Government Code and Cypher School: Records Concerning Polish Business and Activities

HW 47

1940-1946

This series contains records produced by various Government Code and Cypher School sections, but later brought together as a single collection. They concern: co-operation between the School and free-Polish personnel on the interception of Soviet communications prior to the German invasion of the Soviet Union; the watch kept on free-Polish cypher communications from 1942 to the end of the war to try to ensure that there were no security breaches; and problems encountered with Polish independent communications in 1945 and 1946.

Other Radio Security Service records can be found in HW 34

Public Record(s)

English

4 bundle(s)

Subject to 30 year closure

From 2002 Government Communications Headquarters

Topics

Europe and Russia

Intelligence

Series ran 1940-1946

Selected under Acquisition Policy criterion 2.2.1.3, showing the co-operation of UK and free-Polish personnel on wartime communications and interception work, and UK monitoring of free-Polish communications activities. All surviving records selected.

A Polish intercept station to monitor Soviet communications was set up at Stanmore in December 1940 following a suggestion by the Polish General Staff in London. This initiated a period of co-operation in analysis and code-breaking between GC&CS and the Poles which lasted until September 1941, when the German invasion of the Soviet Union meant that Soviet communications were no longer targetted. This co-operative effort is recorded in this series.

Throughout the war, the Radio Security Service monitored Polish (and other allied) communications to ensure cypher security. The work relating to Polish communications, and events surrounding the establishment of the new communist Polish government and the marginalisation of the London Poles at the end of the war are also reflected in this series.