{"id":40319,"date":"2019-10-21T12:46:01","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T16:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=40319"},"modified":"2019-10-21T12:46:01","modified_gmt":"2019-10-21T16:46:01","slug":"gchq-hidden-past-in-the-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/gchq-hidden-past-in-the-press\/","title":{"rendered":"GCHQ “hidden past” in the press"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Benhall Aerial View (Source: GCHQ.gov.uk)<\/p><\/div>\n

Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Kris Partridge, who writes:<\/p>\n

You recently posted<\/a> about the on going GCHQ exhibition at the Science Museum here in London.<\/p>\n

I now offer you two more GCHQ items. Both radio related.<\/p>\n

First one from BBC Radio<\/a>:<\/p>\n

How Scarborough saved the world<\/h2>\n

The Secret History of GCHQ<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stories from the intelligence agency\u2019s hidden past – and how it’s been listening in for the last 100 years. With BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera.<\/p>\n

Click here to listen online (when available).<\/a><\/p>\n

This will be transmitted tonight at 20h00 London (BST, UTC +1) that\u2019s at 15h00 East Coast time! This will be available after TX on BBC Sounds<\/a>, the replacement for BBC iPlayer radio.<\/p>\n

The second, also radio related, is\/has US interest:<\/a><\/p>\n

GCHQ’s secret hilltop site in Scarborough revealed as having pivotal role in Cuban missile crisis<\/h2>\n

he pivotal role in the Cuban missile crisis played by a secret outpost of GCHQ in Scarborough has been revealed.<\/p>\n

The task of the tiny bunker on the North Yorkshire coast, described by staff as dank and often smelly, had been to monitor the Soviet Baltic fleet and merchant shipping in the northern hemisphere.<\/p>\n

In 1962 this somewhat unglamorous job for Britain\u2019s cyber spy agency was thrust into the centre of world affairs as tensions between the West and the Soviet Union threatened to escalate into nuclear war.<\/p>\n

On October 16, 1962, US President John F Kennedy had been told the Soviet Union was secretly shipping nuclear missiles to Cuba, just 90 miles off America\u2019s south eastern coast.<\/p>\n

US forces established a naval blockade, preventing the arrival of any ships, but some Soviet vessels were already on their way to the island. Any confrontation between the two naval forces risked escalation into nuclear war.<\/p>\n

The operators in the Scarborough bunker were able to intercept the Soviet ships reporting back their position and establish where they were heading.<\/p>\n

“Traditionally just another task at the bottom of Scarborough’s priority list, suddenly escalated to the very top priority for British intelligence,” Tony Comer, GCHQ’s historian told the BBC.[…]<\/p>\n

Click here to continue reading the full story at The Telegraph.<\/a><\/p>\n

and [from the BBC]:<\/a><\/p>\n

Scarborough’s role in the Cuban missile crisis revealed<\/h2>\n

A secret base in Scarborough played a key role in resolving the Cold War’s Cuban missile crisis, it can now be revealed.<\/p>\n

Up on a hilltop, not far from a caravan park in England’s North Yorkshire coast sits what is believed to be the longest continually running listening station in the world.<\/p>\n

The GCHQ base at Scarborough was established just before World War One because its position was ideal to intercept German naval radio signals in the North Sea.<\/p>\n

During World War Two, it helped locate German U-boats in the Atlantic. By the Cold War it shifted to monitoring Soviet communications.[…]<\/p>\n

Click here to read the full story at the BBC.<\/a><\/p>\n

I hope, for you in time to hear it \u201clive\u201d, and the online version for your blog readers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I managed to do just that, Kris! Thank you so much for sharing these links and stories. I especially look forward to the Radio 4 piece<\/a> later today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post contributor, Kris Partridge, who writes: You recently posted about the on going GCHQ exhibition at the Science Museum here in London. I now offer you two more GCHQ items. Both radio related. First one from BBC Radio: How Scarborough saved the world The Secret History of GCHQ Stories from the intelligence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,288],"tags":[104,1496,5584,3690],"class_list":["post-40319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-radio-history","tag-bbc","tag-gchq","tag-kris-partridge","tag-the-telegraph"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-auj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4904,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/11\/coded-message-from-wwii-carrier-pigeon-structured-like-numbers-station-communique\/","url_meta":{"origin":40319,"position":0},"title":"Coded message from WWII carrier pigeon structured like numbers station communiqu\u00e9","author":"Thomas","date":"November 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This news story\u00a0about a recently discovered WWII carrier pigeon message has been floating around the Internet over the past few days. (Source: CNN) Not even the British spy agencies that inspired James Bond can solve the mystery of a secret World War II message recently found on the skeleton of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/WWIIcarrierpigeonmessageclip-300x217.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":40178,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/paul-attends-the-secret-war-special-exhibit-at-the-science-museum\/","url_meta":{"origin":40319,"position":1},"title":"Paul attends “The Secret War” special exhibit at the Science Museum","author":"Thomas","date":"October 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Paul Evans, who writes: From the SWLing roving foreign correspondent. A couple of weeks before going to London on our recent trip, I was idly looking through the Science Museum web site when I spotted a special exhibit 'The Secret War' put on by 'members of GCHQ'.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screen-Shot-2019-10-15-at-08.05.55.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screen-Shot-2019-10-15-at-08.05.55.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screen-Shot-2019-10-15-at-08.05.55.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screen-Shot-2019-10-15-at-08.05.55.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":58280,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/jarno-spots-vintage-radios-in-the-undeclared-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":40319,"position":2},"title":"Jarno spots vintage radios in “The Undeclared War”","author":"Thomas","date":"November 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jarno (PA3DMI), who writes: Hi Thomas, I found some radio's in the UK spy series 'The Undeclared War.' It's GCHQ the spy department in the UK. In episode 4 one of the leading characters makes a visit and look so many Yaesu, Eddystone, Heathkit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Undeclared-War-03.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Undeclared-War-03.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Undeclared-War-03.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Undeclared-War-03.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40536,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/the-bbc-and-the-cold-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":40319,"position":3},"title":"“The BBC and the Cold War”","author":"Thomas","date":"November 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kris Partridge, who writes: With Saturday being the 30th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, BBC OnLine has posted this to commemorate the anniversary: https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/historyofthebbc\/100-voices\/coldwar The Cold War was the defining global conflict of the second half of the Twentieth Century. Fought\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Soviet-Radio-Dial-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Soviet-Radio-Dial-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Soviet-Radio-Dial-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46388,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/links-for-a-deep-dive-into-bbc-radio-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":40319,"position":4},"title":"Links for a deep dive into BBC radio history","author":"Thomas","date":"November 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kris Partridge, who writes: Last night I sent the link to the SWLing Droitwch item to a former colleague. He replied this morning, reply below, and includes a couple of useful links. I\u2019m very sure the SWLing Post knows about MB21. Thinking that maybe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Dial.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Dial.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Dial.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9317,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/numbers-stations-in-the-news\/","url_meta":{"origin":40319,"position":5},"title":"Numbers Stations in the news","author":"Thomas","date":"April 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"There have been a lot of numbers in the news lately. Earlier this week,\u00a0David Goren's numbers station radio documentary\u00a0was featured on the\u00a0ABC Radio National\u00a0show, Sounds Like Radio. Click here to listen. This morning, I also noticed this excellent\u00a0BBC News Magazine\u00a0piece on numbers stations, which includes an interview with\u00a0Akin Fernandez, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"towers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/grimetonbandw-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40319\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}