HMS Forest Moor
HMS Forest Moor was a Royal Navy land base located in Nidderdale in the borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England.[1]
History
The establishment was first used as one of the World War II intelligence units, or Y-stations.[1]
In 1960 it became the Royal Navy's major high frequency (HF) receiver station,[1] its primary function was to route HF signals from locations abroad to military bases and command centres in the UK. The base was manned by a small group of Royal Naval radio operators and electricians (approximately six to a shift).
This centre provided HF comms receiver links to bases in the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Canada and a RATT ship/shore receiver link to warships at sea. Transmitters were located at HMS Inskip in Lancashire.
It also had a small ships company (including an RPO, a PO Caterer and chefs) for the day-to-day running of the establishment, including three civilian drivers (Rollie, Frank and Gordon). This station was a popular 'draft' for many of the sailors who served there being out of the gaze of 'Big navy' because of the remote location, Harrogate being a popular 'run ashore' destination.
HMS Forest Moor was also the setting of a short-lived YTV comedy Thundercloud' starring (amongst others) the fine Scots actor James Cosmo as the MAA ... He always played a 'crusher' in the regulating branch for some reason as he did when he appeared in the hit series 'Warship'
In 2003 it was transferred to VT Communications (now Babcock International) under a PPP contract to provide HF communications to the Ministry of Defence via the Defence Communication Services Agency. It is now operated by civilian personnel, though a small number of tri-service staff remains. Now the Network Control Station for the Defence High Frequency Service, it is undergoing an extensive modernisation program to become the hub of this global communications system
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Coordinates: 54°0′42″N 1°43′16″W / 54.01167°N 1.72111°W