List of ROC Group Headquarters and UKWMO Sector controls
Encyclopedia
This is a list of the locations for former Royal Observer Corps
(ROC) Group Headquarters and the United Kingdom Warning & Monitoring Organisation sector controls that received information from ROC posts by dedicated GPO
/BT
landlines. Clusters of posts also had VHF radio
communications with HQs and sector controls, in case of land-line failure, from the cluster Master Posts.
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down. (ROC headquarters staff at RAF Bentley Priory
stood down on 31 March 1996). Composed mainly of civilian spare-time volunteers, ROC personnel wore a Royal Air Force
(RAF) style uniform and latterly came under the administrative control of RAF Strike Command
and the operational control of the Home Office
. Civilian volunteers were trained and administered by a small cadre of professional full-time officers under the command of the Commandant Royal Observer Corps
; latterly a serving RAF Air Commodore
.
ROC Group No 2
ROC Group No 3
ROC Group No 4
ROC Group No 5
ROC Group No 6
ROC Group No 7
ROC Group No 8
ROC Group No 9
ROC Group No 10
ROC Group No 11
ROC Group No 12
ROC Group No 13
ROC Group No 14
ROC Group No 15
ROC Group No 16
ROC Group No 17
ROC Group No 18
ROC Group No 20
ROC Group No 21
ROC Group No 22
ROC Group No 23
ROC Group No 24
ROC Group No 25
ROC Group No 27
ROC Group No 28
ROC Group No 29
ROC Group No 30
ROC Group No 31
BURY ST. EDMUNDS
CAERNARVON
CAMBRIDGE
CARDIFF
DERBY
DUMFERMLINE
GLOUCESTER
LANCASTER
MANCHESTER
OBAN
WATFORD
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
(ROC) Group Headquarters and the United Kingdom Warning & Monitoring Organisation sector controls that received information from ROC posts by dedicated GPO
GPO
-Organisations:*General Post Office **General Post Office UK*German Patent Office, *United States Government Printing Office, a federal government agency*Green Party of Ontario, a policial party in Ontario, Canada...
/BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
landlines. Clusters of posts also had VHF radio
VHF radio
VHF radio refers to several communications services in the VHF frequency range, including:* Airband aircraft radio* Amateur radio in the 6, 2 and 1-1/4 meter bands* FM radio broadcasts* Marine VHF radio...
communications with HQs and sector controls, in case of land-line failure, from the cluster Master Posts.
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down. (ROC headquarters staff at RAF Bentley Priory
RAF Bentley Priory
RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was famous as the headquarters of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and the Second World War. The RAF Bentley Priory site includes a Grade II* listed Officers' Mess and Italian...
stood down on 31 March 1996). Composed mainly of civilian spare-time volunteers, ROC personnel wore a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF) style uniform and latterly came under the administrative control of RAF Strike Command
RAF Strike Command
The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007: it was merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air Command. It latterly consisted of two formations - No. 1...
and the operational control of the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
. Civilian volunteers were trained and administered by a small cadre of professional full-time officers under the command of the Commandant Royal Observer Corps
Commandant Royal Observer Corps
The Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps was the Royal Air Force commander of the Royal Observer Corps. All the holders of the post were RAF officers in the rank of Air Commodore, initially retired reserve officers then Auxiliary officers and, since the end of World War II, serving officers...
; latterly a serving RAF Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
.
ROC Group Headquarters
ROC Group No 1- MAIDSTONEMaidstoneMaidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
ROC Group No 2
- HORSHAMHorshamHorsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
- UKWMO Metropolitan Sector
ROC Group No 3
- OXFORDOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
- Headquarters UKWMO
ROC Group No 4
- COLCHESTERColchesterColchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
ROC Group No 5
- WATFORDWatfordWatford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
ROC Group No 6
- NORWICHNorwichNorwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
ROC Group No 7
- BEDFORDBedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
- UKWMO Midland Sector (Ceased 1968)
ROC Group No 8
- COVENTRYCoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
ROC Group No 9
- YEOVILYeovilYeovil is a town and civil parish in south Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 27,949 at the 2001 census, although the wider urban area had a population of 42,140...
ROC Group No 10
- EXETERExeterExeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
ROC Group No 11
- TRUROTruroTruro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
ROC Group No 12
- BRISTOLBristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
- UKWMO Southern Sector
ROC Group No 13
- SOUTH WALESCarmarthenCarmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
ROC Group No 14
- WINCHESTERWinchesterWinchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
ROC Group No 15
- LINCOLNRAF FiskertonRAF Fiskerton was located in the Lincolnshire village of Fiskerton, 5 miles east of Lincoln, Lincolnshire. It was one of many new bomber airfields built in the early part of World War II. The airfield was situated north of the village...
- UKWMO Eastern Sector (Became Midland Sector 1968)
ROC Group No 16
- SHREWSBURYShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
ROC Group No 17
- NORTH WALESWrexhamWrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
ROC Group No 18
- LEEDSLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
ROC Group No 20
- YORKYorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
ROC Group No 21
- PRESTONGoosnarghGoosnargh is a village and civil parish on the north side of Preston, Lancashire, England. The village lies between Broughton and Longridge, and mostly lies in the civil parish of Whittingham, although the ancient centre lies in the civil parish of Goosnargh...
- UKWMO Western Sector
ROC Group No 22
- CARLISLERAF CarlisleRAF Carlisle was a Royal Air Force establishment, now closed after being used for a variety of roles over a period of fifty eight years and formerly located north of Carlisle city centre in Cumbria, England....
ROC Group No 23
- DURHAMDurhamDurham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
ROC Group No 24
- EDINBURGH
ROC Group No 25
- AYRAYRAYR is an Estonian Sidecarcross frame manufacturer, competing in the sports world championship.The most prominent team in the 2008 world championship to use an AYR frame is the former world champions Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis. AYR has yet to win a world championship.-History:The company...
ROC Group No 27
- OBANObanOban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...
ROC Group No 28
- DUNDEEDundeeDundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
- UKWMO Caledonian (later Scottish) Sector 1976–1991 ( 1953 - 1964 Barnton QuarryBarnton QuarryBarnton Quarry is a ROTOR bunker of the R4 type in Clermiston, Edinburgh. It was built in 1952 as the SOC for correlating information from ROTOR radar stations throughout Scotland...
, 1964 - 1976 School Hill, Aberdeenshire)
- UKWMO Caledonian (later Scottish) Sector 1976–1991 ( 1953 - 1964 Barnton Quarry
ROC Group No 29
- ABERDEENAberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
ROC Group No 30
- INVERNESSInvernessInverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
ROC Group No 31
- BELFASTThiepval BarracksThiepval Barracks in Lisburn, County Antrim, is the headquarters of the British Army in Northern Ireland and its 38th Brigade. In August 2008, 19th Light Brigade moved into Thiepval Barracks from Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire...
Wartime ROC centres retained as stand-by operational buildings and training centres
BECKENHAM- 1959–1968
- Dura Den, Park Place, Beckenham, Kent.
BURY ST. EDMUNDS
- 1953–1968
- The Guildhall, Bury St Edmunds
CAERNARVON
- 1962–1968
- Northgate Street, CaernarvonCaernarfonCaernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
CAMBRIDGE
- 1953–1965
- Meadowfields, Newmarket Road, CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
CARDIFF
- 1953–1968
- RAF Llandaff (formerly known as RAF Caerau]], Ely, CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
DERBY
- 1961–1974
- RAF WaddingtonRAF WaddingtonRAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England.-Formation:Waddington opened as a Royal Flying Corps flying training station in 1916 until 1920, when the station went into care and maintenance....
DUMFERMLINE
- 1953–1968
- RAF Pitreavie Castle
GLOUCESTER
- 1953 - 1976
- Northgate Mansions, GloucesterGloucesterGloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
.
LANCASTER
- 1961 - 1967
- Willow Lane, LancasterLancaster, LancashireLancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
MANCHESTER
- 1961 - 1970
- ‘Danebury’, Slade Lane, Levenshulme, ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
OBAN
- North ConnelNorth ConnelNorth Connel is a village situated on the north side of Loch Etive in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Just to the east of the village is the Connel Bridge and Oban Airport is just west....
, Argyll - 1968 - 1973 (used as a communications centre until 1992)
WATFORD
- Cassiobury Drive, WatfordWatfordWatford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
. - 1968 - 1973
See also
- Commandant Royal Observer CorpsCommandant Royal Observer CorpsThe Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps was the Royal Air Force commander of the Royal Observer Corps. All the holders of the post were RAF officers in the rank of Air Commodore, initially retired reserve officers then Auxiliary officers and, since the end of World War II, serving officers...
- Aircraft recognitionAircraft recognitionAircraft recognition is a visual skill taught to military personal and civilian auxiliaries since the introduction of military aircraft in World War I. It is important for air defense and military intelligence gathering....
- Royal Observer Corps Monitoring PostRoyal Observer Corps Monitoring PostRoyal Observer Corps Monitoring Posts are underground structures all over the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, constructed as a result of the Corps' nuclear reporting role and operated by volunteers during the Cold War between 1955 and 1991....
- Operational instruments of the Royal Observer CorpsOperational instruments of the Royal Observer CorpsThe Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
- AWDREY
- Bomb Power IndicatorBomb Power IndicatorBomb Power Indicator known by the acronym BPI was a detection instrument, located at the twenty five British Royal Observer Corps controls and nearly 1,000 ROC underground monitoring posts, across the United Kingdom, during the Cold War that would have detected any nuclear explosions and measured...
- Ground Zero IndicatorGround Zero IndicatorThe Ground Zero Indicator, known by the acronym GZI was a specially designed shadowgraph instrument used by the British Royal Observer Corps during the Cold War to locate the Ground Zero of any nuclear explosion.-Overview:...
- Fixed Survey MeterFixed Survey MeterThe Fixed Survey Meter was a specialist detection instrument used by the Royal Observer Corps during the Cold War between 1958 and 1982 to detect ionising radiation from nuclear fallout generated by a ground burst...
- United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring OrganisationUnited Kingdom Warning and Monitoring OrganisationThe United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation was a British civilian organisation operating between 1957 and 1992 to provide the authorities with data about nuclear explosions and forecasts of likely fallout profiles across the country in the event of war.The UKWMO was established and...
- Four-minute warning
- Royal Observer Corps MedalRoyal Observer Corps MedalThe Royal Observer Corps Medal is a long service medal awarded in the United Kingdom to members of the Royal Observer Corps relating to service between 1941 and December 1995, when the ROC was stood down. The medal was initiated in 1950 by HM King George Vl...
- Skywatch marchSkywatch marchSkywatch is the official regimental march of the Royal Observer Corps. The march was composed and scored in 1972 by Wing Commander Roy R C Davies RAF , at the time leader and conductor of the Central Band of the Royal Air Force...
- RAF Bentley PrioryRAF Bentley PrioryRAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was famous as the headquarters of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and the Second World War. The RAF Bentley Priory site includes a Grade II* listed Officers' Mess and Italian...
- List of Royal Observer Corps / United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation Posts (A-E)
- List of Royal Observer Corps / United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation Posts (F-K)
- List of Royal Observer Corps / United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation Posts (L-P)
- List of Royal Observer Corps / United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation Posts (Q-Z)