Coming up for a month since my Amersham excursion, I thought it about time I did something else. Not just me this time though, wifey too. Ginny would remain in the garage on this occasion.
As we in the UK have been celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, and what with all the programmes on TV about it, I was curious about the operations centre that features in the BoB film and all the documentaries. You know the one, where all the WAAFs are pushing little numbered blocks across a map of southern England, with chaps in the balcony above, on the telephone to the airfields, getting the Spits & Hurris airborne. As the documentary men/women were able to visit the bunker, I wondered if we might too. A quick google and I discovered that the BoB bunker, is indeed open to the public. In these covid-19 times, as with most places, you can't just turn up, least not if you want a tour of the bunker itself, so I had to book us a time slot, midday. There are only 2 bunker tours a day, with the 2nd being later in the afternoon, which would probably mean we'd be caught in the rush hour traffic (I think we still get that, even under covid) coming home, so midday it was.
The bunker is in Uxbridge, not that far from Heathrow actually, and about 90 minutes from home. We left around 09:30, allowing plenty of time for unexpected eventualities. There weren't any, and we had a straight run through, arriving just about 11am.
In the car park, there is a massive statue of Air Chief Marshall Sir Keith Park, head of 11 Group RAF Fighter Command. I'm sure you know, 11 Group were responsible for defending the South East of England and London, so bore the brunt of the attacks from the Luftwaffe, and 11 Group operations were controlled from the bunker at, the now disappeared, RAF Uxbridge.
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| Air Chief Marshall Sir Keith Park |
The visitor centre has only been open a couple of years and is a very modern looking building. It's not that big, just a cafe and tiny shop as you go in and then a large open space out back, with exhibits downstairs, whilst at eye level and hanging from the ceiling are a Spitfire & Hurricane, both MK 1 example replicas.
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| Supermarine Spitfire MK1 |
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| Hawker Hurricane MK1 |
The exhibits are made up of the various 'components' from Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding's air defence system, from the radar machines, to air raid sirens, to anti aircraft guns, to pilot's equipment, etc. It's not a massive exhibition but then this is not the main attraction.
A walk outside, past the 11 Group memorial, takes you to some steps that lead into the bunker complex. 76 steps in all lead you to the literal heart of the operation, the plotting room. Just as you will have seen in the movie, in the centre of the room sits the massive table, showing the map of the southern half of England and part of northern France/Belgium. The wall is covered with the light/info boards for each of the airfields under 11 Group command, and is very impressive. There's everything you could wish to know, even what the weather was at each airfield. The room is set as at 11:30 on 15th September 1940, later to be know as Battle of Britain Day. Opposite the Tote Wall, as it's known, are the raised platform and behind that, the rooms where Keith Park and on that particular day, Winston Churchill sat.
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| The plotting table with Tote Wall behind |
This is a guided tour, and our guide Fiona (incidentally, born in Chatham, at the same hospital as my kids) talks you through the events of that day and explains the markings on the map, and the information blocks that the WAAF operators slid about. It is very interesting and striking just how slick an operation it was. There's no doubt, that had we not had this in place, then today we'd be shopping in German supermarkets and eating bratwurst! 😉 Hmm!
The tour concludes with a visit upstairs to the observation rooms. The view from up there is fantastic, allowing ACM Park and his senior officers, to view everything going on at any particular moment during the battle, though they must have had good eyesight, as it is fairly dark in the ops room. And to think, I have stood, where Winston Churchill himself once stood, 80 years ago.
Back up the 76 steps and outside once more, we grabbed our lunch from the car and made our way to the picnic area, past another Hurricane (representing 303 Squadron) and Spitfire. Again, replicas, these though elevated off the ground with giant metal poles. And that concluded our visit.
We both thoroughly enjoyed our visit. You don't need to be mad keen on WW2 or warplanes, just an interest in British history should be sufficient for you to take something away from a visit here. Now, where's my list of places to visit next?
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| 11 Group Memorial |
