Coventry's Secret Listeners Amateur Radio
G 8 G M U
Coventry's WW2 Secret Listeners
At the outbreak of the second world war, in many countries all radio amateur licences were suspended. However radio amateurs continued using their skills to aid the war effort. In the UK around 1500 radio amateurs were recruited by MI5 through the Radio Society of Great Britain - RSGB. As radio amateurs they would have been an ideal choice, being able to read Morse code under difficult conditions, being able to operate & maintain shortwave equipment. Their task was to listen for enemy spies in the UK, agents in the low countries, and German radio traffic.
The majority of the signals would have been in Morse code, in plain language and also Enigma coded Morse signals. The intercepts from theses voluntary interceptors, as they were known would have found their way to Bletchley Park for decryption. Bletchley Park (Station X) was Churchill's Ultra secret was not disclosed until the mid 1970s.
Cyril Taylor G2ZT In R O C Uniform 
Arthur Noakes G2FTK in civilian clothing
Coventry's secret listeners were Arthur Noakes G2FTK, Cyril Taylor G2ZT, Bob Palmer G5PP, Jack Tuck G6TD and possibly one other yet to be confirmed. All working in reserved occupations and as such not being called up into the armed forces, however they would have been issued with Royal Observer Corps uniforms. Needless to say there operations were highly secret even their families were not always aware of their clandestine activities.
The National HRO used by Arthur G2FTK 
as a secret listener during WW2 in Coventry
To recognise the work of the Coventry secret listeners, the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum has accepted the wartime shortwave receiver used by Arthur Noakes G2FTK in to it's collection of local wartime artifacts.
The presentation made by the Noakes family along with representatives of the Taylor & Palmer families, on the 30th September 2011, assisted by members of the Coventry Amateur Radio Society.
Frank, Graham & Martyn Noakes 
Stella Niblock & Virginia Tennant
The secret listeners also known as voluntary interceptors, are recognised on The Bletchley Park Roll of Honour - Click this link to The Roll of Honour
Arthur's Story
G8GMU Home Page
G 8 G M U
At the outbreak of the second world war, in many countries all radio amateur licences were suspended. However radio amateurs continued using their skills to aid the war effort. In the UK around 1500 radio amateurs were recruited by MI5 through the Radio Society of Great Britain - RSGB. As radio amateurs they would have been an ideal choice, being able to read Morse code under difficult conditions, being able to operate & maintain shortwave equipment.Their task was to listen for enemy spies in the UK, agents in the low countries, and German radio traffic. The majority of the signals would have been in Morse code, in plain language and also Enigma coded Morse signals. The intercepts from theses voluntary interceptors, as they were known would have found their way to Bletchley Park for decryption. Bletchley Park (Station X) was Churchill's Ultra secret was not disclosed until the mid 1970s.
Arthur Noakes G2FTK in civilian clothing
Coventry's secret listeners were Arthur Noakes G2FTK, Cyril Taylor G2ZT, Bob Palmer G5PP, Jack Tuck G6TD and possibly one other yet to be confirmed. All working in reserved occupations and as such not being called up into the armed forces, however they would have been issued with Royal Observer Corps uniforms. Needless to say there operations were highly secret even their families were not always aware of their clandestine activities.
as a secret listener during WW2 in Coventry To recognise the work of the Coventry secret listeners, the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum has accepted the wartime shortwave receiver used by Arthur Noakes G2FTK in to it's collection of local wartime artifacts.
The presentation made by the Noakes family along with representatives of the Taylor & Palmer families, on the 30th September 2011, assisted by members of the Coventry Amateur Radio Society.
Stella Niblock & Virginia Tennant
| The secret listeners also known as voluntary interceptors, are recognised on The Bletchley Park Roll of Honour - Click this link to The Roll of Honour |
|