Lincolnshire Poacher numbers station goes silent after years of broadcasts
A mysterious shortwave station that played a cheerful tune before reading coded numbers to spies has stopped transmitting, but other numbers stations remain active.
The Lincolnshire Poacher played a cheerful tune while a voice read out numbers. Spies got orders through those numbers. Leo found a recording and played it for a radio hobbyist.
He didn't laugh. Leo checked Britain's 1998 frequency allocation table for the channel where listeners had heard the tune. The table marked the channel Government, but named no operator.
No agency claimed responsibility
No agency claimed the broadcasts. Then, the Lincolnshire Poacher stopped. Leo turned the dial again.
Other stations still transmitting
Other stations were still reading numbers. The hobbyist showed Leo how a spy with a matching secret key could turn those numbers into a message. Leo couldn't get the key. Without it, nobody outside could read the message.
