations have existed since World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(making them some of the earliest radio transmissions) numbers stations such as Lincolnshire Poacher began appearing during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, when nations such as the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
needed to send messages discreetly to their operatives in other countries. However, after the Cold War, the amount of numbers stations had greatly decreased. The Lincolnshire Poacher remained operating after the end of the Cold War, though, and continued to be broadcast throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
In the 2000s, the station became more prevalent after the dawn of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, when news articles and investigations became more available to more people across the world. This continues throughout the decade, as the station still existed after some thirty years of broadcasting. And, during the mid 2000s, the amount of numbers stations actually increased.
In July of 2008, the Lincolnshire Poacher mysteriously stopped broadcasting. The last recorded transmission of the station was on June 29, 2008. It is believed that the station's sister station, Cherry Ripe
Cherry Ripe (numbers station)
Cherry Ripe was the nickname of a mysterious, powerful shortwave numbers station that used several bars from the English folk song "Cherry Ripe" as an interval signal. The station was believed to be operated by the British Secret Intelligence Service and to have emanated from Australia. It was...
, began to send broadcasts that used to be intended to be sent over the Lincolnshire Poacher station. This is believed to be true because the "Cherry Ripe" station uses a very similar call signal as the Lincolnshire Poacher did, and broadcasts its messages in 200 sets of five-number IDs.
Location
Although the usage of numbers stations has not been confirmed by any world government, amateur enthusiasts have traced the location of the Lincolnshire Poacher's signal transmission to RAF AkrotiriRAF Akrotiri
Royal Air Force Station Akrotiri, more commonly known as RAF Akrotiri , is a large Royal Air Force station, on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which comprise Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory, administered as a...
, a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
base located on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. The station is believed to be operated by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
(MI6) and maintained by the Royal Air Force members that occupy the base in Cyprus.
Broadcast schedule
The Lincolnshire Poacher was broadcast several times throughout the day, and was transmitted seven days a week, at various times and on various shortwave frequencies. This schedule was accurate as of January 2006, which is the most recent update to the broadcast schedule. All times are Coordinated Universal TimeCoordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
(UTC), and all radio frequencies in Megahertz (MHz).
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | 14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
| 13:00 | 14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
| 14:00 | 10.426 12.603 14.487 |
12.603 14.487 16.314 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
14.487 15.682 16.084 |
10.426 11.545 14.487 |
11.545 14.487 15.682 |
| 15:00 | 11.545 13.375 15.682 |
7.755 8.464 10.426 |
11.545 14.487 16.084 |
11.545 12.603 13.375 |
11.545 12.603 13.375 |
11.545 12.603 13.375 |
11.545 12.603 13.375 |
| 16:00 | 11.545 12.603 13.375 |
11.545 13.375 15.682 |
6.485 7.755 10.425 |
8.464 12.603 14.487 |
11.545 12.603 13.375 |
11.545 12.603 13.375 |
8.464 10.426 11.545 |
| 20:00 | 11.545 |