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| Air Raids | |||
| Aeroplanes | Airships | Deaths | |
| 1914 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1915 | 4 | 42 | 186 |
| 1916 | 28 | 126 | 302 |
| 1917 | 341 | 30 | 650 |
| 1918 | 59 | 10 | 178 |
| Total | 435 | 208 | 1316 |
Between the wars
After the Armistice it was intended that the knowledge and skills learnt during the war should be kept alive. These plans came to nothing and by the end of 1920 all networks and associated anti-aircraft hardware had disappeared.
In 1922, responsibility for air defence was transferred from the War Office, which was responsible for the Army, to the Air Ministry. Major General Ashmore, who had been responsible for matters during World War I, now reported to a new Air Raid Precautions (ARP) committee set up in January 1924. Experiments were now carried out around Romney Marsh and the Weald. These were intended to optimise the arrangement of observation posts and control centres. In 1925 these experiments were extended to cover parts of Essex and Hampshire and by October a sound methodology had been worked out. On 29 October 1925 the Observer Corps came into official existence. Within a year four Groups existed in SE England, covering much of Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Essex. The plan was that the country would be covered by 18 of these groups. The involvement and cooperation were needed between the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Army, the British police forces and the General Post Office (GPO), then responsible for the national telephone system.
In January 1926 observers were being recruited as special constables by county constabularies. Each post was to be manned by a sergeant and six constables, recruits were to be part-time volunteers with no pay, no uniform and no allowances; lapel badges would be issued, but would have to be paid for. In 1929 the control of the Observer Corps passed to the Air Ministry, although chief constables retained responsibility for personnel and recruitment matters. On the 1 March 1929 the new Headquarters of the Observer Corps was established at Hillingdon House at RAF Uxbridge and Air Commodore Edward A D Masterman CB CMG CBE AFC RAF (Rtd) was appointed as the first Commandant of the Corps. Air Commodore Masterman held his appointment until 1 March 1936, when he retired. He was succeeded by Air Commodore Alfred Warrington-Morris CG CMG OBE AFC RAF (Rtd) who was destined to lead the Corps through the crucial period of the Battle of Britain and well into the second World War.
During the 1930s the number of groups had increased until, by 1936, England was covered south east of a line drawn from Flamborough Head to Poole Harbour. Also in 1936 Headquarters of the Observer Corps relocated to its final home at RAF Bentley Priory. By 1939 practically the whole of Great Britain was covered, the western extremities of the West Country, Wales and Scotland were included in 1940, in 1941 the last group Portree was formed in the Western Isles
World War II
Preparation
At the end of September 1938 the crisis which resulted in the Munich Agreement led to the Corps being called out for a week. This exercise proved to be invaluable as it drew attention to organisational and technical problems and gave time for solutions to be sought. Exercises held throughout 1939 enabled necessary modifications to methods and structure. The Observer Corps would evolve over the coming years, a process aided by the keenness with which Corps members from every walk of life addressed the process.
The only uniform items issued to the observers were army steel helmets with the letters 'O C' stencilled on the front and armbands also bearing the O C legend. High quality naval binoculars were issued. Observation posts often consisted of nothing more than a wooden garden shed located next to a telegraph pole so that a communications tap could be inserted onto the telephone line and linked to a centre via manual switchboards at local rural exchanges.
Early days of the war
The still is taken from a contemporary film called "Diver" held the National Archive at the Imperial War Museum
On 24 August 1939 Chief Constables issued mobilisation notices to all members of the Observer Corps. War was eventually declared on 3 September, posts and centres would be manned continuously until 12 May 1945, four days after VE Day on 8 May 1945.
The first months of World War II were known as the Phoney War. There was little significant enemy aircraft activity over Britain. The Battle of Dunkirk started at the end of May 1940, Allied troops were cut off by the German army in north-east France. This resulted in the evacuation of British troops in Operation Dynamo which ended on 4 June. During this time the RAF lost 944 aircraft, half of these being fighters. Observer Corps posts in Kent and around the Thames estuary were able to play some part by plotting aircraft while they were over England. It was however an extremely useful period for training and practice which proved to be extremely valuable within a few months. Standard design reporting posts were constructed of brick or concrete, usually two storey with an observation platform, open topped and at the mercy of all weathers, above a small lower level crew rest room.
Obviously it was essential that observers could correctly identify an aeroplane. In 1939 aircraft recognition was not yet the highly prized skill it was to become in the Observer Corps. The other services felt that accurate identification was impossible. Observers realised that this was a deficiency and the raised profile of aircraft recognition was driven from below. Identification literature with aircraft silhouettes and data, started almost entirely as the private and unofficial Observer Corps Club initiative instigated by observers, only much later obtaining official recognition and eventually spreading to the armed forces.
Battle of Britain
After the Fall of France the German aim was air superiority over Britain, to be achieved by destroying RAF fighters in the air and on the ground, and by bombing aircraft factories. Winning the Battle of Britain, as it was soon called, was Germany's prerequisite in preparation for the invasion of Britain, Operation Sealion.
The British Chain Home radar system was able to provide warning of enemy aircraft approaching the British coast, but once they had crossed the coastline the Observer Corps provided the only means of tracking them. During the period from July to October 1940 the Corps was fully stretched 24 hours a day plotting aircraft and passing this essential information to RAF groups and sectors. The Battle of Britain saw the start of the Blitz, the shift of German bombing from airfields to cities, the Observer Corps provided the information which enabled air raid warnings to be issued. The Blitz itself continued until early in the summer of 1941 and bombing on a reduced scale continued until March 1945. The Observer Corps formed the cornerstone of Air Marshall Hugh Dowding's air defence system and he said later in his despatch after the Battle of Britain:
- "It is important to note that at this time they (the Observer Corps) constituted the whole means of tracking enemy raids once they had crossed the coastline. Their work throughout was quite invaluable. Without it the air-raid warning systems could not have been operated and inland interceptions would rarely have been made."
As a direct result of their efforts during the Battle of Britain the Observer Corps was granted the title Royal by King George VI and became a uniformed volunteer branch of the RAF from April 1941 for the remainder of its existence, retitled the Royal Observer Corps (the ROC). The corps would continue as a civilian organisation but administered by Fighter Command Royal Air Force, and for the first time women members would be recruited. Members of both sexes were employed in two forms: Class A who were required to work for 56 hours a week, and Class B members who undertook up to 24 hours duty per week. Initially the only uniforms provided were RAF overall boiler suits with an ROC breast badge, commonly referred to as the "soup plate" because of its shape and size. Proper No 2 battledress uniforms were issued in a rolling programme over the next two years. For the rest of the war the ROC provided an essential part of Britain's air defences.
Commandants Royal Observer Corps
The Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps was a Royal Air Force officer. All the holders of the post were RAF officers in the rank of Air Commodore. Most Commandants, with only three exceptions, were qualified RAF pilots with extensive service records and previous command appointments, two being air navigators and the other a General Duties (Ground) Supply Branch officer. If a Royal Observer Corps officer had ever held the appointment, he would have held a rank of Observer Commodore, although this available option was never activated.
Seaborne observers
In 1944, during preparations for the invasion of France called Operation Overlord, a request for volunteers produced 1,094 highly qualified candidates, from which 796 were selected to perform valuable aircraft recognition duties as seaborne volunteers.
These Seaborne Observers were organised by Group Commandant C.G.Cooke and trained at the Royal Bath Hotel Bournemouth before the volunteers temporarily joined the Royal Navy with the rank of Petty Officer (Aircraft Identifier). The volunteers continued to wear their ROC uniforms, but wore SEABORNE shoulder flashes and a Royal Navy brassard with the letters RN. During the D-day landings two Seaborne observers were allocated to each warship of the US Navy and the Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships. The ROC volunteers were given control of each ship's anti aircraft batteries, thereby reducing the previously high level of friendly fire, or collateral damage incidents as they are now known. Their success is measured by a signal from Wing Commander P.B. Lucas, Air Staff Officer who reported:
- "The general impression amongst the Spitfire wings, covering our land and naval forces over and off the beach-head, appears to be that in the majority of cases the fire has come from British Navy warships and not from the merchant ships. Indeed I personally have yet to hear a single pilot report that a merchant vessel had opened fire on him"
Twenty two Seaborne observers survived their ships being sunk, two lost their lives and several more were injured during the landings. The Seaborne operation was an unqualified success and in recognition, His Majesty King George Vl approved the wearing of the SEABORNE flash as a permanent feature of the uniform. In addition, ten Seaborne members were mentioned in despatches. After the invasion and just before his death Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory wrote the following to be circulated to all ROC personnel:
- "I have read reports from both pilots and naval officers regarding the Seaborne volunteers on board merchant vessels during recent operations. All reports agree that the Seaborne volunteers have more than fulfilled their duties and have undoubtedly saved many of our aircraft from being engaged by our ships guns. I should be grateful if you would please convey to all ranks of the Royal Observer Corps, and in particular to the Seaborne observers themselves, how grateful I, and all pilots in the Allied Expeditionary Air Force, are for their assistance, which has contributed in no small measure to the safety of our own aircraft, and also to the efficient protection of the ships at sea.
- The work of the Royal Observer Corps is quite often unjustly overlooked, and receives little recognition, and I therefore wish that the service they rendered on this occasion be as widely advertised as possible, and all units of the Air Defence of Great Britain are therefore to be informed of the success of this latest venture of the Royal Observer Corps."
Today there is a Seaborne Observers’ Association for the dwindling number of survivors. Air Vice Marshal George Black CB OBE AFC RAF (Rtd), a former Commandant ROC, is the honorary President.
Flying bombs
During Operation 'Totter' , the ROC fired ‘Snowflake’ illuminating rocket flares from the ground to identify V-1 flying bombs to RAF fighters.2 Observers at the coastal post of Dymchurch identified the very first of these terror weapons and within seconds of their report the defences were in action.
This new weapon gave the ROC much additional work both at posts and operations rooms. RAF controllers actually took their radio equipment to the two ROC operations rooms at Horsham and Maidstone and vectored fighters direct from the ROC's plotting tables. The critics who had said that the Corps would be unable to handle the fast-flying jet aircraft were answered when these aircraft on their first operation were actually controlled entirely by using ROC information and the Commandant ROC, Air Commodore Crerar's optimism that the Corps would cope was quickly vindicated.
Organisation and methods
The headquarters of each Group operated from a Centre and controlled about 30 to 40 Posts each of which would be some 10 km to 20 km from its neighbour. By 1945 there were 40 centres covering England, Wales and Scotland, controlling in total more than 1,500 posts, The ROC did not operate in Northern Ireland until well after the war had ended.
If you know the height of an aircraft it is possible, from its horizontal bearing and vertical angle, to calculate a position. Posts were equipped with a mechanical sighting Micklethwaite post instrument mounted over a gridded map. After setting the instrument with an estimate of the aeroplane's height, the observer would align a sighting bar with the aircraft. This bar was mechanically connected to a vertical pointer which would indicate the position of the aircraft on the post map.
Observers in posts reported the map coordinates, height, time, sector clock code and number of aircraft for each sighting to their Centre. At each Centre plotters sat around a large table map, they had head sets continuously connected to a Cluster of posts, usually three in number.
The plotting table consisted of a large map with grid squares and posts marked. Counters were placed on the map at the reported positions, each of which indicated the height and the number of aircraft represented, a colour coding system indicated the time of observation in 5 minute segments. The table was surrounded by plotters, each communicating with a cluster of posts. Over time the tracks of aircraft could be traced, the colour coding enabled the extrapolation of tracks and the removal of stale ones. From 1942 long range boards were introduced to centre operations rooms, tellers in contact with neighbouring groups could handover incoming and outgoing tracks which were plotted on this map.
Duties in the operations room included: plotters working on the plotting table and on the long range board; tellers communicating with neighbouring ROC groups, with fighter operations rooms, with anti-aircraft and searchlight units; alarm controllers in contact with the police, with the national alert system, with the Ministry of Home Security and with local factories; an interrogator liaising with the ground controlled interception (GCI) radar units; and the Duty Controller, his assistant and a post controller who supervised the plotters and posts.
Briefly stood down
On 12 May 1945, when it was certain that all Luftwaffe aircraft were grounded, the ROC temporarily stood down, to be quickly re-activated a few months later to meet cold war threats. To mark the end of the Second World War the Air Ministry arranged a massed RAF rally and air display at RAF North Weald in Essex from Saturday 23 June to Monday 25 June 1945. Almost 2,000 members of the ROC from all over the United Kingdom were invited to attend the rally.
King George VI had already approved the design of an Ensign for the newly formed Royal Observer Corps, the Ensign was RAF blue with the Union Jack in one corner and also bearing the Corps' crest. It was dedicated at a special service held at North Weald on Sunday 24 June 1945. That day the 2,000 observers carried out the first ever uniformed ROC march past to the accompaniment of the RAF Band with the Under Secretary of State for Air, Lord Beatty, taking the salute. The parade then formed into a huge square and the Royal Observer Corps Ensign was presented by Lord Beatty. The Ensign was borne to the drumhead by Observer Lieutenant Pollock VC. In the parade Observer Lieutenant Pollock carried the Ensign flanked by two senior NCO’s at the head of the massed contingent of observers. A film record of the day's events is held in the National Archive at the Imperial War Museum
A Royal visitation
The most unusual ROC location was No. 17 Group Watford's Easy-4 Windsor Post, nestling between the battlements and warm chimneys at the top of Windsor Castle’s Brunswick Tower. Reporting for duty through the castle gates many newly appointed Group Officers were caught unawares when the Guardsmen in their sentry boxes slammed smartly to attention and presented arms. Observers frequently encountered the King, Queen and the princesses strolling in the castle grounds and they always stopped to chat and enquire into the ROC activities.
On one memorable occasion just after midnight during the Blitz the observers received a brief 60 second notice from a footman that they would be receiving a royal visit. A few minutes later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, together with the teenage Princess Elizabeth appeared up the steep ladder and joined the observers on the darkened roof during a major V-1 flying bomb attack on London. The royal visitors stayed for over an hour chatting cheerfully, asking technical questions and peering through binoculars at the developing battle over central London. Before departing the royal party all autographed the post's duty log. The following evening the Royal Party appeared again and stayed for longer although there was little aerial activity due to poor weather.
In the early 1960s when the nuclear reporting role building programme was in full swing across the country the ROC post at Windsor relocated to the cellar under the Brunswick Tower and a partial monitoring room was excavated under the garden in front of the tower’s base. The BPI and FSM instrument fittings on the lawn were clearly visible to the many tourists visiting the castle, although few would recognise their significance. The GZI was mounted on top of the tower's battlements involving an exhausting climb of several hundred circular stone steps and 400 feet in each direction. The observers at the Windsor post were unique in the country, in not having to provide their own sandwiches during exercises, instead receiving hot meals via a footman service from the castle kitchens. Twelve months after the ROC post was closed the Brunswick Tower was the starting point and seat of the 1992 Windsor Castle fire and was substantially damaged.
The cold war years
A change of role
In September 1947, over a year after VE Day, the ROC held its first small scale exercise in southern England, which included for the first time substantial numbers of jet aircraft. Another year later the first large scale exercise took place; in the last two of its four days of this radar only was used. By the mid-1950s the greater speed of aircraft and the improved performance of radar led to a reduced need by the RAF for the ROC's services in tracking aircraft; another role in defence against nuclear weapons was announced in June 1955. The first significant exercise involving the ROC in handling nuclear data was in 1956. In 1957 the British government's policy became clear and reliance would be placed on the nuclear weapons, within ten years any pretence that there was an aircraft recognition and reporting role for the ROC had all but gone.
In 1957 the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO) was set up under Home Office control. It was intended that UKWMO would provide civil and military authorities in Britain with information during a nuclear attack. The ROC would provide the first data on the positions and extent of the attack. This data would be used by UKWMO, in conjunction with weather information from the Meteorological Office, to produce a forecast of radioactive fallout. As this fallout occurred its strength and position would be mapped using data from posts, enabling further fallout forecasts to be given.
In 1962 the Groups were reorganised with their number being reduced from forty to thirty one, with a further reduction to twenty five in 1968 with the Corps' coverage extended to Northern Ireland for the first time. It would now be necessary for Centres and posts to be occupied for between seven and twenty one days after any nuclear event. Universal age limits of 16 to 65 were introduced for the first time, some wartime post observers having served well into their seventies and eighties, although wartime centre observers had to retire at 50 years of age. Now service after the age of 65, where suitable local replacements could not be recruited, was extremely rare and had to be applied for on an annual basis together with medical certificates.
In the early 1970s the Royal Observer Corps was honoured by the RAF with the writing of its own dedicated march Skywatch which was composed by Wing Commander Roy E C Davies, then leader of the Central Band of the Royal Air Force. From 1977 the uncomfortable wartime "hairy mary" battledress uniforms were replaced in a rolling programme with modern zip fronted comfortable 1972 pattern No 2 RAF uniforms, immediately christened as 'mothercare suits' by observers due to the shapeless and baggy jackets, shirts with collars attached, practical woollen jerseys and additionally, for post observers only, new style green overalls and blue nylon foul weather jackets with overtrousers.
Close continuing links were formed with the Luftmeldekorpset (LMK), The Danish Air Reporting Corps, who performed a similar nuclear warning role in Denmark, but still retaining the aircraft recognition role due to their proximity to the USSR. Aircraft recognition competitions took place annually between the two organisations right up until 1991, even though the ROC no longer had an aircraft recognition operational role. The honours remained roughly 50/50 over the history of the competitions with the four man ROC team taking the trophy in the final contest. 3 Occasional liaison visits to the Luftmeldekorpset's Headquarters proved popular, as it was located in the basements under the main Carlsberg brewery in Copenhagen and the LMK's canteen club had a free lager pipeline from the factory facility above. The Luftmeldekorpset was finally disbanded in 2004.
The building programme
To enable the ROC to operate in a nuclear environment changes were necessary to both centres and posts to provide protection against blast effects and radiation from nuclear bursts.
Between 1958 and 1968 a countrywide building programme constructed a chain of 1,563 underground monitoring posts roughly eight square miles apart all over England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at an estimated cost of just under £5,000 each. The posts were excavated down to twenty five feet, a monocoque reinforced concrete building was cast and bitumen tanked (or waterproofed), before the whole structure was recovered by a compacted soil mound. Entered down a steel ladder in a vertical shaft the posts provided a single room accommodation for three observers to live and work in and a separate toilet compartment with a chemical closet. Air was circulated from grilled ventilators at both ends of the post and electricity was provided by a crated 12 volt lead acid battery charged occasionally by a portable petrol electric generator. New instrumentation detected the peak overpressure from any nuclear burst, photographic indications of the burst location and subsequent radiation levels. Conditions in these spartan posts was cramped, cold and in many cases also damp. It was fortunate for the volunteer observers that long operational occupation never became necessary.
ROC centres were renamed as Controls and provided with bomb proof nuclear protected buildings 4. A small number were converted from suitable and existing Second World War anti aircraft operations rooms (AAORs), with the remainder specially constructed as above ground or semi-sunk blockhouse buildings to a standard layout, depending on the subsoil composition at the chosen sites. The controls provided living and operational accommodation for up to a hundred observers and the Home Office UKWMO warning team members. There were male and female dormitories, kitchen and canteen provision, life support systems and decontamination facilities together with a communications centre and a split level central operations room with balcony positions.
Each control also had a compact brick shack built in the grounds called the Radiac Store which contained around 20 nuclear radiation sources in the form of milled metal discs. The discs with strengths of 0.5 röntgen , 1 röntgen, 5 röntgens and 10 röntgens were securely stored in lead lined containers. They had to be audited once a month which entailed a wholetime officer physically counting the discs into the palm of his bare hands and the results recorded on a log, usually achieved with some haste. The discs were used to calibrate and check the stocks of radiac instruments and for realistic training with live instruments. In practice, Health and Safety regulations introduced in the 1970s meant the radioactive sources were rarely used and almost never left the radiac store, finally being withdrawn and returned to Aldermaston in the mid 1980s. Many observers will however remember hunting for the hidden live sources with RSMs, in the long grass fronting the hangars of RAF West Raynham, during the summer camp of 1980, the last time that Health and Safety guidelines permitted such an activity.
Nuclear Reporting Cells
During the 1970s, in addition to the post observers and control observers, a new class of observer was created to man specialist Nuclear Reporting Cells at selected major armed forces Headquarters all over the UK. These NRC observers provided the army, navy and air force with comprehensive visual displays and scientific interpretation of the information provided by the ROC controls. Their role combined basic ROC training and duties with some of the scientific skills and training of the Home Office warning teams. Higher levels of security clearance and specialist training were needed for the limited number of NRC observers.
Instrumentation
For the detection of nuclear bursts
- Atomic Weapons Detection Recognition and Estimation of Yield known as AWDREY was a desk mounted automatic instrument, located at controls, that detected nuclear explosions and indicated the estimated size in megatons. Operating by measuring the level of electro magnetic pulse (EMP) the instruments were tested daily by wholetime ROC officers and regularly reacted to the EMP from lightning strikes during thunderstorms. 5 AWDREY was designed and built by the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston and tested for performance and accuracy on real nuclear explosions at the 1957 Kiritimati (or Christmas Island) nuclear bomb test (after being mounted onboard a ship). Reports following a reading on AWDREY were prefixed with the codeword "Tocsin Bang".
- The Bomb Power Indicator or BPI consisted of a peak overpressure gauge with a dial that would register when the pressure wave from a nuclear explosion passed over the post. When related to the distance of the explosion from the post this pressure would indicate the power of the explosion. Reports following a reading on the BPI were preceded by the codeword "Tocsin".
- The Ground Zero Indicator, or GZI or shadowgraph, consisted of four horizontally mounted cardinal compass point pinhole cameras within a metal drum, each 'camera' contained a sheet of photosensitive paper on which were printed horizontal and vertical calibration lines. The flash from a nuclear explosion would produce a mark on one or two of the papers within the drum. The position of the mark enabled the bearing and height of the burst to be estimated. With triangulation between neighbouring posts these readings would give an accurate height and position. The altitude of the explosion was important because a ground or near ground burst would produce radioactive fallout, whereas an air burst would produce only short distance and short lived initial radiations (but no fallout).
For the measurement of ionising radiation
- The Radiac Survey Meter No 2 or RSM was a 1955 meter which counted the particles produced by radioactive decay. This meter suffered from a number of disadvantages: it required three different types of obsolete batteries, it also contained delicate valves that were liable to failure and it had to be operated from outside the protection of the post. These were favored as they had been tested on fallout in Australia after the Operation Buffalo nuclear tests, and remained in use until 1982 by commissioning a manufacturer to regularly produce special production runs of the obsolete batteries. Within the ROC the RSM was superseded in 1958 by the FSM and the RSM retained only for post attack mobile monitoring missions.
- The Fixed Survey Meter or FSM introduced in 1958, could be operated from within the post with a cable leading to the detector mounted externally and protected by a polycarbinate dome. The FSM used the same obsolete high voltage batteries as the RSM. In 1985 this instrument was replaced by the PDRM 82(F).
- The PDRM82 or Portable Dose Rate Meter and the desktop fixed PDRM 82(F) version of the same meter, that were manufactured by Plessey and introduced during the 1980s, gave more accurate readings and used standard 'D' cell torch batteries that lasted many times longer, up to 400 hours of operation. The compact and robust instruments were housed in sturdy orange coloured polycarbinate cases and had clear liquid crystal displays.
- The Dosimeter pocket meters were issued to individual observers for measuring their personal levels of radiation absorption during operations. Three different grades of dosimeter were used, depending on ambient radiation levels. The original hand wound and tempremental dosimeter charging units were replaced during the 1980s by battery operated automatic charging units.
Communications and modern developments
Initially communications between posts and controls were by ex-army head and breast sets over above-ground telephone lines that had to be manually switched by Post Office engineers prior to exercises and operations. The head and breast sets were replaced in 1964 by metal housed “Teletalk” units that only permitted one way communications when the talk switch was depressed. The teletalks again used manually switched telephone lines, but with integral transistorisation to boost transmission and reception power. During the 1980s a new design of teletalk was introduced by British Telecom together with underground, permanently wired, landline connections that were hardened against the effects of Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from nuclear bursts.
Posts were organised in “clusters” of three, four or five posts with one in each cluster designated as the “Master Post”. To cover the possibility of a cluster being disconnected from its parent control, the master posts were provided with radio equipment that was capable of communicating with the parent control and up to three adjacent controls on different frequences.
Inter-group control to control exchange of burst and radiation data was initially as voice messages by "tellers" over telephone lines between adjacent groups. In 1971 this was replaced by punched tape data exchanges by telegraph teleprinters located in the communications centre. Between 1981 and 1985 the teleprinters were replaced again, this time with modern computerised AD9000 message switch equipment, operating over a permanent and EMP hardened landline network that permitted direct communication with every other group in the country. In the late 1980s the manually operated PMBX switchboards were replaced with computerised direct dial SX2000 equipment.
During the years immediately before the announcement of the Corps’ standdown there were trials in progress that would have provided monitoring posts with remotely operated above ground petrol generators that would provide constant electricity, “black” heaters to provide a warmer environment underground and new sealed ventilators to allow air changes without opening the post to a contaminated air flow.
ROC Association
In 1986 the Royal Observer Corps Association (ROCA) was established 6 with membership open to both serving and ex-observers of the ROC to provide close and continuing links between the Corps and its previous members. The association was organised on a regional basis with a chapter in each of the twenty five groups. Each chapter produced and distributed a monthly or quarterly magazine to keep the membership informed of developments and both local or national news. 7
The stated aims of the Association is to:
-
- To maintain esprit de corps and promote comradeship among ex-Corps members.
- To help ex-Corps members and their dependants who are in need, to obtain assistance from the Royal Observer Corps Benevolent Fund. 8
- To raise money for the Royal Observer Corps Benevolent Fund.
- To give support to any future re-establishment of the Royal Observer Corps as a voluntary organisation.
- To represent the interests of members with other national organisations.
- To preserve the heritage of the Royal Observer Corps including memorabilia and artifacts.
The Association has actively continued since the ROC disbanded and still provides an additional contact point for ex-observers or their dependants. ROCA also organises the annual reunion weekend each October at a suitable holiday resort hotel and provides an ROC contingient to the annual Remembrance Sunday event at the Cenotaph in London's Whitehall.
Many control and post crews have formed sub-chapters of ROCA and have continued to meet on a weekly or monthly basis for the sixteen years since stand down. They meet at local RAFA Clubs or hotels and invite interesting visiting speakers, or arrange visits to local places of interest. Local ROCA members turn out for Remembrance Sunday parades all over the country. Ex members are permitted to wear the ROC beret and cap badge, together with any medals.
During early 2008 the ROCA chapters in 4 Group Colchester and 17 Group North Wales closed due to the lack of organising committee members. ROCA members in those areas may join adjacent group chapters of the association.
The Corps stands down
The main field force of the ROC's monitoring post and group control personnel were stood down on 30 September 1991 and the ROC's original 1966 Royal Banner was laid up at St Clement Danes Church in the Strand, London where it remains on display, a new banner having been presented by HM Queen Elizabeth II in July 1991 at a Royal Review of the ROC. The Corps was disestablished along with the UKWMO following what was described by the Queen at the Royal Review as "the end of the Cold War" and linked to a Government press release that referred to "possible future developments and improvements in automated nuclear explosion and fallout detection from remote sensors".
Of the Corps' 170 full time staff, both uniformed and civilian, many were transferred to other appointments within the Ministry of Defence and other government departments, some took early retirement and the majority were made redundant. The Senior Administration Officer (S Ad O) and Personnel Services Officer (P Serv O) at HQROC undertook an extensive campaign of arranging relocation or retirement courses for staff all over the UK. The S Ad O and one Observer Lieutenant remained in post to administer the reduced ROC contingient under a revised RAF structure. A massive exercise in recalling instruments, equipment, furniture and stores from all monitoring posts and controls took place over nine months, controlled by the HQROC Supply Officer. Arrangements were made with the Ministry of Defence and RAF Historical Branch to archive the ROC files, documents and historical memorabilia at various locations across the country.
Only the Nuclear Reporting Cell (NRC) elements of the Corps remained in service, working alongside major armed forces headquarters and they entered a new and highly uncertain phase. Reduced to less than 260 members in total over the whole UK, the 16 retained NRCs now found themselves tasked with the daunting challenge of providing a comprehensive Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare analysis and warning service for the Military Home Commands, on a reserve-manned basis as NBCCs but without the countrywide flow of data from posts and controls.
The removal of any Home Office involvement in the ROC from 1991 onwards resulted in the "Remnant Elements" becoming effectively a single reserve Directly Administered Unit within RAF Strike Command (RAFSTC). For the final four years of the Corps' existence the role of Commandant became a secondary appointment held by the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of No. 11 Group RAF. All still-serving members were required to remove their original ROC Group designations from their RAF uniforms, and to accept moves towards a change in conditions of service during any Transition-To-War (TTW) that would make them effectively members of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), with protected rights, and closer links were made with the war-appointable flights of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).
Despite having successfully built upon the extensive NBC reporting trials, undertaken with the RAF Regiment and meeting full NATO standards and evalutions (STANAGs and OPEVALs), the conclusion reached by the UK MoD was that retention of the Corps in its NBC Cell role was "desirable, but not essential in the existing format". As a consequence, the remaining part-time members of the ROC were stood-down on 31 December 1995 after a laying-up ceremony for the 1991 ROC Banner in the Rotunda at RAF College Cranwell in Lincolnshire on 8 Dec 1995. The ROC Banner remains on display in the RAFC Cranwell rotunda alongside other stood-down Air Force units and squadrons that are subject to liability for reactivation in the future. Headquarters ROC at RAF Bentley Priory finally closed on 31 March 1996 after all administrative winding up tasks were completed. Assisted by the Senior ROC Officer (SROCO), Observer Commander N A Greig MBE, the last Commandant of the Corps was Air Commodore Martin K Widdowson RAF who held the position jointly with his appointment as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of the newly combined No. 11/18 Group RAF.
After the Corps
Several monitoring posts across the UK have been bought by ex-observers, re-equipped and opened as permanent amateur museums. Some posts on picturesque locations with rural views have proved popular with buyers seeking permanent locations for holiday caravans, ie the mostly intact Penrith monitoring post in Carlisle group was sold at auction during April 2008 for £182,000 ($360,000 US).
Most of the control buildings have been sold into private ownership and converted to other uses or demolished, however some still stand abandoned and derelict. HQ 20 Group York's semi-sunk control building has been adopted by English Heritage and is open to the public in Acomb, York as a museum of the Royal Observer Corps' cold war activities (10am till 5pm Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays. Weekday school or group visits only with prior booking).
Ex-observers wishing to enquire about their service history may apply to Ministry of Defence, Mwrwg Road, Llangennech, Llanelli, Dyfed. SA14 8YP giving as much information about themselves and their service as possible and enclosing a proof of identity. Information will not be provided to third parties.
RAF Bentley Priory itself, home of HQROC for the entire history of the Royal Observer Corps, closed in May 2008 and will be developed as a private hotel or luxury apartments, with the historic officers' mess rooms and a selection of ROC items retained as a public museum. 9
ROC rank structure and details
| ROC Rank | Insignia | Abbreviation | RAF Equivalent | Whole Time Appointments | Sparetime Appointments | Notes |
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| Senior Officers | ||||||
| Air Commodore |
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Commandant ROC (CROC) |
A serving RAF (General Duties) Officer. With only three exceptions during the ROC's history all Commandants were ex-Pilots, two being air navigators and one a non flying Supply Branch officer. Until 1978 the majority of the Air Commodores were in their final appointment before retirement. After 1978 several went on to Air Vice Marshal rank or higher after their ROC duties. A rank of Observer Commodore would have been held if an ROC officer had ever commanded the corps |
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| Observer Captain |
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Group Captain | Chief of Staff (CoS) | Area Commandant (5) | The most senior rank held by a member of the ROC. The wholetime appointment was known as Deputy Commandant ROC between 1941 and 1983. The sparetime area commandant, Observer Captain Joyce Shrubbs MBE, was the only female to hold the rank in the history of the ROC. Royal Observer Corps officers' rank braid was identical to RAF braid, but redyed midnight black after manufacture to remove the pale blue centre lines. |
| Observer Commander |
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Wing Commander | Senior Admin Officer HQROC Senior Ops Officer HQROC Deputy Area Commandant (5) Senior ROC Officer (SROCO) - 1992 to 1996 |
Group Commandant (25) | Promotion to Group Commandant in the rank of Observer Commander was based purely on merit. Normally the successful candidate came from the group's junior officers but there were several instances of Chief or Leading observers being promoted direct to Observer Commander. There were also several cases where candidates from adjacent groups were appointed. |
| Observer Lieutenant Commander |
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Squadron Leader | Ops Comms HQROC Ops Training HQROC Pers Serv Officer HQROC Supply Officer HQROC Area Staff Officer (5) Deputy Group Commandant (25) |
This rank was only held by wholetime officers The rank was known as Observer Lieutenant (First Class) from 1941 until 1968. The problem was that Squadron Leader did not convert sensibly as Observer Leader, which sounded like something more suited to a Boy Scout or Boys Brigade troop. The Area Staff Officers were known as Area Training Officers from 1941 until 1975. During operations the Deputy Group Commandant (DGC) became known as the Senior Duty Officer (SDO) until 1984 when the operational appointment became known as the Executive Officer (Exec O or XO). Until 1985 Ops Comms and Ops Trg were known as Ops 1 and Ops 2 respectively. |
| ROC Rank | Insignia | Abbreviation | RAF Equivalent | Whole Time Appointments | Sparetime Appointments | Notes |
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| Junior Officers | ||||||
| Observer Lieutenant |
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Flight Lieutenant | Ops Trg 2 HQROC Admin Officer HQROC Group Staff Officer (25) |
Crew Officers NRC Officers Group Officers |
The Group Staff Officers had been known as Group Training Officers until 1975. When the number of groups was reduced between 1962 and 1968 the wholetime officers from the closed groups were designated Mobile Training Officers until natural wastage reduced their numbers to the new staffing level. Sparetime officers received this promotion on merit. Obs Lts were often mistaken as Air Commodores by RAF airmen when in shirtsleeve order on RAF stations, the two midnight bands separated by a band of pale blue shirt material. Obs Lt was the entry level rank for wholetime ROC officers who attended the four week long Specialist Entrant and Re-entrant (SERE) Officers Course at the RAF Staff College Cranwell. Until 1985 Ops Trg 2 was known as Ops 2A During operations the Group Staff Officer was known as Deputy Senior Duty Officer until 1984 when they were retitled as the group's Logistics Officer (Log O) |
| Observer Officer |
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Flying Officer | Crew Officers NRC Officers Group Officers |
Basic rank for a sparetime officer. All officers wore small gold "ROC" titles on both lapels of the raincoat, No 1 Dress jacket, No 2 tunic and No5 Mess Kit. The beret or forage cap badge changes from silver to gold, with a woven gold wire badge on the officer's peaked cap. As uniformed civilians ROC officer rank was held under Royal Warrant rather than a Queen's Commission. ROC officers were subject to a rather odd combination of Queens Regulations for the RAF,the Civil Service Staff Regulations and the RAF Regulations for the Royal Observer Corps. |
| ROC Rank | Insignia | Abbreviation | RAF Equivalent | Whole Time Appointments | Sparetime Appointments | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other ranks | ||||||
| Chief Observer |  |
C/Obs or C/Obs (W) | Sergeant | Crew Supervisor (225), NRC Supervisor (30) or Post Head Observer (872) |
Royal Observer Corps shoulder flashes and group numerals were worn on the sleeve. Blue, red or gold spitfires and stars proficiency badges were worn on the sleeve for passes in the annual master test. Silver cap badge worn. | |
| Leading Observer |  |
L/Obs or L/Obs (W) | Corporal | Crew Supervisor (375), NRC Supervisor (60) or Post Instructor (872) |
Royal Observer Corps shoulder flashes and group numerals were worn on the sleeve. Blue, red or gold spitfires and stars proficiency badges were worn on the sleeve for passes in the annual master test. Silver cap badge worn. | |
| Observer | Obs or Obs (W) |
Airman | Crew, NRC or Post observer (c 8,000) | Royal Observer Corps shoulder flashes and group numerals were worn on the sleeve. Blue, red or gold spitfires and stars proficiency badges were worn on the sleeve for passes in the annual master test. Silver cap badge worn. |
ROC Badge
With its roots from the Elizabethan coast watchers organised and paid for by the County Sheriff to light and care for the beacons used to give warning of the approach of enemies – such as the Spanish Armada. The coast watcher holds aloft a torch, the whole encircled by a wreath of gilt laurel and surmounted by the royal crown, the motto being Forewarned is Forearmed.
Uniform notes
- When the ROC was first issued with uniforms in 1941 the RAF was able to provide the majority of the uniform items but held insufficient stocks of RAF blue berets. However the army had a surplus of Royal Tank Regiment berets, so the ROC was issued with the black army berets that remained part of the corps' uniform throughout its history.
- There was a similar shortage of sergeant and corporal stripes. However, there was a large surplus of rank badges for the quasi-military Royal Canadian (Volunteer) Storekeeper Corps serving during the war in UK dockside warehouses. The badges of bars within laurel leaves were adopted and Chief Storekeeper became Chief Observer and Leading Storekeeper became Leading Observer. The four bar rank of Master Storekeeper was considered but discounted. The four bar rank was again under consideration in 1990 to create RAF Warrant Officer equivalent Master Observer assistants to Crew, Group and NRC officers, but the decision was overtaken by the stand down announcement.
- Many observers joined the ROC after service in other armed forces. Aircrew brevets from the RAF, Army Air Corps and Royal Navy Air Service were permitted to be worn on ROC uniforms along with any medal ribbons from British or Empire (later Commonwealth) countries. Other permitted badges were specialist ‘trade’ badges such as parachute brevets, marksmen badges, radio operator badges etc.
- The 796 volunteer observers who served on board ships during the D-Day landings were entitled to wear a Seaborne shoulder flash for the remainder of their ROC career, even when promoted to officer ranks. There were a handful of Seaborne observers still in service when the majority of the corps stood down in 1992, several having lied about their ages in 1941 to make themselves older than they really were to qualify for the special service duty.
- ROC 'squadron' stable belts in colours identical to the ROC medal ribbon were authorised by the Commandant ROC and produced in 1985 for male observers. They remained an optional non-issue item and purchased at the individual's expense. Another optional self purchase item for both other ranks and officers was the RAF forage cap, also called the side hat or even "chip bag" or "cheese cutter". In 1983 female members were granted permission to purchase and wear the WRAF hat in place of the beret.
Royal Observer Corps Medal
Prior to the Second World War observers were employed by police forces and qualified for the award of Special Constable Long Service Medal for twelve years continuous service. That qualification ceased in 1941 when RAF Fighter Command took control of the ROC.
In 1950 His Majesty King George Vl granted permission for the award of the Royal Observer Corps Medal for twelve years continuous service in the corps. Each subsequent service of twelve years was recognised by the award of an RAF eagle clasp sewn to the medal ribbon. Wholetime officer service counted for half qualification, therefore requiring twenty four years service to qualify for a medal or clasp, but with any previous sparetime service counting in full.
Observers who served for 28 days during World War II qualified for the award of the War Medal. Service of 1,080 days also qualified for the 1939-1945 Star and the Defence Medal.
ROC '"Spitfire" proficiency badging
ROC other ranks were entitled to wear the "Spitfire" proficiency badge to mark successes in the annual "Master Test" examination. The first version of this was introduced as a measure of competency during the war and it consisted of a set of silhouette cards which needed to be correctly identified in order to be judged proficient, results of observers meeting the necessary standards were initially published to the rear of the corps magazine. The insignia awarded for this was a Printed Spitfire badge, in white on blue/grey material. Following this, the test of aircraft recognition incorporated the use photographic slides projected onto a screen by a "Flash Trainer" projector, between 1956 and 1966 the test became a mix of aircraft recognition and written answers to questions relating to the nuclear detection role. Latterly the master test was a 100 question multiple choice test and separate specialist papers were provided for post, crew and NRC observers.
There were four levels of result ranging from fail, basic pass, intermediate pass to master pass. A score of 90% was required for the award of a master pass. The first time a master pass was achieved the Blue Spitfire badge was awarded, each subsequent pass rated a blue star badge until the fifth pass when a Red Spitfire badge replaced the original blue spitfire. After the award of the red spitfire each subsequent five master passes was recognised by a red star badge until the twenty fifth pass when the red spitfire was replaced by a Gold Spitfire, the gold spitfire badge only being introduced in 1988 just before stand down, although awarded retrospecively.
The age limits of service meant that in order to achieve the coveted Gold Spitfire & 3 Stars a master level pass was needed during almost every year of an observer’s ROC service, assuming they joined at the minimum age. Very few gold spitfire badges were awarded and very few gold stars were qualified for.
Guide to ROC proficiency badges worn by other ranks
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Annual summer training camps
After the concept was introduced, by the Commandant Air Commodore Percy Bernard, 5th Earl of Bandon, from 1948 until 1990 the corps held annual summer training camps, which offered to civilian volunteers the opportunity to spend a week in uniform at a Royal Air Force station while studying. The camps would run for between six to eight weeks with around 500 to 600 sparetime observers attending each week, other ranks accommodated in barrack blocks and officers in the officers’ mess, with empty offices and hangars converted into makeshift training facilities. The trainers would be sparetime officers working from pre provided lesson plans and supervised by the permanent camp staff of up to nine wholetime officers. One wholetime officer would act as Camp Entertainments Officer, organising dances, filmshows, coach trips to places of interest and an end of camp grand raffle. On the Friday of each week a different senior RAF officer of Air Vice-Marshal rank or higher and on occasions Cabinet Ministers, would visit to inspect the Guard of Honour, tour the classrooms and address the assembled camp.
The week's programme would be arranged as follows:
Sunday - Arrivals and registration during the afternoon. Formal evening opening assembly in uniform. Meet and greet in the NAAFI club.
Monday - Morning parade. All day lessons from 9am until 5.30pm with a one hour staggered lunch break. Evenings free for local trips.
Tuesday - Morning parade. All day lessons from 9am until 5.30pm with a one hour staggered lunch break. Evenings free for local trips.
Wednesday - Morning parade. Lessons during the morning. Afternoon free for coach trips, sight seeing and feature films
Thursday - Morning parade. All day lessons from 9am until 5.30pm with a one hour staggered lunch break. Evenings free for local trips.
Friday - Morning parade. Morni