ROCA HERITAGE: Other Museums, Displays & Collections
ENGLAND
PRESERVED MONITORING POSTS
Broadway Tower ROC Post, Cotswolds, Worcestershire
The post at Broadway Tower was closed at the initial stand-down of the ROC in 1991 and since then suffered from mild vandalism and theft of equipment in the intervening years. In 2001 the local area members of the ROC held a reunion at Broadway and before this event put in considerable effort tidying up the post by repairing the damage and putting the post back in pristine condition.
Every year on June 2nd, a memorial service is held on Broadway Tower Hill (Beacon Hill) to remember the downing of a Whitley Bomber which crashed there in 1943. Ex-members of the ROC come back to the site for this event and to remember the past-times within the ROC. For many years the only people who have gone down the post are these various ex-members.
In 2010 it was decided to open the post to the public and in view of the interest, the next decision was to equip the post and have more openings. Many people have assisted in the restoration of the post with thanks to them all and especially to ex-ROC members; Les Eales and Terry Penn as well as other post owners such as Terry Botterill and Frank Alexander (Skelmorlie Post Museum - See Scotland Museums) plus organisations like the ROC Museum at Flixton, Suffolk and British Telecom. Sincere apologies to anyone who has not been named.
The actual post sits on top of a hill which gives fantastic views over the country and there is also an intact "Orlit A” in the corner of the post. In Broadway Tower itself a small ROC museum has been created giving the story of the Corps around the walls plus some equipment in a cabinet. The artefacts do include the model planes that were used in WW2 for practice and the projector that was used to show images on the wall after WW2 (kindly donated by ex-Observer WCR Attewell). There is also a DVD playing showing Holbeach and Cuckfield posts.
PLEASE NOTE: NO EQUIPMENT IS EVER LEFT DOWN INSIDE THE BUNKER.
(Information and images provided from Tim Bailey, Broadway Tower with thanks)
Every year on June 2nd, a memorial service is held on Broadway Tower Hill (Beacon Hill) to remember the downing of a Whitley Bomber which crashed there in 1943. Ex-members of the ROC come back to the site for this event and to remember the past-times within the ROC. For many years the only people who have gone down the post are these various ex-members.
In 2010 it was decided to open the post to the public and in view of the interest, the next decision was to equip the post and have more openings. Many people have assisted in the restoration of the post with thanks to them all and especially to ex-ROC members; Les Eales and Terry Penn as well as other post owners such as Terry Botterill and Frank Alexander (Skelmorlie Post Museum - See Scotland Museums) plus organisations like the ROC Museum at Flixton, Suffolk and British Telecom. Sincere apologies to anyone who has not been named.
The actual post sits on top of a hill which gives fantastic views over the country and there is also an intact "Orlit A” in the corner of the post. In Broadway Tower itself a small ROC museum has been created giving the story of the Corps around the walls plus some equipment in a cabinet. The artefacts do include the model planes that were used in WW2 for practice and the projector that was used to show images on the wall after WW2 (kindly donated by ex-Observer WCR Attewell). There is also a DVD playing showing Holbeach and Cuckfield posts.
PLEASE NOTE: NO EQUIPMENT IS EVER LEFT DOWN INSIDE THE BUNKER.
(Information and images provided from Tim Bailey, Broadway Tower with thanks)
Veryan Bunkers, Veryan, Cornwall
Background: WWII and the first Veryan Post
The very first Cornish above ground aircraft reporting post opened in January 1940 on top of the 8 metre high ancient burial mound and Elizabethan 1st warning site of Carne Beacon near the Village of Veryan, Cornwall, as part of No 20 Group Truro and was designated T2 Veryan Post. Some local people strongly objected to the placing of the post on such a hallowed point but they were over ruled by the Air Ministry. The post was only 2 miles from the coast and held commanding views over south Cornwall and the English Channel.
This first post was a wooden structure some 3 metres by 4 metres square, an observation area with aircraft plotting instrument, and a small ‘cubby’ for making tea, cooking and taking shelter. Communication was by land line telephone to the main operations room in Truro. The post was manned continuously 24 hours a day by up to 16 observers, these being a mixture of full time and part time observers. Their role was to track (using the post instrument), identify, and report all aircraft seen or heard within a ten mile radius of the post. The post was run by a Chief Observer and for most of the War years this was a man called Frank Connor, who eventually enrolled his wife kathleen, his son and even his housekeeper, into the Corps.
In 1942 Veryan Post was one of only three Cornish posts to be equipped with high frequency radio for communication with aircraft lost or in distress. Also in 1942 a satellite post was set up on the coast at Perbargus Point, some three miles to the east, to cover a blind spot in the area of observation and at times this post was manned by only one observer. Sometime in 1942 the initial wooden post structure was replaced by a more substantial concrete block post which was elevated and had glass side panels around the top to give the observers some protection from the weather. Continuous watch was maintained day and night throughout WWII, despite radar coming into more general use, and at times enemy aircraft virtually overflew the post on their way to attack Falmouth, Truro or one of the several RAF Stations in the county.
In 1944 the Corps was called upon to man D-Day landing ships in order to recognise aircraft and to instruct the ships’ gunners whether or not to open fire - quite a responsible task. These observers were known as ‘Seaborne’ observers and two died carrying out this duty on D-Day or shortly afterwards. Typically, Kathleen Connor volunteered for Seaborne duty but was turned down because she was a woman!
The Peace time role 1947 to 1955
With the end of the war on 12 May 1945 the Corps was stood down but was quickly reformed in 1947, still with the aircraft reporting role, due to the perceived threat of low level intruders (below the radar coverage) attacking the UK from Russia. In the late 1940s Kathleen, became the post’s Chief Observer. In 1962 she was awarded the BEM for her services to the Royal Observer Corps, the first Cornish woman Corps member to receive such an honour. At this stage the post strength was 12 and all were spare-time. They came from many walks of life but once a week they trained locally in a hut at Veryan Village, or later at Kathleen Connor’s home, and six times a year they manned the post for aircraft reporting exercises.
In November 1953 the post was re-designated F1 as part of the re-numbered No 11 Group Truro. But changes were on the way, for in 1955 the Corps was given the new role of Detecting and Reporting Nuclear attacks on the UK and was to be part of the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO) funded by the Home Office. From 1960 all the posts and operations rooms were being placed underground in protected accommodation and by 1963 the aircraft reporting role had virtually disappeared.
The second Veryan Post and the Nuclear role 1955 to 1991
In September 1962 the above ground post at Carne Beacon was discontinued and demolished leaving only the concrete foundations. Veryan Post was re-sited a mile south on the spectacular Nare Head and an underground post was built some 30 metres south east of the old WWII decoy command bunker mound and only 30 metres from 300 foot high cliffs. The new underground post opened in July 1963 with the role of taking observations to nuclear bursts and monitoring radioactive fallout. The concrete post is 1 metre below ground, some 5 metres by 3 metres and has a radiation protective factor of 1000. The post was fully equipped with radiological instruments to record the characteristics of nuclear bursts and fallout.
The nuclear role continued throughout the 1960s, 70s and 1980s with simulated nuclear exercises being held 4 times per year and training meetings being held weekly. In November 1982, the introduction of electronic data transmission led to the last re-designation to 67 Post. Post radios were introduced for communication but a radio was never fitted to Veryan Post.
By 1989 Communism and the Soviet Block were beginning to collapse and in 1990 it was clear that there was no longer any ‘enemy’ and the threat of a nuclear war had receded. On financial grounds the posts and operations rooms of the Royal Observer Corps were stood down on 30th September 1991 and all the ROC posts became redundant. The MOD only leased the site of Veryan Post from The National Trust and on stand down they offered to demolish the post or return it intact to the Trust. Fortunately The National Trust accepted the former post back intact and from that date the post has remained in their ownership.
Veryan Post as a Heritage Site 1995 to date
However, the Trust did nothing with the post and some deterioration set in. In October 1995 the Truro Branch of the Royal Observer Corps Association took out a lease on the post and during 1995 and 1996 they totally repaired and re-painted the post. More importantly Truro ROCA managed to obtain almost all of the former nuclear equipment back again (and more besides). From 1996 the post was opened up to the public as a heritage site and many visitors including tourists went down the post.
The post is right on the much walked Cornish Coastal Footpath and attracts many walkers.
In 2007, Truro ROCA, who still own all the contents of the post, for insurance reasons, terminated their lease and the post reverted to The National Trust. However, members of the Truro ROCA now operate Veryan Post much as before but as National Trust Volunteers in a very harmonious heritage partnership. From 1996 to date over 1500 visitors have been down the post, or bunker, as it is now called. The post has been the subject of many visits by local and national radio, the press, regional TV and other TV documentary producers.
What you can see today
Carne Beacon still remains proud and solitary in a field and on top of the Beacon the concrete base of the above ground aircraft reporting wartime post still survives. Nothing remains of the satellite post at Perbargus Point. The nuclear post is now fully equipped and preserved as an example of an operational ROC post at the height of the cold war. The post is believed to be the only preserved and fully equipped ROC post open to the public in the south west.
30 metres north of the post is a WWII Decoy Site Command Bunker of the QF/QL/SF type. In 2012/13 the National Trust renovated the Decoy Bunker and seats, lighting and information boards are being added. The ROC nuclear bunker and the Decoy Bunker now form part of these unique tours. Just off shore is a rocky island used in the filming of the picture ‘Treasure Island’ starring John Mills. Four to five Open Days are held each year and on each day are two tours lasting about 90 minutes each. The role and history of the Corps is explained and visitors are shown all the equipment both on the surface and underground. Booking is essential since visitor numbers are limited. Special Visits are by arrangement with Truro ROCA.
EVENTS & VISITS
VERYAN BUNKERS OPEN DAYS - 2023
These will be held on:
Monday 29 May (Spring Bank Holiday).
Sunday 25 June.
Sunday 23 July.
Sunday 20 August
Saturday 16 September (Heritage Week).
There will be two tours per Open Day at:
1100 to 1230hrs and
1330 to 1500hrs.
Please note that tours do include an element of being in a confined space and some Covid-19 restrictions may apply.
For bookings please contact - Lawrence Holmes on 01872 278234 or e-mail on - semloh.malpas@talktalk.net.
Also check out the National Trust Website which includes information relating to the area by clicking the button below
Entry to events - £5 payable on the day. Cost includes 90 minute tour including former Cold War ROC Post Bunker and WW2 Decoy Command Bunker
These will be held on:
Monday 29 May (Spring Bank Holiday).
Sunday 25 June.
Sunday 23 July.
Sunday 20 August
Saturday 16 September (Heritage Week).
There will be two tours per Open Day at:
1100 to 1230hrs and
1330 to 1500hrs.
Please note that tours do include an element of being in a confined space and some Covid-19 restrictions may apply.
For bookings please contact - Lawrence Holmes on 01872 278234 or e-mail on - semloh.malpas@talktalk.net.
Also check out the National Trust Website which includes information relating to the area by clicking the button below
Entry to events - £5 payable on the day. Cost includes 90 minute tour including former Cold War ROC Post Bunker and WW2 Decoy Command Bunker
VISITOR INFORMATION
How to find the Bunkers
Take the A3078 from Truro, or the A390, then B3287 from St Austell, to Tregony. From Tregony take the A3078 for St Mawes. After two miles turn left signed for Veryan. Keep on this road. After approximately two and a half miles turn sharp left signed to Carne, Portloe and Trewartha. Go straight on at the crossroads then turn left on a narrow road signed ‘Nare Head’. Keep on this road for threequarters of a mile until you reach Kiberick Cove. Park in the National Trust Car Park on the right. Walk out of the car park and turn right onto an unmetalled track. For SatNav users note that there is no post code for the bunker.
The nearest post code is for Pennare Farm some 300m north of Kiberick Cove Car park. The post code for the farm is TR2 5PH (See map below).
Parking
Please park all cars in the National Trust Car Park at Kiberick Cove which is marked on all OS maps. Grid Ref is SW 921378. Do not drive up to the bunker.
Route to the Bunkers
Turn right on leaving the car park, go over a cattle grid, turning right uphill. Curve left at the end of the field, still on the track. Go over the cattle grid at the top of the field by the National Trust marker ‘Nare Head’. The bunker can be seen some 80 metres straight ahead. Allow about 8 minutes for the walk from car park to bunker. Direction signs will normally be set up.
The Bunkers
Access to the nuclear bunker is via a vertical ladder set in an access shaft some 12 feet deep. Climbing the ladder is reasonably easy but any elderly or disabled people should be aware of this method of access. There is strictly no smoking in the bunker. Bunker Grid Ref is SW 920373.
Safety
The tour organiser will give any necessary safety briefing for both surface and underground locations. This particularly applies to getting onto, and climbing up and down the ladder.
The Tour
The tour will consist of a surface part when the top of the nuclear bunker will be described. This will be followed by a look inside the nearby Decoy Command Bunker. There will then be a detailed look in the underground nuclear bunker. Numbers are limited to 12 to 15 at any one time. Large groups will be taken into the underground bunker in 2 or 3 parties. Tour times are as quoted in the National Trust Events brochure and on the internet sites and are the start and end times at the bunker not at the car park. If you are short of time allow for the walk back to your car. The visit will last approximately 90 minutes.
Charges
Bunker Tours are charged at £4 per person irrespective of being a member of the National Trust.
Toilets
Please note that there are no toilets for public use at the bunker.
Weather
Tours normally always go ahead despite poor weather forecast. Nare Head is exposed and can be cold. Please come appropriately dressed. In cases of a very bad weather forecast, tours may be cancelled at very short notice and visitors will be notified by phone if they have left a home telephone number on booking.
Internet information
More internet information about Veryan Bunkers can be found on :-
The National Trust site at :- www.nationaltrust.org.uk/roseland/things-to-see-and-do/events (Scroll down to Veryan Bunker Tours and click ‘More details’ for extra information).
If you have any queries please phone Lawrence Holmes on 01872- 278234.
Details correct as at 1 June 2023
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Image Sources: Lawrence Holmes, Veryan ROC Post Museum & Truro ROCA
OTHER ROC DISPLAYS & COLLECTIONS
Bentley Priory, Stanmore, Middlesex
Bentley Priory has about it a dreamlike quality, even though the guards on duty at the gate, wearing battle fatigues and toting the latest rapid-fire rifles, remind you that this intriguing country house, enlarged and remodelled by Sir John Soane from 1788 for John Hamilton, the first Marquis of Abercorn, and set in London' fast disappearing Green Belt, is until January 2008 a working RAF base.
In July 1936, Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding walked from 'Montrose,' his Stanmore home, and showed his security pass to the sergeant on duty at the same guardhouse that he must have passed through when he had taken up duties as head of the newly formed RAF Fighter Command. 'Stuffy' as he was known throughout the force, chose the south-facing library as his office. It looks out, then as now, over a sculpted Italianate garden and on, across a big sky, towards Harrow-on-the-Hill, marked by the tall spire of St Mary's church. The north London suburbs, which were spreading their red-brick and pebble-dash tentacles between here and Harrow even as Dowding was making plans for the defence of the realm, are completely invisible from the tall library windows. It remains a romantic view, one that conjures up a kind of idealized England whose freedoms, traditions and eccentricities were worth fighting for in 1939 and, or course, very much still are.'
As a part of an estate rationalisation programme the Ministry of Defence sold the Bentley Priory site within a large contract for land disposal tied to a major rebuild at RAF Northolt. The Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust is a registered charity formed to ensure preservation of this pivotal part of world history.
Information from: www.bentleypriory.org
In July 1936, Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding walked from 'Montrose,' his Stanmore home, and showed his security pass to the sergeant on duty at the same guardhouse that he must have passed through when he had taken up duties as head of the newly formed RAF Fighter Command. 'Stuffy' as he was known throughout the force, chose the south-facing library as his office. It looks out, then as now, over a sculpted Italianate garden and on, across a big sky, towards Harrow-on-the-Hill, marked by the tall spire of St Mary's church. The north London suburbs, which were spreading their red-brick and pebble-dash tentacles between here and Harrow even as Dowding was making plans for the defence of the realm, are completely invisible from the tall library windows. It remains a romantic view, one that conjures up a kind of idealized England whose freedoms, traditions and eccentricities were worth fighting for in 1939 and, or course, very much still are.'
As a part of an estate rationalisation programme the Ministry of Defence sold the Bentley Priory site within a large contract for land disposal tied to a major rebuild at RAF Northolt. The Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust is a registered charity formed to ensure preservation of this pivotal part of world history.
Information from: www.bentleypriory.org
Bury St. Edmunds, Guildhall Operations Room, Suffolk
(Info from Guildhall Project Website)
With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 the Guildhall found itself set firmly in the front line. Despite the early development of RADAR technology the air defence of Britain was still largely reliant upon the information provided by lookout posts established by the Observer Corps. These units would visually identify aircraft and plot enemy movements, before passing the information on to regional Operations Rooms. Largely manned by civilian volunteers, these regional Operations Rooms gathered together all available information and passed it on to RAF Fighter Command, Anti-Aircraft Command and Civil Defence organisations. For the majority of Suffolk the Observer Corps Operations Centre was housed in the Guildhall at Bury St Edmunds.
The ‘Ops Room’ housed in the Guildhall was one of forty such centres established in the months leading up to the outbreak of hostilities. Situated in the former Council Chamber, the Ops Rooms monitored all air activity over central East Anglia and it was from this room that much of the air defence of Suffolk was co-ordinated. With each new ‘plot’ received, the controllers would mark the position of aircraft on large scale mapping tables, the calculated course, height and speed would then be passed on to alert fighters which could then be directed to intercept enemy bomber formations. During the dark months of the Battle of Britain the largest air battle in the history of Europe was laid out by local civilians on the tables in the Guildhall Ops Room.
Later in the war, as RADAR became more advanced, the Guildhall continued to play a major role in East Anglia’s air defence. The experimental RADAR station at Trimley Heath on the Suffolk coast was linked directly to the Guildhall Ops Room. This station was the first to develop and experiment with revolutionary Ground Intercept Radar (GIR). This system was far more accurate than standard RADAR information and allowed plotters at the Guildhall to accurately direct individual ‘intercept’ aircraft onto lone enemy targets approaching across the North Sea.
Of the forty Observer Corps Operations Rooms constructed at the beginning of the Second World War that at the Guildhall is the only one to survive intact. Still retaining its wartime layout the Ops Room at the Guildhall is a unique survival of Britain’s wartime heritage. It is the intention of the Guildhall Project to recreate exactly how this room would have looked during its operational life and to tell the story of the local people who worked there. Using many of the original fixtures and fittings, the project aims to bring to life the role of local civilians during one of Britain’s finest hours.
For further information relating to the Guildhall Project, please visit the following site:
WEB: http://www.buryguildhall.co.uk
Hack Green Secret Bunker, Hack Green, Cheshire
Hack Green Secret Bunker is located in the heart of the Cheshire countryside, a few miles outside the picturesque market town of Nantwich, and only 30 minutes from Chester. The semi-sunken site consists of two floors which include an extensive range of exhibits relating to the Cold War, military and nuclear technology, radar and the Royal Observer Corps. The museum is a supurb all weather attraction.
WEB: www.hackgreen.co.uk
WEB: www.hackgreen.co.uk
Newark Air Museum, Newark, Nottinghamshire
The Newark Air Museum is located on part of the former World War Two airfield of Winthorpe in eastern Nottinghamshire. The museum features an expanding collection of well looked after exhibits, including a number of unique or significant airframes. All are maintained in good condition.
Access can be gained to the interior of the Hastings and Shackleton for modest fee. There is an extensive under-cover display area incorporating an extensive range of aviation artefacts and aviation memorabilia. Newark also has quite a comprehensive ROC display with an almost full size mock up of an underground post and a large collection of radiac instruments, ROC badges and training items. The display includes the triangulation table and other equipment from the former Lincoln ROC 15 Group Control at Fiskerton.
WEB: www.newarkairmuseum.org
Access can be gained to the interior of the Hastings and Shackleton for modest fee. There is an extensive under-cover display area incorporating an extensive range of aviation artefacts and aviation memorabilia. Newark also has quite a comprehensive ROC display with an almost full size mock up of an underground post and a large collection of radiac instruments, ROC badges and training items. The display includes the triangulation table and other equipment from the former Lincoln ROC 15 Group Control at Fiskerton.
WEB: www.newarkairmuseum.org
Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton, Suffolk
The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum is recognised as East Anglia's Aviation Heritage Centre. Maintained and run by volunteers, with one paid staff member, the Museum celebrated its 35th Anniversary in 2007. Constituting an impressive collection of aircraft and equipment, the Museum also displays in separate buildings themed collections for the Royal Observer Corps No. 6 Group, the 446th (H) Bomb Group USAAF, RAF Bomber Command, RAF Air-Sea Rescue & Coastal Command, and local aviation through the years. There are also numerous exhibitions on special subjects including WWII Decoy Crews, Boulton & Paul, RAF training aids, aerial photography, and the Home Front.
WEB: www.aviationmuseum.net
WEB: www.aviationmuseum.net
ROC Heritage Collection @ AeroVenture, Doncaster, South Yorkshire
AeroVenture, South Yorkshire's air museum is located at Doncaster’s Lakeside - the former site of WWII RAF Doncaster. The museum is a treasure trove of aviation history and as most of the exhibits are under cover, it is ideal for sunny or rainy days.
The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) Heritage Collection is located within the Aircraft Museum and is located within one of the Cold War Vulcan bomber alert crew vans from RAF Finningley. The collection was fully refurbished in 2007 and includes displays tracing the history of the ROC from its beginnings in 1925 through to the Corps being finally stood-down in 1995. The collection features a selection of the equipment used within both periods of the ROC operations.
The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) Heritage Collection is located within the Aircraft Museum and is located within one of the Cold War Vulcan bomber alert crew vans from RAF Finningley. The collection was fully refurbished in 2007 and includes displays tracing the history of the ROC from its beginnings in 1925 through to the Corps being finally stood-down in 1995. The collection features a selection of the equipment used within both periods of the ROC operations.
Image Sources: Jim Keable c/o AeroVenture
ROC 20 Group Control, York, Yorkshire
The York Cold War Bunker is a two-storey semi-sunk former Royal Observer Corps Group Control building. The site was opened to the public in 2006 by English Heritage as a tourist attraction. The site is only accessible by tour.
WEB: www.english-heritage.org.uk
WEB: www.english-heritage.org.uk