23 August 2024. I’m working on this page.
During World War II, the National HRO communications receiver gained widespread use as the preferred equipment for various allied monitoring services, including the Y-Service stations associated with the code-breaking operations at Bletchley Park – Station X. It was an amazing receiver using cutting edge technology back in the day. Britain initially purchased an estimated 1,000 HRO receivers. In total, approximately 10,000 HRO receivers were utilised for intercept operations, diplomatic communications, shipboard use, shore stations, and clandestine activities.
Bletchley Park is a beautiful English country mansion and estate located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It became the primary centre for Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. Below is a photo of one of the offices, as it was back in the 1940s. There’s even a handbag on the floor and a cardigan on the back of the chair where a young woman would have worked.
The Y Service was a network of British signals intelligence collection sites known as Y stations. These sites were operated by a variety of agencies, including the Army, Navy, RAF, and the Foreign Office (MI6 and MI5). The General Post Office and the Marconi Company also contributed to the network by providing receiving stations both on land and at sea. During the Second World War, more than 600 receiving sets were in operation at Y-stations.
The name Y was derived from Wireless Interception (WI). Y stations served one of two functions: intercepting radio signals or determining their point of origin. These stations listened to radio transmissions, which were then either analysed locally or, if encrypted, sent for processing. Initially, this processing took place in London and, during World War II, it was conducted at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire.
Below: National HRO receivers. Me at the RSGB National Radio Centre where I was made most welcome. A couple more HRO receivers.
Below: Bletchley Park Mansion. Encryption gear and an information notice.
More on the National HRO Receiver here.