The Y Service 1939-1945

LOCATIONS

 

Harpenden (Includes Daily Routine) Fort Bridgewoods Chicksands

Beaumanor Hall Bletchley Park Garats Hay Malta Y station Rustington

 

A list of Y service locations - may not be exhaustive, could be useful in interpreting roll of honour.

Abbot's Cliff

Dover.    RN Y station.

Abbottabad

British Army signals intelligence centre in India (now Pakistan).

 

 

Adstock Manor

Near Buckingham. Bombe station 1943 – 1945.

Aldford House

Park Lane London. Commercial Section from March 1942 also elements of Diplomatic Section

Alexandria Egypt

Major RN base (HMS Nile) and location of RN and later RAF signals intelligence units.

Arkley Barnet

RSS HQ from late 1941.

Baldock

 

BP Bletchley Park

Wartime centre of Government Code and Cypher School (GCCS).

Beaumanor

Near Loughborough Leicestershire. An Army Y station

Bedford

Location of Inter-Services Special Intelligence School. Provided training in cryptanalysis and Japanese.

Berkeley Street

Near Piccadilly London. Location of the Diplomatic Section from March 1942.

Bishops Waltham

Near Southampton. Army Y station from early 1943.

Brisbane

Australian/US Army and Air Force signals intelligence centre – Combined Bureau Brisbane.

Broadstairs

Kent. Army Y station activated in 1944 for Operation Overlord.

Broadway St James'

London. HQ of MI6 and pre-war location of GCCS.

Capel-le-Ferne

Near Folkestone. RAF Y station.

Cheadle

Near Stoke-on-Trent. RAF Y and signals intelligence station.

Chicksands

Bedfordshire. RAF Y station.

Church Green

Bletchley. RAF station built in 1943 to support BP.

Colombo

Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Location of HMS Anderson Far East Combined Bureau from 1942 (see Mombasa)

Cupar

Near St Andrews Fife. GPO later RN Y station.

Delhi

India. Army signals intelligence station location of the Wireless Experimental Centre (WEC Delhi) working on Japanese ciphers.

Denmark Hill

South London. Metropolitan Police intercept station established in mid 1930s against illicit transmissions including Soviet spies. Intercepted commercial and diplomatic traffic for GCCS from 1939.

Dollis Hill

North London. GPO Research Station where Colossus was developed.

Douglas

Isle of Man. Special Operators Training Battalion training Army morse intercept operators from late 1942.

Drayton Parslow

West of Bletchley. Housed elements of the Hollerith Machine Processing Section from Hut 7 and Block C Bletchley Park.

Dunstable

Bedfordshire. Intercepted German meteorological signals.

Eastcote

North west London. Bombe station from 1943. GCHQ relocated to Eastcote from BP in 1946.

Elmers School

Requisitioned grammar school adjacent to BP entrance effectively part of the site. Sometimes referred to as School House.

Flowerdown

Near Winchester. RN Y station.

Forest Moor

Blubberhouses Moor North Yorkshire. Army Y station. Sometimes referred to as Harrogate where its ATS personnel were billeted.

Gayhurst Manor

Near Newport Pagnell. Bombe station and WRNS accommodation.

Gilnahirk

Near Belfast. RSS intercept station.

Hampstead

North London Army Y station and location of the Special W/T Training and Research Centre from July 1943 also a communications research centre.

Hanslope Park

North of Bletchley. Main RSS intercept site

Harpenden

Hertfordshire. Army Y station.

Heliopolis

Near Cairo. Middle East signals intelligence centre.

Kedleston Hall

Derbyshire. Army Y station.

Kilindini

See Mombasa.

Knockholt

Near Sevenoaks. FO intercept site from 1942 for German teleprinter communications.

Little Horwood

West of Bletchley. SCU 1 Training Wing.

Malta

RN and RAF Y stations.

Mansfield College

Oxford. GCCS outstation responsible for code and cipher production.

Mauritius

Indian Ocean. Intercept station.

Melbourne

Australian/US naval signals intelligence centre - Fleet Requirements Unit Melbourne (FRUMEL).

Mombasa

Kenya. Y station and signals intelligence centre. Far East Combined Bureau evacuated to Kilindini Harbour Mombasa from April 1942 to September 1943.

Newbold Revel

Warwickshire. RAF signals intelligence training school.

Ryder Street

St James' London. Elements of Diplomatic Section.

St Erth

Cornwall. RSS intercept station.

Sandridge

Near St Albans.GPO Y station.

Scarborough

RN Y station.

Shenley

Near St Albans. Army Y station.

Shenley Road

Bletchley. Camp for Army personnel at BP built January 1944.

Southwold

Suffolk. Naval Y station.

Stanmore

North west London. Bombe station from 1942.

Sutton Valence

Maidstone Kent. RAF Y station.

Trowbridge

Wiltshire. Special Operators Training Battalion training Army morse intercept operators. SOTB relocated to Douglas in late 1942.

Wavendon House

Near Bletchley. Commercial Section from 1939 to March 1942; a bombe station and WRNS accommodation.

West Kingsdown

Near Sevenoaks Kent. RAF Y station. Co-ordinated operations of several small Y stations.

Whaddon Hall

West of Bletchley. Location of SCU 1 disseminating Bletchley Park's reporting . Also HQ of RSS.

Wick

NE Scotland. RAF Y station.

Windy Ridge

West of Bletchley. Radio station for 1 SCU transmitting BP reports to Allied forces in the field.

Withernsea

E Yorkshire. RN Y station.

 

 

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