RAF Uxbridge was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) station in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

, within the

London Borough of Hillingdon The London Borough of Hillingdon () is the largest and westernmost borough in West London, England. It was formed from the districts of Hayes and Harlington, Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the ceremonial county ...

, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years before the founding of the RAF. Until the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

in 1939, the station was open to the public. The station is best known as the headquarters of No. 11 Group RAF, which was responsible for the aerial defence of London and the south-east of England during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

. Hillingdon House served as the group's headquarters. A bunker, subsequently known as the Battle of Britain Bunker, was built nearby to house the Operations Room, which controlled fighter squadrons operating within the group. The Operations Room was also responsible for providing air support during the evacuation of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

in May 1940 ( Operation Dynamo) and the D-Day landings (

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

). It was here that

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

first said, " Never in the history of mankind has so much been owed by so many to so few", which he repeated in a speech to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

four days later. RAF Uxbridge closed on 31 March 2010 as part of a reduction in the number of

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

installations in the

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

area. Many of its remaining military units were relocated to nearby

RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owner ...

the following day. Plans for redevelopment, consisting of a mixture of new residential and commercial properties and the retention of all listed buildings, were approved in January 2011. A small part of the station incorporating the Battle of Britain Bunker retains the RAF Uxbridge name and is owned by Hillingdon Council. The

River Pinn The Pinn is a suburban, outer west London river. It has dendritic headwaters, the furthest is considered its sourcein Harrow Weald. Its confluence with Frays River makes it a tributary of the Colne. It is one of three principal rivers wholly in ...

runs through the site from north to south, passing Hillingdon House and the Battle of Britain Bunker. The land around the river is mainly wooded and designated as

greenbelt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which ...

, and Hillingdon Golf Course borders the south of the station. A footpath through the site that had closed in 1988 was reopened in 2011.

History

Early years

The area that became RAF Uxbridge was long a part of the estate of Hillingdon House, built as a hunting lodge in 1717 by the

Duke of Schomberg Duke of Schomberg in the Peerage of England was created in 1689. The title derives from the surname of its holder (originally Schönberg). The Duke of Schomberg was part of King William of Orange's army and camped in the Holywood hills area of ...

, who staged regular hunts in the grounds. He was a German-born general serving under the future King William III, and was knighted for his part in the 1690

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...

.Crozier 2007, p. 5 The Marchioness of Rockingham, widow of Prime Minister

Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782; styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Marquess of Rocking ...

, bought the house in 1786 for £9,000 () following her husband's death and lived there until her own death in 1804. She left the estate to her stepsister Elizabeth, widow of

William Weddell William Weddell (13 May 1736 – 30 April 1792) of Newby Hall in the parish of Skelton-on-Ure, near Ripon in the West Riding of Yorkshire, was a British landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1766 and 1792. He created a ...

MP, who sold it to Josias Du Pré Porcher in 1805. In 1810 the estate was sold to Richard Henry Cox, grandson of Richard Cox, founder of the travel company Cox & Kings. Cox & Co, as the company was then known, was formed after Richard Cox was appointed agent to the Foot Guards (later the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

), and provided banking services for many regiments of the British Army by the end of the 18th century. The mansion was completely rebuilt after it burnt down in 1844 and later received a Grade II listing as a historic site.

First World War

In 1914 the mansion was put on the market by the estate of Frederick Cox, Richard Henry Cox's grandson. It was described as "a brick and stone building, partly stuccoed, with extensive outbuildings and ornamental gardens". The house and gardens, together with the surrounding parkland and an artificial lake created by damming a section of the River Pinn, amounted to over . The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, with the intention of establishing a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

camp. The local population strongly opposed the plan, causing the government to relent, and the site instead became the Canadian Convalescent Hospital to care for troops evacuated from the front line during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

.Crozier 2007, p. 6 The hospital opened on 20 September 1915 and was joined on 19 November 1917 by the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

Armament School which moved into Hillingdon House with 114 officers and 1156 men, making a donation of £2289.12s.9d (£ in ) to the

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society () A total of eight of these ranges were built along the River Pinn; one remains today. The hospital closed on 12 December 1917. On 1 April 1918, the Uxbridge site came under control of the Royal Air Force, which had been formed that day by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

. The following month it became the first RAF station to receive a royal visit, from

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

Inter-war years

The Recruits Training Depot and a detachment of the RAF Depot from

RAF Halton Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...

arrived in August 1919, merging to form Depot, RAF Uxbridge. The station itself was designated RAF Central Depot, Uxbridge. The site was then split to form two new RAF stations, the area to the east of the River Pinn heading uphill to Hillingdon House becoming RAF Hillingdon and the remainder RAF Uxbridge. That year, the building that became the station cinema was opened, designed by Lieutenant J. G. N. Clift of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

, and served as a lecture hall for new recruits.Sherwood 2007, p. 66 The RAF School of Music moved to RAF Uxbridge from Hampstead in September 1919. Headquarters Southern Area, Southern Area Medical Headquarters, Southern Area Barrack Stores, and the Southern Area and South Eastern Area Headquarters of the Air Construction Service moved into Hillingdon House in October 1919. T. E. Lawrence, better known as "Lawrence of Arabia", underwent initial training at the Uxbridge Depot in 1922 after enlisting in the RAF under the assumed name John Hume-Ross. He recounted his experiences in '' The Mint''. RAF Uxbridge Officers' Mess

Uxbridge Football Club was provided with the use of the station stadium from 1923 and played evening matches there. Ten barrack blocks designed by A. Gilpin were built around the parade ground in 1925, as was the RAF officers' hospital and the original Operations Room, controlled by the Fighting Area of Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB). The

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of Stat ...

chose RAF Uxbridge as the new base for ADGB on 14 January 1926 owing to its proximity to

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

. The site had the added advantage of lying on the fringes of London and therefore difficult for an enemy to locate and bomb. Having also housed a gymnasium, the lecture hall building became the station cinema in 1927, initially for the use of station personnel only but soon opened to the general public. On 1 March 1929, the headquarters of the Observer Corps was established at Hillingdon House; Air Commodore Edward Masterman was appointed its first commandant. The Observer Corps remained at RAF Uxbridge until 1 March 1936, when it transferred to RAF Bentley Priory. Owing to its wooden construction the original Operations Room could only be used during the summer months; maintenance of the signalling and communications equipment became difficult under damp winter conditions. A memo dated 16 January 1933, sent to the senior Air Staff Officer, Wing Commander Modin, stated: Douglas Bader arrived at the military hospital in 1932 to recover from the amputation of his legs following an air crash. During his stay Bader met the Desoutter brothers, who were beginning to make lightweight artificial legs from

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

. Once fitted with artificial legs, Bader fought hard to regain his former abilities and in time his efforts paid off. He was able to drive a specially modified car, play golf and even dance. During his convalescence, Bader met his future wife Thelma Edwards, a waitress at The Pantiles tearooms in Bagshot 25 miles away. Formed on 1 May 1936, Group RAF was headquartered at RAF Uxbridge under the command of

Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

Philip Joubert de la Ferté, who was succeeded by Sir Ernest Gossage in January 1937. The ADGB was reorganised on 13 July 1936, with control of fighter aircraft passing to the newly established

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Brita ...

, which moved to

RAF Bentley Priory RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was the headquarters of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. During the war, two enemy bomb ...

. The following day the remaining elements of ADGB became

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

, headquartered in Hillingdon House. Planning for the new Operations Room (within what became known as the Battle of Britain Bunker) began in August 1937. Initially it was to be buried below ground, but problems with the local

London Clay The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from ...

on the site meant it was eventually built by

Sir Robert McAlpine Sir Robert McAlpine Limited is a family-owned building and civil engineering company based in Hemel Hempstead, England. It carries out engineering and construction in the infrastructure, heritage, commercial, arena and stadium, healthcare, educa ...

at a depth of , although it was still able to withstand being hit by a bomb. The bunker was designed by Bob Creer of the Air Ministry. Work began in February 1939 and finished in August, ten days before the outbreak of the

. The original Operations Room on the surface remained as a back-up, but was not required for that purpose and was subsequently renamed Building 76. Also in August 1939, Bomber Command moved to Iver and on 2 September the new Operations Room and RAF Uxbridge reached operational war readiness. The station closed to the public on the outbreak of war, and the football club was required to suspend its use of the stadium.Skinner 2008, p. 25

Second World War

During the war, RAF Uxbridge was tasked with despatching personnel to and from training and operational units in Northern France. It also housed the RAF Uxbridge Language School, where

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mi ...

pilots were taught key RAF codewords. Pilots practised formation flying on the station football pitch, using tricycles fitted with radios, compasses and speed indicators. British Expeditionary Force troops returning from

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

were processed at Uxbridge. In mid-1940, staff at the station processed an average of 2,500 recruits and experienced troops per week. During the Battle of Britain, between July and October 1940, RAF Fighter Command at RAF Bentley Priory received air threat warnings that it filtered to remove duplication, doubt and confusion. These were then forwarded to the Operations Room at RAF Uxbridge, which allocated appropriate defence resources and passed orders on to Group sector airfields. Group personnel doubled to 20,000 between April and November 1940. The RAF officers' hospital was converted to the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

(WAAF) hospital early in 1940.Crozier 2007, p. 15 Doorway to Park House, RAF Uxbridge

While overseeing the operations at RAF Uxbridge,

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

stayed in a house opposite the entrance to the bunker. He used a small door to reach the bunker from the house each day. The house, named after the war in Park's honour, was demolished in 1996 to make way for newly constructed married quarters; only the garden wall and door were retained. Wing Commander Willoughby de Broke received the Air Force Cross on 11 July 1940 for his service as a Senior Operations Officer for Group, working within the Operations Room.

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

visited the station on 16 August 1940, to monitor the battle from the Operations Room. He subsequently made his well-known comment, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few", to General Ismay as they got into their car to leave.Crozier 2007, p. 29 Churchill repeated the quote in a speech to Parliament four days later.

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

and

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen ...

visited the station on 6 September. Churchill was again present at RAF Uxbridge on 15 September 1940, the fiercest day of fighting of the entire battle and later named Battle of Britain Day. As the last squadrons were sent into battle, Churchill asked Air Vice Marshal Sir Keith Park, "How many reserves have we?" Park answered, "There are none." A delayed-action landmine fell on the station on 26 September 1940, between the police school and WAAF Quarters where it remained until it was defused the following day. Two days later on 28 September a bomb fell into a tree from the Operations Room and was later taken to Harefield where it was defused.Skinner 2008, p. 100 A

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

attacked the station on 6 October 1940, dropping a bomb beside the

Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs c ...

(NAAFI) grocery shop. The device damaged water and gas mains but caused no casualties. Few bombs fell on the station; Luftwaffe pilots may have mistaken the glass greenhouses at the Lowe & Shawyer

plant nursery A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general p ...

west of the station for a large body of water not on their maps. The king and queen returned on 1 November 1941, by which time a "Royal Box" had been installed in the Operations Room from which they could observe the plotting activities. During 1942, General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

, Sir

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achieving rapid promo ...

and

Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

all visited the Operations Room. The actors

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French Without Tears'', in wh ...

(then a squadron leader liaising with Bomber Command),

Cyril Raymond Cyril William North Raymond MBE (13 February 1899 – 20 March 1973) was a British character actor. He maintained a stage and screen career from his teens until his retirement, caused by ill health, in the 1960s. His many stage, film and televi ...

and

Ronald Adam General Sir Ronald Forbes Adam, 2nd Baronet, (30 October 1885 – 26 December 1982) was a senior British Army officer. He had an important influence on the conduct of the British Army during the Second World War as a result of his long tenure ...

all served within the Operations Room during the war. In 1941, a division of the Meteorological Office was established at RAF Uxbridge as part of the Intelligence Branch. On 1 July that year, the station Sick Quarters were merged with the WAAF hospital to create the RAF Station Hospital. Group was involved in providing air support for the

Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, s ...

(Operation Jubilee) on 19 August 1942. Air Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory commanded participating Allied air forces from the Group Operations Room. The air operations section of Operation Overlord—the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

on 6 June 1944 (D-Day)—was also controlled from RAF Uxbridge. Orders from the station were the only ones issued to Allied air units on the day. The headquarters of the 2nd Tactical Air Force and 9th Tactical Air Force of the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

were stationed at Uxbridge while preparations were made for the invasion. On D-Day, the Group Controller was responsible for ensuring sufficient air patrols of the United Kingdom, the main shipping routes, and the beach landing areas.

Post-war years

RAF Uxbridge served as an athlete's village for the male competitors in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ...

. Swimmers trained at nearby

Uxbridge Lido The Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex is a leisure centre in Uxbridge, operated by Fusion Lifestyle on behalf of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The complex is centred on the Grade II listed outdoor swimming pool, known as Uxbridge Lido u ...

, and female athletes were housed at

RAF West Drayton RAF West Drayton was a non-flying Royal Air Force station in West Drayton, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, which served as the main centre for military air traffic control in the United Kingdom. It was co-located with the civilian ...

. Personnel from RAF Uxbridge were moved out to RAF Stanmore Park and transported back to the station daily for their shifts. In 1949, the RAF Cricket Association opened on Vine Lane on the western boundary of the station. Also moving into the stations grounds in October of that year were the 14F squadron or the Air Training Corps, their access also being via Vine Lane.The station's badge was approved in April 1953, incorporating a drill sergeant's pace stick to symbolise the training of recruits, and a bugle to represent the Central Band of the RAF; Uxbridge was the first RAF station in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

to have a badge approved. The ceremonial entrance to the north-west of the station, St Andrew's Gate, was officially opened on 16 December 1957 to mark the link between Uxbridge and the Royal Air Force. A memorial to the personnel of Group, made of Cornish granite, was placed in the ground above the Operations Room in 1957. Group moved to

RAF Martlesham Heath Royal Air Force Martlesham Heath or more simply RAF Martlesham Heath is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. It was active between 1917 and 1963, and played an important role in the development o ...

on 14 April 1958 and the room was soon sealed in its original condition. The memorial was unveiled by Air Chief Marshal

Lord Dowding Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, (24 April 1882 – 15 February 1970) was an officer in the Royal Air Force. He was Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and is generally c ...

on 23 April 1958 in a ceremony attended by Group Captain Douglas Bader and Wing Commander Lord Willoughby de Broke, among others, and marked by a

flypast A flypast is a ceremonial or honorific flight by an aircraft or group of aircraft. The term flypast is used in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. In the United States, the terms flyover and flyby are used. Flypasts are often tied in wi ...

of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Control of RAF Hillingdon passed from Fighter Command to Technical Training Command that year, at which time the entire site became known as RAF Uxbridge. The RAF School of Education moved into Hillingdon House from RAF Spitalgate on 10 November 1958, and the station was subsequently merged with No. 22 Group RAF. The station was granted the Freedom of the London Borough of Hillingdon on 19 March 1960, an honour allowing the station's personnel to march throughout the borough in uniform. On 1 November that year, the

Queen's Colour Squadron The King's Colour Squadron, formerly the Queen's Colour Squadron, is the unit of the Royal Air Force charged with the safe-keeping of the King's Colour for the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. Since its formation, it has been formed excl ...

of the

RAF Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by royal warrant in 1942, the Corps carries out soldiering tasks relating to the delivery of air power. Examples of such ta ...

moved to Uxbridge and the Southern Region Air Traffic Services headquarters moved into Hillingdon House. After the war, the station was already home to the London Area Control Centre, renamed the London Air Traffic Control Centre in 1948 and the Uxbridge Air Traffic Control Centre in 1957.Crozier 2007, p. 20 This eventually transferred to RAF West Drayton but remained under the parentage of RAF Uxbridge.Crozier 2007, p. 32

The Operations Room was extensively surveyed in order for a replica to be built at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

for the 1969 film ''

''. Scenes for the 1996 television miniseries '' Over Here'' and an episode of Richard Holmes' ''

War Walks ''War Walks'' is a BBC television documentary series presented by the historian Richard Holmes, then Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University. The series is about battlefields (though it could be questioned whether the ...

'' were filmed in the Operations Room itself. The reinforced Uniter building was built on the site in the 1970s to house communications equipment. Although no longer used for this purpose, the building contains two fuel storage tanks. The main entrance to the station was moved in 1972 from beside the station cinema to its present location roughly south. Over nine months in 1975, the Operations Room was restored by Signals Unit. The original map was repaired and returned to the table by the RAF Cartography unit, and the board detailing the readiness and activities of each sector squadron was rebuilt to resemble its status on 15 September 1940. In 1985 a museum was created within the bunker by Warrant Officer Robert "Chris" Wren and the Operations Room opened for group visits. In January 1981, the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...

(IRA) planted a bomb in the Suvla barrack block at RAF Uxbridge. The device was discovered and the thirty-five RAF musicians and fifteen airmen living there were evacuated before it exploded. Following the incident, an enquiry began and security at all RAF stations was reviewed.Crozier 2007, p. 23 The following year, many RAF personnel from the station were deployed during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. The station went on to celebrate its 70th anniversary in 1987 by staging several events that raised £30,000 (£ in ) for the

RAF Benevolent Fund The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund (RAF Benevolent Fund or RAFBF) is the Royal Air Force's leading welfare charity, providing financial, practical and emotional support to serving and former members of the RAF – regardless of rank – as well ...

RAF Uxbridge also became involved in

Operation Granby Operation Granby, commonly abbreviated Op Granby, was the code name given to the British military operations during the 1991 Gulf War. 53,462 members of the British Armed Forces were deployed during the conflict. The total cost of operations w ...

following the Iraqi

Invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...

in August 1990. Personnel at Uxbridge were prepared for service in the Gulf at that time and deployed in December that year. During the aerial assault on Iraq in January 1991, support group meetings began at the station for the families of service personnel serving during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, visited one of these groups in February 1991.Crozier et al. 2010, p. 22 The station church, St Luke's, became structurally unsound on 21 November 1990 after the foundations failed. The building dated back to 1933 and had been constructed of wood; the walls were pushed out and the floor rose by . In March 1993, the Leigh-Mallory bridge was opened across the River Pinn, and the church moved into a new permanent home, Building 231, in March 1995.

Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...

, then

Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...

, visited the station in May, and in October the station's new sports centre opened. RAF Uxbridge personnel were once more prepared for action in the Gulf in 2003 in readiness for Operation Telic in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. A support network for the families of service personnel sent into action was again established at the station. In March 2003 the

Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister ...

for Defence was briefed at Uxbridge as part of preparations for a visit to the Gulf. Personnel paraded through Uxbridge town centre on 28 November 2007, exercising the freedom of the borough granted to the station in 1960. RAF Uxbridge became a satellite station of RAF Northolt on 1 April 2008, in preparation for eventual closure. In the final years of RAF ownership, the

Service Prosecuting Authority The Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) is the organisation within the Ministry of Defence, responsible for consideration of cases referred to it by the Service Police and where appropriate the Military Chain of command and where necessary the di ...

and Civil Aviation Authority's UK Airprox Board (investigating air proximity incidents) was based in Hillingdon House. The final of the national Carnegie Champions schools rugby tournament was held at the station in August 2008. The link between RAF Uxbridge and the Royal Observer Corps was renewed in 2008 with the closure of RAF Bentley Priory and the relocation to Uxbridge of ROC memorabilia from the Priory Officers' Mess for safekeeping and display (the Royal Observer Corps having been stood down from operational duties in December 1995). The Queen's Colour Squadron returned from a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2009, marked by a homecoming parade through Uxbridge town centre held on 5 August 2009. More than 20,000 people watched the parade, which started from Uxbridge Magistrates Court, passing along the town's High Street to the RAF station.

RAF units

Sources: ''RAF Uxbridge 90th Anniversary 1917–2007'', ''RAF Uxbridge – A Fond Farewell'', and Ministry of Defence.

Closure and redevelopment

Prior to the closure of RAF Uxbridge, Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

sent a message to the station in February 2010, via her

equerry An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...

, Wing Commander A. D. Calame, who had served as Officer Commanding the Queen's Colour Squadron between 10 August 2005 and 16 July 2007: The station closed on 31 March 2010 as part of the Ministry of Defence's

Project MoDEL Project MoDEL (Ministry of Defence Estates London) is a project run for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) by the ministry's Defence Infrastructure Organisation and VSM Estates, a joint venture established between Vinci PLC and St. Modwen Properties to ...

, a programme to reduce the number of defence sites in

in favour of a core site at RAF Northolt. The closure ceremony was overseen by the Mayor of Hillingdon and included parades and the final lowering of the

Royal Air Force Ensign The Royal Air Force Ensign is the official flag which is used to represent the Royal Air Force. The ensign has a field of air force blue with the United Kingdom's flag in the canton and the Royal Air Force's roundel in the middle of the fly. ...

over the parade ground. A

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

conducted a flypast of the station. The final units marched to their new station at RAF Northolt the following day. The station, which had received the Freedom of the Borough of Hillingdon, returned the award to the London Borough of Hillingdon as part of the ceremony, though this was returned on 4 September to be stored in the museum of the Battle of Britain Bunker. A commemorative blue plaque dedicated to Douglas Bader was unveiled by the Mayor of Hillingdon at the entrance to the Officers' Mess. Hillingdon House

The Middlesex Wing Headquarters of the

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...

(ATC) had been based at the station together with Squadron ATC, which met on Mondays and Thursdays for parade nights. As part of the closing ceremony, personnel of Squadron were presented with the station badge to adopt as their own. The squadron continued to meet at the station until July 2010, when a newly refurbished building at the TA Centre on Honeycroft Hill became available. The Grade I listed Battle of Britain Bunker is now preserved as a museum open to the public, while the Grade II listed Hillingdon House will be partially converted into a restaurant. The station cinema is also Grade II listed. The Battle of Britain War Memorial is a scheduled protected monument. Although not listed, several other buildings on the site were identified within the plans for possible retention: the Sick Quarters, the Officers' Mess, the original gymnasium, the carpenters' block in the grounds of Hillingdon House and a building near the Battle of Britain Bunker. St. Andrew's Gate will be retained, as will the Mons barrack block adjacent to the parade ground. Plans to develop the remaining of the site were approved by the London Borough of Hillingdon in January 2011 for 1,340 homes, shops, a theatre and a primary school to be built over ten years. The council intends the development to become an extension of Uxbridge town centre. Early suggestions from the Leader of Hillingdon Council included a theatre with a statue of T.E. Lawrence outside, and a new museum built around the Battle of Britain Bunker. MP for Uxbridge John Randall called in 2009 for

Hillingdon Hospital Hillingdon Hospital is an NHS hospital in Pield Heath Road, Hillingdon, Greater London. It is one of two hospitals run by the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the other being Mount Vernon Hospital. History The hospitals has its origi ...

to be relocated to the site as an alternative to a planned rebuilding project on its existing site. The hospital trust ruled out such a move due to the projected costs. Hawker Hurricane gate guardian, RAF Uxbridge

Hawker Hurricane gate guardian, RAF Uxbridge

The area around the Battle of Britain Bunker, including the Group memorial, will retain the RAF Uxbridge name and be maintained by RAF Northolt as an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

. The Royal Air Force Ensign was moved to the area, together with the Supermarine Spitfire gate guardian, a fibreglass replica of aircraft BR600. The Spitfire was refurbished and painted in the D-Day invasion colours of Squadron as aircraft BS239, funded by the London Borough of Hillingdon. Uxbridge's first gate guardian was a real Supermarine Spitfire which was unveiled on 23 May 1973. This was sold to a collector for restoration and replaced by the current guardian in 1988. At a service commemorating the Battle of Britain in September 2010, a new

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

gate guardian in the markings of Polish Fighter Squadron was unveiled, also near the bunker. The guardian is a fibreglass replica of the aircraft flown by

Witold Urbanowicz Witold Urbanowicz (30 March 1908 – 17 August 1996) was a Polish fighter ace of the Second World War. According to the official record, Witold Urbanowicz was the second highest-scoring Polish fighter ace, with 17 confirmed wartime kills and 1 pr ...

during the Battle of Britain. The South Hillingdon branch of the St. John Ambulance service was based at RAF Uxbridge until the closure in 2010 led to a period of uncertainty over its relocation. Eventually, RAF Northolt provided the charity with new premises, which were available from January 2011. In June 2011, it was announced that the public right of way from St Andrew's Gate in the north-west to Vine Lane in the north-east would be reopened, after work to fence off the pathway was completed. The path, long, was the subject of a petition submitted to Hillingdon Council in 2010 and had been closed since 1988. The path was reopened in early August 2011. Since closing, the site has been used extensively for filming. Most recently, scenes for the television drama '' Endeavour'', set in the 1960s, were filmed there. The John Locke Academy, Uxbridge

In April 2012, VSM Estates announced it would be completing the purchase of the site from the

MoD Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

, with a view to commencing building work by the end of the year. VSM were provided with a £60 million five-year loan by HSBC, together with funding from joint parent companies, St. Modwen Properties and Vinci plc.

Persimmon The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-per ...

will develop of the site with 500 homes under an existing joint venture agreement with St Modwen. Demolition of the site in phases began in October 2012. The site will be developed under the St Andrew's Park name. A wood commemorating the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II was planted within the site in May 2012. Each school in the London Borough of Hillingdon was invited to plant a tree, and the Station Commander of RAF Northolt, Group Captain Tim O'Brien, also planted one on behalf of the RAF. The wood was officially dedicated by the London Borough of Hillingdon's Representative Deputy Lieutenant, Wing Commander Edna Partridge, on 19 July 2012. A ground-breaking ceremony was held on 2 July 2013 on the site, attended by the Mayor of Hillingdon and cabinet members of Hillingdon Council. The development is due to be completed within seven years. A new primary school, built on the site of the former sports ground and gym, opened in September 2014. Named the John Locke Academy, the school will have 630 primary places and 90 nursery places when fully subscribed. An additional planning application for the construction of office buildings was submitted by St. Modwen in June 2015.

References

Citations Bibliography * Bristow, Mark. (2005) ''A History of Royal Air Force Northolt''. RAF Northolt: No. 1 AIDU (Aeronautical Information Documents Unit) * Crozier, Hazel. (2007) ''RAF Uxbridge 90th Anniversary 1917–2007''. RAF High Wycombe: Air Command Media Services * Crozier, Hazel; Wren, Chris; Askew, Sam. (2010) ''RAF Uxbridge – A Fond Farewell''. RAF High Wycombe: Air Command Media Services * Jackson, Robert. (1983) ''Douglas Bader: a biography''. London: Littlehampton Book Services * Pearce, K. R. (2009) ''Uxbridge From Old Photographs''. Stroud: Amberley Publishing * Sherwood, Philip. (2007) ''Around Uxbridge Past & Present''. Stroud: Sutton Publishing * Skinner, James. (2008) ''Growing Up in Wartime Uxbridge''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing

External links

English Heritage record for RAF Uxbridge

English Heritage record for the No. 11 Group Operations Room, RAF Uxbridge

Account of a visit to the restored ops room, with photographs

London Borough of Hillingdon – RAF Uxbridge Planning Project

Royal Air Force Association Battle of Britain Club

1083 Squadron Air Training Corps

St Andrew's Park Uxbridge redevelopment
;Videos
RAF Uxbridge Final Parade – Part One (YouTube)

RAF Uxbridge Final Parade – Part Two (YouTube)

Visit to the Battle of Britain Bunker (YouTube)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raf Uxbridge 1917 establishments in England

Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hillingdon History of the London Borough of Hillingdon

Military installations established in 1917 Military installations closed in 2010 Uxbridge