Sentinels of Britain -
The Wartime Story of
The Royal Observer Corps
Following the success of "TOCSIN BANG - The
Cold War Story of the Royal Observer Corps", we have now also
produced a programme charting a different period in the history
of the Royal Observer Corps.
The Observer Corps was formed in 1925 to
give an early warning of any airborne attack of London.
Following exercises over Kent, with a control room in the Post
Office in Cranbrook (see
Cranbrook today), two "groups" were established with
Headquarters in Maidstone (No 1 Group) and Horsham (No 2
Group), and a network of 43 aircraft observation posts were set
up across Kent, Sussex and parts of Surrey. Following this, the
network of posts was gradually expanded to cover more and more
of the country and by November 1926 two more groups with
Headquarters in Winchester and Colchester had been formed. This
progress then slowed considerably, until in 1935 the Boyd
Committee recommended the more rapid expansion of the Corps due
to the worsening of the political situation in Europe. This
decision meant that by the outset of war, the Corps' network
covered a large part of the country.
In 1940, the Observer Corps' biggest
challenge yet was in the Battle of Britain, tracking and aiding
the interception of vast numbers of enemy aircraft. The success
of the part they played can be gauged by the granting of the
"Royal" title by George VI in 1941.
The work of the Corps continued throughout
the war, saving many lives with the early warnings of air
attack, but many members of the Corps were keen to be more
involved with other activities, closer to the action, and when
the call was made for volunteers to join gun crews onboard
defensively equipped merchant ships (DEMS) 1400 men
volunteered. Those that passed the rigourous testing and
training were known as "Seaborne" observers, and were involved
in "Operation Overlord", saving many aircraft from "friendly
fire".
As with TOCSIN BANG, we tell the story of
the Corps through the eyes of those who were there, the
Observers who stared at the skies, the Operations Room crews
who plotted the aircraft and passed the information to the RAF,
and the people who were aided by the work of the Corps.
Meeting and recording the memories of many fascinating people is one of the highlights of making these programmes, and the interviews we have recorded have all proved to be every bit as fascinating as we had hoped. Amongst the many stories are personal wartime experiences that would otherwise have never been told.
