This is a list of the locations for former Royal Observer Corps (ROC) Group Headquarters and the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO) 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 Headquarters ROC Group No. 1 - Maidstone ROC Group No. 2 - Horsham ROC Group No. 3 - Oxford ROC Group No. 4 - Colchester ROC Group No. 5 - Watford ROC Group No. 6 - Norwich ROC Group No. 7 - Bedford ROC Group No. 8 - Coventry ROC Group No. 9 - Yeovil ROC Group No. 10 - Exeter ROC Group No. 11 - Truro ROC Group No. 12 - Bristol ROC Group No. 13 - South Wales ROC Group No. 14 - Winchester ROC Group No. 15 - Lincoln - (RAF Fiskerton) ROC Group No. 16 - Shrewsbury ROC Group No. 17 - North Wales (RAF Wrexham) ROC Group No. 18 - Leeds ROC Group No. 19 - Manchester ROC Group No. 20 - York ROC Group No. 21 - Preston (Goosnargh) ROC Group No. 22 - Carlisle (RAF Carlisle) ROC Group No. 23 - Durham ROC Group No. 24 - Edinburgh (RAF Turnhouse) 1953 - 1964 Barnton Quarry ROC Group No. 25 - Ayr ROC Group No. 27 - Oban ROC Group No. 28 - Dundee ROC Group No. 29 - Aberdeen ROC Group No. 30 - Inverness ROC Group No. 31 - Belfast (Thiepval Barracks) 1954-1959 Castlereagh, Belfast
UKWMO Sectors and groups Metropolitan sector 1 Group - Maidstone (group headquarters at Ashmore House, Maidstone) 2 Group - Horsham (sector headquarters) 3 Group - Oxford (peacetime national headquarters) 4 Group - Colchester 14 Group - Winchester Midlands sector 6 Group - Norwich (group headquarters at Old Catton) 7 Group - Bedford 8 Group - Coventry (group headquarters at Lawford Heath) 15 Group - Lincoln (group and sector headquarters at RAF Fiskerton) 20 Group - York (group headquarters at Acomb) Southern sector 9 Group - Yeovil 10 Group - Exeter (group headquarters at Poltimore Park) 12 Group - Bristol (group and sector headquarters at Lansdown, Bath) 13 Group - Carmarthen Western sector 16 Group - Shrewsbury 17 Group - Wrexham (group headquarters at RAF Wrexham) 21 Group - Preston (sector headquarters - wartime national headquarters) 22 Group - Carlisle (group headquarters at RAF Carlisle) 31 Group - Belfast (group headquarters at Thiepval Barracks) Caledonian sector 24 Group - Edinburgh (group headquarters at RAF Turnhouse) 25 Group - Ayr 28 Group - Dundee (group headquarters at Craigiebarns) 1964 - 1976 School Hill, Aberdeenshire 29 Group - Aberdeen (group headquarters at Northfield) 30 Group - Inverness (group headquarters at Raigmore)
Map of ROC Group Headquarters and UKWMO Sector Controls
Map of the United Kingdom showing former ROC Group Headquarters and United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation Sector and Group Controls.
See also Commandant Royal Observer Corps Aircraft recognition Royal Observer Corps Monitoring Post Operational instruments of the Royal Observer Corps AWDREY Bomb Power Indicator Ground Zero Indicator Fixed Survey Meter United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation Four-minute warning Royal Observer Corps Medal Skywatch march RAF Bentley Priory 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)
References
Sources
External links Nuclear Monitoring Posts – Subterranea Britannica