Who was first commander of the Royal Observer Corps?
Royal Observer Corps
In 1929 the control of the Observer Corps passed from the county police forces to the Air Ministry, although Chief Constables retained responsibility for personnel and recruitment matters. 1 March 1929 saw the establishment of the new "Headquarters of the Observer Corps" at Hillingdon House, RAF Uxbridge in the west of London, and Air Commodore Edward A D Masterman CB CMG CBE AFC RAF (Rtd) was appointed as the first commandant of the Observer Corps. "Air Cdre" Masterman held this appointment until his retirement on 1 March 1936, and was succeeded by Air Commodore Alfred Warrington-Morris CG CMG OBE AFC RAF (Rtd), who would lead the Observer Corps through the critical period during the Second World War which saw the RAF emerge bruised but victorious following the Battle of Britain of 1940.
Royal Observer Corps
In September 1947, over a year after VE Day, the ROC held the first of a series of small scale exercises in southern England, which included for the first time substantial numbers of jet aircraft, principally in the form of the Gloster Meteor. The following year the first large scale exercise took place over a four-day period; in the latter half of which radar was used as the sole means of monitoring and controlling participating aircraft. By the mid-1950s, the greater speeds and altitudes attained by jet aircraft combined with the improved performance of radar led to a reduced requirement on the part of the RAF for the services of the ROC in tracking aircraft. However, to compensate for a reduced role with regard to aircraft, an additional role for the ROC, in the form of defending against the effects of nuclear weapons, was announced in June 1955. The first significant exercise undertaken by the ROC involving a simulated nuclear attack took place during 1956, and by the following year the British Government had concluded that the combination of a risk of nuclear attack and a need for a nuclear deterrent would be the overriding considerations which would shape UK defence policy. With that view firmly in place, any pretence that an aircraft recognition and reporting role for the ROC would continue all but disappeared.
Finlay Crerar
Crerar was promoted to air commodore and appointed commandant of the Royal Observer Corps on 23 June 1943 when his predecessor, Air Commodore Geoffrey Ambler moved across the road at RAF Bentley Priory to RAF Fighter Command as deputy senior air staff officer (DSASO). Crerar immediately generated controversy within the ROC when his first decision was to make retirement at age fifty mandatory for all centre personnel, including the duty officers. No similar changes were to be applied to post personnel, many of whom were already in their 70s and even 80s. The furore rumbled on for the next few years, but the new policy was to remain extant until after the end of the Second World War. Crerar's vision of a younger, fitter and more flexible centre workforce became the norm during hostilities, although many forcibly 'retired' centre personnel immediately re-enlisted on local posts.
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The chief officer of the Royal Irish Constabulary was its Inspector-General (the last of whom, Sir Thomas J. Smith served from 11 March 1920 until partition in 1922). Between 1922 and 1969 the position of Inspector-General of the RUC was held by five officers, the last being Sir Arthur Young, who was seconded for a year from the City of London Police to implement the Hunt Report. Under Young, the title was changed to Chief Constable in line with the recommendations of the Hunt Report. Young and six others held the job until the RUC was incorporated to the PSNI. The final incumbent, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, became the first Chief Constable of the PSNI.
In 1970, the military-style rankings and insignia were dropped in favour of standard UK police ranks.
Edward Sismore
On 4 January 1971, on promotion to air commodore, Sismore was appointed as Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps taking over from Air Commodore Denis Rixson. Sismore handed command of the ROC to Air Commodore Roy Orrock on 24 May 1973, and was appointed the Director of the Air Defence Team, planning a new UK air defence environment system.
Royal Observer Corps
Unlike an Armed Services unit, (having a "Regimental Colour"), the ROC has, in place of such, a "Royal Banner". Presented by HM the Queen, both in 1966 and 1991, these were laid up in 1991, (St Clement Danes), and 1995, (RAF Cranwell), respectively. Unusually, the Imperial State Crown and St Edward's Crown appear together. (The "ROC Ensign", first authorised in 1945, differs from the "ROC Royal Banner" in that from 1952, following the accession of HM Queen Elizabeth II, the ROC badge was thenceforth ensigned with the St Edward's Crown). During October 2015, the Royal Banner at RAF Cranwell was temporarily 'Lodged-Out' to RAF Northolt, prior to being laid up at St Clement Danes Church, where it replaced the 1966 Banner.
Royal Observer Corps
When the ROC was first issued with RAF style uniforms in 1941, the RAF was able to provide the majority of the uniform items but held insufficient stocks of RAF blue berets. However, at that time the Army held a surplus of black Royal Tank Regiment berets, therefore the ROC was initially issued with black berets, which remained part of the ROC uniform only until a manufacturer was able to produce the prescribed midnight blue berets, which then remained part of the ROC uniform throughout its history. There was a similar shortage of both Sergeant and Corporal stripes. However, there existed a large surplus of rank badges destined for the quasi-military "Royal Canadian (Volunteer) Storekeeper Corps" who served in UK dockside warehouses during the Second World War. These badges, displaying horizontal bars within a wreath of laurel leaves, were adopted for the ROC, with "Chief Storekeeper" becoming "Chief Observer" and "Leading Storekeeper" becoming "Leading Observer". The four bar rank of "Master Storekeeper" was discounted initially, but was again under consideration in 1990 as an RAF Warrant Officer equivalent rank styled "Master Observer"; intended to act as dedicated assistants to Crew, Group and NRC officers. However, the decision on whether to introduce the rank of Master Observer was overtaken by the standing down announcement. (The surplus rank badges destined for the Royal Canadian (Volunteer) Storekeeper Corps were also used by the United States' Civilian Technical Corps, who were based in the UK during the Second World War).
Royal Parks Constabulary
The force was created in 1872 as the Royal Parks Keepers; keepers were given full police powers within the parks. They were renamed the Royal Parks Constabulary in 1974. Before 1872, Hyde Park had its own constables who lived in some of the entrance lodges and worked out of the rooms inside Marble Arch. One of the last Inspectors of those constables was Samuel Parkes who won the Victoria Cross in the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854.
Percy Bernard, 5th Earl of Bandon
In December 1945 the Earl became the fifth Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps, taking over from the retiring Air Commodore Finlay Crerar. The Earl assumed command of the Corps at a time when it had been officially stood down from duty and placed on a care and maintenance basis. Although a period of stand-down had been ordered the Corps was not completely disbanded, as it was anticipated that the ROC must continue as an essential component of the UK’s future post-war air defence system.
Royal Horse Guards
Wellington was the first Blues Gold Stick and was colonel of The Blues until 1827. This put the regiment on a similar parity with Life Guards in terms of access to the king. The Duke, however, did not believe in bucking the chain of command, and declined to exercise extraordinary influence outside the fact that The Blues had become part of the Household Cavalry on 29 January 1820. Wellington did approve of the appointment of Lord Combermere to the Life Guards, but when the Duke of York died in 1827, the Iron Duke was finally made commander-in-chief. When Wellington became colonel of the Grenadier Guards (previously 1st Foot Guards) he was made to give up the Gold Stick. His successor was Ernest, Duke of Cumberland. The royal Duke believed the Gold Sticks-in-waiting should have absolute authority over their regiments. But the old Duke of Northumberland had resigned over this very issue and the new King William IV had the last word. He ruled that in all operational matters beyond ceremonial duties, the Household Cavalry would fall into the Commander-in-chief's care and command. Cumberland angrily resigned in a huff.
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The observatory was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II, with the foundation stone being laid on 10 August. The site was chosen by Sir Christopher Wren. At that time the king also created the position of Astronomer Royal, to serve as the director of the observatory and to "apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying of the tables of the motions of the heavens, and the places of the fixed stars, so as to find out the so much desired longitude of places for the perfecting of the art of navigation." He appointed John Flamsteed as the first Astronomer Royal. The building was completed in the summer of 1676. The building was often called "Flamsteed House", in reference to its first occupant.
Edward Ashmore (British Army officer)
On 8 December 1920, Ashmore was appointed commander of the Regular Army's 1st Air Defence Brigade in Aldershot Command. In 1922, overall responsibility for air defence was transferred from the War Office, which was responsible for the Army, to the Air Ministry. Ashmore, who had been responsible for matters during the First World War, now reported to a new Air Raid Precautions (ARP) committee set up in January 1924. On 1 March 1924 he became General Officer Commanding of the Territorial Army Air Defence Brigades and Inspector of Regular Anti-Aircraft Defences for Great Britain. Experiments were now carried out around Romney Marsh and the Weald. These were intended to optimise the arrangement of observation posts and control centres. In 1925 these experiments were extended to cover parts of Essex and Hampshire and by October a sound methodology had been worked out. On 29 October 1925 the Observer Corps came into official existence.
Royal Observer Corps
The ROC crest and cap badge depict a 16th-century soldier holding aloft a flaming torch while shielding his eyes with his free hand, as though looking towards a distant place or object. This central figure is encircled by a wreath of gilt laurel and surmounted by the Royal Crown, the motto being "Forewarned is Forearmed". Uniform tunic buttons, lapel badges and the reverse of the ROC Medal also depict the soldier in the same pose while standing beside a coastal signal fire or warning beacon, with a chain of lit beacons extending along the coastline into the far distance. (In this representation it was easy to imagine the figure looking out towards the next beacon in the chain). The symbol of the coast watcher has its origins in the Elizabethan era, where such individuals were organised and paid for by the County Sheriff to tend and light beacons to warn of approaching enemies, such as the Spanish Armada of that period.
Thomas Glanville Taylor
A Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Society (elected 10 February 1842) Taylor helped establish an observatory at Doddabetta in Ootacamund. He was suffering from tuberculosis when he went to visit his ailing daughter in England in 1848. She died in April, and he himself died a month later, in Southampton. He was succeeded at the Madras Observatory by William Stephen Jacob (1813-1862).
Royal Guards (Poland)
The earliest mentioned document or decree referring to the Royal Guards of Poland dates back to the reign of King John II Casimir. In 1650, the newly established regiment under the command of foreign mercenaries and military commanders was entirely incorporated into the regular, main forces of the Crown over which the monarch or ruler was personally responsible and accountable for. The guards served at the royal courts of Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki (reigned as Michael I), John III Sobieski, Augustus II the Strong, Augustus III and the last king of Poland Stanisław II Augustus. The first commander-in-chief of the modern regiment was Field Marshal Jakub Henryk Fleming, who held this post between 1717 and 1732.
Aircraft recognition
To answer this new threat, Major General Edward Bailey Ashmore, a First World War pilot who had later been in command of an artillery division in Belgium, was appointed to devise improved systems of detection, communication and control. The Metropolitan Observation Service was created, covering the London area, known as the London Air Defence Area, and was soon extended to the coasts of Kent and Essex. This led to the establishment of the Observer Corps in 1925.
Royal Observer Corps
Prior to the Second World War, observers were employed by county police forces and after twelve years of continuous service qualified for the Special Constable "Long Service Medal". However, following RAF Fighter Command assuming control of the ROC in 1941, this ceased to be awarded to members of the ROC.
Yeomen of the Guard
The Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard are a bodyguard of the British Monarch. The oldest British military corps still in existence, it was created by King Henry VII in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth. As a token of this venerability, the Yeomen still wear red and gold uniforms of Tudor style. There are 60 Yeomen of the Guard (plus six officers), drawn from retired members of the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force, but traditionally not the Royal Navy. This ban on Royal Navy Personnel was lifted in 2011 and two sailors joined the ranks of the Yeomen of the Guard. However, the role of the Captain of the Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a political appointment — the captain is always the government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords.
Observer Group
The Observer Group began to conduct reconnaissance exercises on both the Atlantic and the Caribbean, (just as the Fleet Marine Force's Fleet Landing Exercises had done a few years before) by the Marines' Platoon Sergeant Russell Corey. He trained the Observer Group in hands-on work at sea abroad fleet submarines and in the tower for instructions in the Momsen lung. Another Marine by the name of Sergeant Thomas L. Curtis was selected from the Observer Group and was sent to the United Kingdom to train with the British Royal Marines and subsequently was transferred to Office of Strategic Services (precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency).
Royal Observer Corps
Latterly in 1987 it was announced that a First Class pass in the master test would be recognised by the award of a stand-alone blue star, for those observers who had not previously achieved a master pass and the award of a spitfire badge.
C. A. Lejeune
Caroline Alice Lejeune (1897–1973) was a British writer, best known for serving as the film critic for "The Observer" from 1928 to 1960. She was one of the first newspaper film critics and thought to be the first British woman in the profession, with her first regular column predating that of contemporary critic Iris Barry by about a year.
Commandant Royal Observer Corps
The organisation had started as the volunteer civilian Observer Corps in 1925 and became the uniformed Royal Observer Corps in 1941 as part of the RAF in recognition of their invaluable services during the Battle of Britain. Despite several attempts by the Home Office in the 1950s, 1960s and the 1980s to take over the organisation and dispense with the RAF uniform the ROC remained part of RAF Fighter Command and later RAF Strike Command until they were stood down in 1995 as a result of the Communist Bloc breaking up and the Cold War nuclear threat on the UK being removed.
Queen's Royal Irish Hussars
The first Colonel was Sir Winston Churchill: after his death in 1965 Cornets from the Regiment stood vigil over his catafaulque in Westminster and carried his coffin to the funeral train and to the graveside. Prince Philip was colonel-in-chief throughout the life of the regiment.
Royal Observer Corps
Throughout the Second World War, ROC personnel were paid expenses and allowances in cash via their Group HQ and several Deputy Group Commandants discovered that they had up to one hundred additional observers appearing on their staff roll, each receiving higher than normal allowances, despite these individuals having never reported for duty.
Aircraft recognition
In the United Kingdom, The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was formed as a defence warning organisation with civilians trained in aircraft recognition and operated primarily as such between 1925 and 1957. Aircraft recognition was first developed between the First and Second World wars when aerial warfare was first recognised as a future threat, after 208 Zeppelin and 435 aircraft raids over London during the First World War. In 1917 Germany had started using fixed-wing bombers, and the number of airship raids diminished rapidly.
Cathcart Wight-Boycott
In July 1961 Wight-Boycott presented a Royal Observer Corps long-service medal to the Battle of Britain Class locomotive "Royal Observer Corps" that had started its service with the Great Western Railway company in December 1948. The ceremony took place at Waterloo station.
Peter Piper (Royal Navy officer)
Captain Aston Dalzell Piper, (19 April 1913 – 8 November 1995), known as Peter Piper, was an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve in the Second World War. He was notable for two events: he was the first reservist to command a submarine, and the first reservist officer to receive the Distinguished Service Cross in the Second World War.
Admiral Commanding, Reserves
Before 1857 the HM Coast Guard was attached to the Customs Service for revenue duties, and was a Controller-General of the Coastguard. In January, 1869, Captain Willes was called to the Admiralty to assist the First Naval Lord in conducting the duties of the Coastguard and the Royal Naval Reserve, as well as to give general assistance in other matters, and, in October, 1870, was confirmed in office with the title of Chief of the Staff, Naval Reserves. The office of Chief of the Staff was continued but for a brief term, and, following an Order in Council of December 12, 1874, an Admiral Superintendent of Naval Reserves was appointed to take charge of the Naval Reserve afloat. He was also given charge of Coastguard stations ashore, the Royal Naval Reserve, the Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, and the Seamen Pensioners' Reserve. In 1903 responsibility for the HM Coast Guard passed to the Admiralty on 21 May 1903 the office of Admiral Commanding Coastguard and Reserves was established the first incumbent being Admiral Sir Ernest Rice. In March 1923 responsibility for the majority of the functions of the coast guard was passed to two other organisations the Board of Customs and Excise and the Board of Trade. In July 1923 the office was then re-styled Admiral Commanding, Reserves this remained the current format until this separate post was abolished in 1976.
Royal Observer Corps
The removal of Home Office involvement in the ROC from 1991 onwards resulted in those "Remnant Elements" becoming effectively a single reserve "Directly Administered Unit" within RAF Strike Command (RAFSTC). For the final four years of its existence the role of Commandant ROC became a secondary appointment held by the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of No. 11 Group RAF. All remaining members of the ROC were required to remove their original ROC Group designations from their RAF uniforms, and accept moves towards changes in conditions of service during any Transition-To-War (TTW) which would make them effectively members of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), with protected rights. As a direct result, closer links were forged between the ROC and war-appointable flights of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).
Richard Jordan (RAF officer)
On 1 February 1949 Jordan took over the appointment as Commandant Royal Observer Corps at RAF Bentley Priory from Air Commodore the Earl of Bandon. In April 1949 Jordan was additionally appointed Aide de Camp to King George VI. Jordan was Commandant ROC when, on 1 March 1950 the Air Officer Commanding in Chief, RAF Fighter Command assumed direct administrative control of the Corps. Under this change Headquarters Royal Observer Corps continued to operate in its existing form but assumed a status that was comparable with that of a Fighter Command group headquarters.
Astronomer Royal
The post was created by King Charles II in 1675, at the same time as he founded the Royal Observatory Greenwich. He appointed John Flamsteed, instructing him "."
Martin Widdowson
Air Commodore Martin Keith Widdowson (born 10 May 1946) was a senior Royal Air Force officer in the 1980s and 1990s and the 24th and last Commandant Royal Observer Corps.
List of officers of the Royal Victorian Order
The order has had a chancellor and a secretary since it was founded; the former office is held "ex officio" by the Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household, while the office of secretary has been held "ex officio" by the Keeper of the Privy Purse (except for the years 1936 to 1943 when the King's Private Secretary was also the order's secretary). The order has had a registrar since 1916; the first appointee was the Secretary of the Private Secretary's Office, Sir Francis Morgan Bryant, while his two successors were Secretaries to the Privy Purse; since 1936, the Registrar has always been the Secretary of the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood. On 1 February 1937, King George VI appointed his Queen, Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) as the order's inaugural Grand Master; after her death in 2002, the office fell vacant until Elizabeth II appointed her daughter, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Grand Master. The Savoy Chapel was made the order's chapel in 1938 and its chaplain has also been "ex officio" the order's chaplain ever since. Since 1938, the order has also had an Honorary Genealogist, who has also been an Officer of Arms, although appointees are not technically officers of the order, there being no provision for it in the statutes.
Boyd's Automatic tide signalling apparatus
A Royal Observer Corps watchtower was based here during WW2 as the building gave a wide panoramic view of the Firth of Clyde. It is credited with the first visual sighting of Rudolf Hess's Messerschmitt 110 in 1941.
Royal Observer Corps
By the late 1980s the ROC comprised 69 professional full-time officers, approximately 10,500 civilian spare-time volunteers, and over 100 Ministry of Defence (MoD) civilian support staff. At HQROC, (RAF Bentley Priory), over a dozen full-time secretarial, clerical and other administrative staff were present. Each of the five Area HQs were staffed by a clerical officer and a typist, and each of the 25 Group HQs were staffed by a clerical officer, typist and handyperson. (Many MoD civilian support staff were also civilian spare-time volunteers).
Defensively equipped merchant ship
These Seaborne Observers were organised by Group Commandant C. G. Cooke and trained at the Royal Bath Hotel Bournemouth before the volunteers temporarily joined the Royal Navy with the rank of petty officer (aircraft identifier). The volunteers continued to wear their ROC uniforms, but wore "seaborne" shoulder flashes and a Royal Navy brassard with the letters RN. During the D-day landings two "seaborne" observers were allocated to each of the defensively equipped British and American merchant vessels. The ROC volunteers were given direct control of each ship's anti-aircraft batteries, immediately reducing the previously high level of friendly fire incidents. Their success is measured by a signal from Wing Commander P. B. Lucas, air staff officer who reported:
Royal Observer Corps
On one memorable occasion the observers on duty received a one-minute advance warning from a royal footman that they were about to receive a royal visit. A few minutes later, the King and Queen, together with the teenage Princess Elizabeth, climbed up the steep ladder and joined the observers on the darkened roof-top while a major V-1 flying bomb attack was taking place over London. The royal visitors stayed for over an hour, asking technical questions and peering through binoculars at the unfolding aerial battle. Prior to departing, the royal party autographed the post Duty Log. The following evening, the royal party again appeared and on this occasion stayed for a longer period, although there was little aerial activity due to poor weather.
Cathcart Wight-Boycott
On 1 July 1958 Wight-Boycott received his final promotion to air commodore and was appointed as the tenth commandant of the Royal Observer Corps, taking over from Air Commodore J M Warfield.
Observer Group
On January 13, 1941, Major General Holland M. Smith relinquished command of 1st Marine Division and became Commanding General of I Corps (Provisional), U.S. Atlantic Fleet with Colonel Graves B. Erskine as his Chief of Staff. Throughout the year, the joint command, which was assembled together at Quantico, Virginia, was subsequently redesignated variously several times: Task Force 18, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; 1st Joint Training Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; Atlantic Amphibious Force; Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet; and finally Amphibious Corps, Atlantic Fleet. Colonel Erskine, under General Smith, was in charge of the Intelligence section jointly devised the plan in organizing a unit of men that were specialized in reconnoitering enemy shores for the upcoming mission of invading Europe and North Africa during World War II.
Royal Observer Corps
The Metropolitan Observation Service met with some success and although not fully operational until the late summer of 1918 (the last German bombing raid taking place on 19 May 1918), the lessons learned were to prove invaluable for future developments in the field of aircraft observation, identification and reporting. Major General E B Ashmore is often considered to have been the founder of what would eventually become the Royal Observer Corps.
Following the Armistice in 1918, it had been intended that the knowledge, experience and skills gained by the Metropolitan Observation Service during the First World War would be maintained for the future security of the nation. However, by the end of 1920, the observation-post networks and their associated anti-aircraft hardware had been decommissioned, and in 1922 the responsibility for air defence was transferred from the War Office (responsible for the army) to the Air Ministry.
Gordon Herbert Vasse
In his final appointment Vasse also served as the seventh Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps. Vasse was chosen as one of the RAF’s principal representatives to the funeral of King George VI in 1952.
750 Naval Air Squadron
The Royal Navy Observer School grew out of HM Naval Seaplane Training School at RNAS Lee-on-Solent as a result of a series of changes of identity and parent unit. From 1918 until 1939 the Royal Air Force was responsible for naval aviation, including training and provision of aircrew to the Royal Navy. With the return of naval aviation to the Royal Navy on 24 May 1939, the Observer School was established as 750 Naval Air Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm. During World War II the squadron moved to Trinidad to continue training aircrew. It was temporarily disbanded in October 1945. The squadron reformed in 1952 and is currently based at RNAS Culdrose, where it trains approximately 30 Royal Navy observers every year.
Richard Jordan (RAF officer)
Air Marshal Sir Richard Bowen Jordan, (7 February 1902 – 24 April 1994) was a bomber pilot and squadron commander during the Second World War, a senior Royal Air Force officer during the post-war years and the sixth Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps (1949–51).
Royal Observer Corps
During the 1930s the number of groups increased until by 1936, England had a full coverage of observation posts south-east of a line between Flamborough Head in Yorkshire and Poole Harbour in Dorset. (In 1936 the Headquarters of the Observer Corps relocated from RAF Uxbridge to RAF Bentley Priory in north-west London). By 1939 a system of observation posts covered practically the whole of Great Britain, with the western parts of Wales and Scotland together with England's West Country incorporated during 1940. The final group, Portree in the Western Isles, formed in 1941.
Royal Observer Corps
Technical
Royal Observer Corps
RAF Bentley Priory, home of HQROC for the entire history of the "Royal" Observer Corps, closed in May 2008 and will be developed as a private hotel or luxury apartments, with the historic officers' mess rooms and a selection of ROC items retained as a public museum. With effect from July 2011, the ROC Museum, Winchester, assumed responsibility from the MoD for the maintenance, storage and dissemination of information relating to "ROC Service Records" of those individuals who served with the Corps.
Royal Corps of Naval Constructors
The first head of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors was Sir Nathaniel Barnaby. Due to illness his resignation in 1885 led to the appointment of Sir William White as his successor.
Royal Observer Corps
Many observers joined the ROC after service in other armed forces. Aircrew brevets from the RAF, Army Air Corps and Royal Naval Air Service were permitted to be worn on ROC uniforms, along with any medal ribbons from British or British Empire (later Commonwealth) countries. Other permitted badges were specialist "trade" badges such as parachute brevets, marksman badges, radio operator badges, etc. The 796 volunteer observers who served on board Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships and US Navy vessels during the D-Day landings were permitted to wear the "Seaborne" shoulder flash for the remainder of their service with the ROC, including where promoted to officer ranks. A handful of Seaborne Observers remained in active service with the ROC when the majority of the spare-time volunteer members were stood down in 1991. (Several Seaborne Observers purportedly lied about their age in 1941 in order to qualify for special service duty).
Royal Observer Corps
The British Chain Home radar defence system was able to warn of enemy aircraft approaching the British coast, but once having crossed the coastline the Observer Corps provided the only means of tracking their position. During the period from July to October 1940, the Observer Corps was at full stretch operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, plotting enemy aircraft and passing this essential information to RAF Fighter Command Groups and Sector Controls. (ROC personnel were deployed in two specific roles: Those in Class A were required to undertake 56 hours duty per week, while Class B personnel undertook up to 24 hours duty per week). The Battle of Britain also saw the introduction of the Blitz campaign and the shift of German bombing from airfields to cities. Again, the Observer Corps provided vital information which enabled timely air-raid warnings to be issued, thereby saving countless lives. The Blitz itself continued until early in the summer of 1941 and bombing continued, albeit on a reduced scale, until March 1945. The Observer Corps formed the cornerstone of Air Marshal Hugh Dowding's air defence system, who stated in a despatch following the Battle of Britain that:
Royal Observer Corps
In the early 1960s, when the nuclear reporting role building programme was in full swing, the ROC post at Windsor relocated to the cellar beneath the Brunswick Tower and a partial monitoring room was excavated under the garden in front of the tower's base. The BPI (Bomb Power Indicator) and FSM (Fixed Survey Meter) instrument fittings on the lawn were clearly visible to the many tourists visiting the castle, although few would have realised their significance. The GZI (Ground Zero Indicator) was mounted on top of the tower's battlements involving an exhausting climb of several hundred circular stone steps and 400 feet in each direction. The observers at the Windsor post were unique in the country in not having to provide their own food during exercises. Instead, they received hot meals, brought by royal footman, from the castle kitchens. Twelve months after the ROC post was closed, the Brunswick Tower was the starting point and seat of the 1992 Windsor Castle fire and was substantially damaged.
Royal Observatory, Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh in 1785 and by Royal Warrant of George III created the Regius Chair of Astronomy and appointed Robert Blair first Regius Professor of Astronomy. After his death in 1828 the position remained vacant until 1834. In 1811 private citizens had founded the Astronomical Institution of Edinburgh with John Playfair – professor of natural philosophy – as its president. The Institution acquired grounds on Calton Hill to build an observatory, which was designed by John's nephew William Henry Playfair; it remains to this day as the Playfair building of the City Observatory.
Royal Observer Corps
As a result of such developments taking place throughout the 1970s, a third category of Observer was introduced in addition to Post Observer and Control Observer; that of NRC Observer. The role of NRC Observer combined basic ROC training with specialist scientific skills and training normally reserved for UKWMO warning teams. Similarly, a higher level of security clearance was required by those ROC personnel acting as NRC Observers.
Royal Observer Corps
Following the UK Government's "Options for Change" defence spending review in 1990, the vast majority of the civilian spare-time volunteers were stood down on 30 September 1991, with the remainder being stood down on 31 December 1995. The closure of HQROC on 31 March 1996 and redeployment of those few remaining HQROC staff marked the disbandment of the ROC after over 70 years of service.
Jonas Moore
The Surveyor's duties were not confined to land surveying; rather the main duty was to ensure availability of adequate stores, particularly guns and ammunition. During the Third Anglo-Dutch War, Moore met Prince Rupert at the Nore with 16 vessels loaded with powder and shot. He received his knighthood on 28 January 1673, probably as a reward for his duties during the first year of the Third Dutch War. With the end of the war in 1674, Moore was able to pursue his interest in astronomy and attempted to gain support from the Royal Society for an observatory at Chelsea College. Moore was elected to the Royal Society on 3 December 1674, but the proposal for an observatory at Chelsea came to nothing. He continued as an active member, and in May 1676 he was appointed a Vice-President of the Royal Society.
Lieutenant commander (Royal Navy)
Throughout much of its existence, the British Royal Observer Corps (ROC) maintained a rank of observer lieutenant commander. The ROC wore a Royal Air Force uniform and their rank insignia appeared similar to that of an RAF squadron leader except that the stripes were shown entirely in black. Prior to the renaming, the rank had been known as "observer lieutenant (first class)".
Royal Observer Corps
The headquarters of each ROC "Group" operated from a control "Centre", responsible for and controlled between 30 and 40 observation "Posts", each of which would be some 10 km to 20 km from its neighbour. By 1945 there were 40 centres covering Great Britain, controlling in total more than 1,500 posts. (The ROC did not operate in Northern Ireland until 1954).
Royal Observer Corps
In 1950, King George Vl granted permission for the issue of a "Royal Observer Corps Medal" for twelve years continuous service. Each subsequent period of twelve years was recognised by the award of an RAF "eagle clasp" attached to the medal ribbon. Service by full-time officers was calculated at a rate of 50% for qualifying years, thereby requiring fully twenty four years service in order to qualify for a medal or subsequent clasp. However, any spare-time service previously undertaken by such individuals counted in full. (ROC personnel who served for 28 days during World War II also qualified for the award of a War Medal, with service of 1,080 days qualifying for the 1939–1945 Star and the Defence Medal).
Royal Observer Corps
A core-team of instructors, provided with pre-formatted lesson plans, would be drawn from those spare-time officers present, who in turn would be supervised by a team of up to nine full-time officers. Full-time officers would be present for the duration of the summer programme of training camps, one of which being appointed as "Camp Entertainments Officer"; organising events including social dances, visits to local places of interest and an end of camp grand raffle. On the last full day of each camp, a Cabinet Minister or senior RAF officer of the rank of Air Vice-Marshal or above would visit to inspect a Guard of Honour, tour the training facilities and address the assembled personnel.
Observer Group
The Observer Group (precursor to Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance Company and the Navy Scouts and Raiders) was a joint-United States Army/Marine Corps unit that was the first in the United States and Fleet Marine Force to be organized and trained specifically for amphibious reconnaissance. The Observer Group experimented in the methodology and equipment for projecting reconnaissance from the sea before the establishment of the OSS Maritime Unit, the Underwater Demolition Teams, and before the Army Special Forces and Air Commandos. It was also the birth of naval amphibious intelligence.
List of Royal Observer Corps / United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation Posts (F–K)
This is a list of Royal Observer Corps (ROC) nuclear monitoring posts incorporated into the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO).Notes:-
Royal Horse Guards
In 1670, a scandal broke: Captain Gerard, who had assaulted Sir John Coventry MP for sneering at the Court's mistresses, was found to have misappropriated large sums of pay for 'false musters'. The Life Guards were more Catholic and under York's influence, whereas the Protestant illegitimate Duke of Monmouth by 1674 was Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. The champion of Protestantism had more support in the country and amongst the Blues. However fears of absolutism and dismissals of catholic officers undermined morale "they being incapable of employment." The successful police work of the Blues may have saved the Treasury money and urged upon the King abandonment of a Pro-French foreign policy. Monmouth's popularity and support of the Blues, led to his dismissal in 1679; and probably directly to the Rye House Plot. A chief conspirator was Sir Thomas Armstrong of the Blues, who had served in Holland with Earl of Oxford, colonel of the regiment. Armstrong fled abroad, as did Lord Grey. The plotters and former Guards officers William, Lord Russell and Algernon Sidney were escorted to the scaffold by sentries of the Life Guards. When the King opened the Oxford Parliament of 1681, the Blues were deputed to guard the road to London. On 14 March Charles entered the town with a large bodyguard of Life Guards, occupying several places in the town. Five troops of 250 horse men were posted along the road at intervals in Brentford, Uxbridge, Colnbrook, Henley, Dorchester, and Thame, leaving 100 foot at Windsor. On their return, 50 troopers of the 'King's Troop' in Captain William Legg's charge were stationed at Lambeth, 22 March; one troop remained at Brentford under Earl of Oxford; and a third troop in Bow and Stratford commanded by Major Francis Compton were to prevent rioters moving west towards parliament buildings. The Royal Horse Guards were configured differently to the Life Guards: only 50 troopers each in 8 troops made a total complement of 400 men, contratsed sharply to the senior regimental troops of 200 men each.
Royal Observer Corps
The ROC can trace its roots to the First World War and the requirement for a warning system to bolster UK defences, predominantly over south east England, against bombing raids by Zeppelin airships of the German Empire's Luftstreitkräfte. A system of observation posts and observers was organised, with a network of approximately 200 posts established in strategic areas. Initially these posts were manned by British Army personnel, who were in turn replaced by Special (Police) Constables, and posts were coordinated on an area basis with telephone communications provided between themselves and their associated anti-aircraft defences.
Royal Observer Corps
On 12 May 1945, when it was confirmed that the Luftwaffe had ceased combat operations, the ROC stood down. In recognition of the contribution made by ROC personnel in the Allied victory, the Air Ministry held a massed RAF rally and air display at RAF North Weald, in Essex, from Saturday 23 to Monday 25 June 1945. Over 2,000 ROC personnel were invited to attend, with at least two observers from each ROC facility representing their respective post or centre. As part of the event, the new ensign of the ROC (a Royal Air Force Ensign, "defaced" with the ROC badge in the "fly" in place of the RAF roundel – a design approved by King George VI), was dedicated at a special service.
Royal Observer Corps
Organisations similar to the ROC were formed elsewhere during the Second World War, including the Ground Observer Corps, (USA), the Aircraft Identity Corps, (Canada), and the Volunteer Air Observers Corps, (Australia). However, unlike the Royal Observer Corps, most of these organisations had been disbanded by the end of the 1950s.
John Herbert Thomas Simpson
Approaching his retirement from the RAF, on 29 March 1954 Simpson was appointed Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps, taking over from the retiring Air Commodore Gordon Herbert Vasse. Simpson retired on 1 June 1959 and died on 26 August 1967.
Royal Observer Corps Medal
The only occasion where an ROC Medal was awarded to a former member of the ROC was when UKWMO Sector Controller Kenneth Rodley was awarded the ROC Medal after twenty four years full-time service. Rodley commenced his ROC service as Group Training Officer with 20 Group (York) in February 1958 and was later seconded to the Home Office, in 1971. It had been realised that, due to an administrative error, Rodley's secondment had never officially converted to that of a full civil service transfer, and that he had therefore technically remained a member of the ROC. The Medal was awarded to him by Air Commodore George Black at a surprise ceremony in 1984 at RAF Scampton. Rodley attempted to make an acceptance speech but was overcome by emotion and took his seat to a standing ovation by those present.
The Observatory (journal)
The founder and first editor (1877–82) was William Christie, then chief assistant at the Royal Observatory and later Astronomer Royal. Notable subsequent editors include:
Royal Observer Corps
Perhaps the most unusual ROC post location was No.17 Group (Watford) Easy-4 Windsor Post, nestling between the battlements and chimneys on the top of Windsor Castle's Brunswick Tower. Reporting for duty through the castle gates, many newly appointed ROC Group Officers were caught unawares when the castle Guardsmen in their sentry boxes snapped smartly to attention and presented arms. Observers frequently encountered King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Princesses, (Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret), in the castle grounds, where they would often make a point of stopping to enquire as to ROC activities.
Coats Observatory
Coats Observatory visitors book records the name, address and occupation of all of those who came to the building. As well as the everyday visitor there are many notable guests, such as William Speirs Bruce, the leader of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition from 1902 to 1904; Howard Grubb, telescope maker; David Gill, Her Majesty's Royal astronomer at the Cape Observatory in South Africa from 1879 to 1907; Frank Watson Dyson, Astronomer Royal of England from 1910 to 1933; and Keir Hardie, one of the founders of the Labour Party.
City Observatory
In 1812 the observatory was handed over to the Edinburgh Astronomical Institution, which opened its popular observatory in the Gothic Tower. In 1818 work began on the Playfair Building. Designed by William Henry Playfair this was to become the scientific observatory of the Institution. Following a loyal address to George IV in 1822 this became the Royal Observatory. Again the funds proved insufficient, so that the purchase of instruments and the employment of an observer depended on funding from the Government. After much delay the instrumentation was completed in 1831 with delivery of the transit telescope. Fraunhofer had made the lens, but after his death it fell to Repsold – and after his death to Repsold's son – to complete and install the instrument.
Raymond Offord
Air Commodore Raymond John Offord, AFC (17 September 1931 – 2011) was a senior Royal Air Force officer in the Cold War period, and the seventeenth Commandant Royal Observer Corps. Offord was Station Commander of RAF Lossiemouth from 1974 to 1975 and held the dual appointments of Air Officer Commanding Air Headquarters Cyprus and Deputy Commander, British Forces Near East / Cyprus from 1983 to 1985.
Edinburgh Astronomical Institution
The Institution's funds were exhausted before instruments could be purchased for the new scientific observatory. This would be a recurring problem until the Institution's eventual demise in 1847. In 1822 it presented a loyal address to George IV and the new observatory was granted the title of Royal Observatory. With Government grants and after much delay in procuring instruments it was only in 1834 that Thomas Henderson was appointed the first observer. This was now the Government-funded position of Astronomer Royal for Scotland. The incumbent would also be Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh.
Alfred Warrington-Morris
Following his regular military service he became the second Commandant of the Observer Corps and commanded the Corps through its adoption by the Royal Air Force Fighter Command, the crucial operations during the Battle of Britain and the change to the Royal Observer Corps.
List of Royal Observer Corps / United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation Posts (L–P)
This is a list of Royal Observer Corps (ROC) nuclear monitoring posts incorporated into the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO).Notes:-
Christian Observer
The "Christian Observer" was founded by William Hey "in response to the dissenters' "Leeds Mercury"." It was published by the bookseller John Hatchard. Various members of the Clapham Sect were associated with the paper from the outset. Josiah Pratt, who had called for such an evangelical periodical in a 1799 meeting of the Eclectic Society, served as editor for the first number in January 1802. Pratt was succeeded after six weeks by Zachary Macaulay, who edited the periodical until 1816.
Later editors were Samuel Charles Wilks (from 1816 to 1849), William Goode (from 1847 to 1849), John William Cunningham (from 1850 to 1858), and John Buxton Marsden (from 1859 to 1869).
John Howe (RAF officer)
Following a tour of duty as an Operations Staff Officer, in 1977 Howe moved across the road on promotion to air commodore and took up the appointment as Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps who were also located at Bentley Priory.
Royal Observer Corps
During Operation Overlord a total of two Seaborne Observers lost their lives, several more were injured and twenty two survived their ships being sunk. In addition, ten Seaborne Observers were mentioned in despatches. The deployment of Seaborne Observers was regarded as an unqualified success and in recognition for their contribution to the success of the landings, King George Vl approved the permanent wearing of the SEABORNE shoulder flash on the ROC uniforms of those individuals who had taken part. Following the invasion, Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory wrote a message which was circulated to all ROC personnel:
Royal Observer Corps
During October 1958, "Exercise Nightbird", a joint air defence and nuclear fallout exercise, saw ROC personnel undertaking operational duties at the ADOC for the first time. Subsequently, operational RAF Command and Group HQs in the UK received nuclear fallout information over 2 broadcast circuits from the ADOC, with Fallout Reporting Section map displays at each site being updated by local ROC Special Duties Teams. This system of Fallout Reporting Sections was enhanced further when nuclear burst and fallout data was distributed by ROC Group HQs directly to what became formally designated as ROC "Nuclear Reporting Cells" (NRC). Nuclear Reporting Cells would go on to be located within several major armed forces HQ throughout the UK, with ROC personnel being responsible for providing the Army, Royal Navy and RAF with comprehensive visual displays and interpretation of data provided by ROC controls.
Royal Observer Corps
Only the Nuclear Reporting Cell (NRC) elements of the ROC remained in service which, working alongside major armed forces headquarters, themselves entered a new and highly uncertain phase. Reduced to fewer than 260 members, the 16 retained NRCs now found themselves tasked with the daunting challenge of providing a comprehensive Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare analysis and warning service for the Military Home Commands, on a reserve-manned basis as NBCCs but operating without the countrywide flow of data from posts and controls.
Edward Ashmore (British Army officer)
In his later military career, Ashmore was the leading figure in the air defence of the United Kingdom, founding what would eventually become the Royal Observer Corps. He was appointed to devise improved systems of detection, communication and control. A system to be called the Metropolitan Observation Service was created which covered the London area and was known as the London Air Defence Area. This was soon extended towards the coasts of Kent and Essex. The system met with some success and although it was not fully working until late summer 1918 (the last air raid took place on 19 May). The lessons learnt were to provide valuable grounding for later developments.
Commandant Royal Observer Corps
The origins of the ROC go back to Metropolitan Observation Service of World War I which was founded by Air Vice Marshal Edward Ashmore. However, Ashmore never held the post of ROC Commandant. The first two commandants were recently retired RAF Air Commodores, the next two were Auxiliary Air Force officers and the remainder were serving RAF officers. The last three commandants held the appointment in addition to their primary appointment as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at Headquarters No. 11/18 Group RAF, which was colocated with HQROC at RAF Bentley Priory.
Edward Ashmore (British Army officer)
Within a year four Groups existed in Southeast England, covering much of Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Essex. The plan was that the country would be covered by 18 of these groups. The involvement and cooperation of the RAF, the Army, the British police forces and the General Post Office (GPO) (then responsible for the national telephone system), was required. Ashmore was regarded as the first commander of the Observer Corps in all but name during 1925 and he is deemed to be the Corps' founder.
Corps Colonial Reserve
In 1890 Lieutenant Colonel Josephus Fredericus Dominicus Bruinsma became the first commander of the Royal Corps Colony Reserve, established by Royal Decree of 24 August 1890, with Captain Johannes Rudolph Jacobs as his adjutant. The Corps was under the command of the Minister of Colonies and was set up to replace the Indian brigade, which had been authorized by Royal Decree of 9 March 1874, number 32, but never got off the ground. There was a need for such a reserve corps for the Colonies because the constitution prohibited the use of the Royal Netherlands Army for wars outside Europe. The corps was also intended as a countervalue corps for military personnel from the East and West Indies who had temporarily become unfit for service in their function. In the initial period, the staff of this corps was located in Zutphen, but the staff quickly moved to Nijmegen and from 1911 the Prins Hendrik Barracks was the home base. Bruinsma was succeeded in April 1895 by Gijsbertus Godefriedus Johannes Notten as the second commander of the Colonial Reserve Corps. After first having involved the Waal Barracks in the Lower Town (Benedenstad), the corps left for the newly built Prins Hendrik Barracks in 1911.
The soldiers of the (KNIL) were popularly called colonials. During their months of training, they were thoroughly prepared for the tropical Indies. They trained with spicy field marches and practiced a lot of gymnastics and also got lessons in fencing. They learned Malay and were given food from the Indies twice a week. The Corps was dissolved one year after the KNIL.
The Observer
The first issue, published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, was the world's first Sunday newspaper. Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government. When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editorial content. As a result, the paper soon took a strong line against radicals such as Thomas Paine, Francis Burdett and Joseph Priestley.
Cliff Spink
Spink also served as the last but one Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps, from 1993 until 1995. Spink remains the honorary President of the Royal Observer Corps Association. He is a Vice-Patron of the Royal Air Force Halton Apprentices Association Old Haltonians.
Michael Donaldson (RAF officer)
Air Vice Marshal Michael Phillips Donaldson, (born 22 July 1943) is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) officer who became the 22nd Commandant Royal Observer Corps from 1992 to 1993.
John Mortimer Warfield
On 29 June 1959 Warfield took over as Commandant Royal Observer Corps from Air Commodore J H T Simpson. The ROC was Warfield's final service appointment and he retired on 26 June 1961, handing over command to Air Commodore C M Wight-Boycott.
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
When Karl Mack von Leiberich became chief of staff of the army under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in the Netherlands, he issued the "Instruktionspunkte fur die gesamte Herren Generals", the last of 19 points setting out the roles of staff officers, dealing with offensive and defensive operations, while helping the Commander-in-chief. In 1796, Archduke Charles augmented these with his own "Observationspunkte", writing of the Chief of Staff: “he is duty bound to consider all possibilities related to operations and not view himself as merely carrying out those instructions”. On 20 March 1801, Feldmarschalleutnant Duka became the world's first peacetime "Generalquartiermeister" at the head of the staff and the wartime role of the Chief of Staff was now focused on planning and operations to assist the Commander. Archduke Charles produced a new Dienstvorschrift on 1 September 1805, which divided the staff into three: 1) Political Correspondence; 2) the Operations Directorate, dealing with planning and intelligence; 3) the Service Directorate, dealing with administration, supply and military justice. The Archduke set out the position of a modern Chief of Staff: “The Chief of Staff stands at the side of the Commander-in-Chief and is completely at his disposal. His sphere of work connects him with no specific unit”. “The Commander-in-Chief decides what should happen and how; his chief assistant works out these decisions, so that each subordinate understands his allotted task”. With the creation of the Korps in 1809, each had a staff, whose chief was responsible for directing operations and executing the overall headquarters plan.
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The establishment of a Royal Observatory was proposed in 1674 by Sir Jonas Moore who, in his role as Surveyor General at the Ordnance Office, persuaded King Charles II to create the observatory, with John Flamsteed installed as its director. The Ordnance Office was given responsibility for building the Observatory, with Moore providing the key instruments and equipment for the observatory at his own personal cost. Flamsteed House, the original part of the Observatory, was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, probably assisted by Robert Hooke, and was the first purpose-built scientific research facility in Britain. It was built for a cost of £520 (£20 over budget) out of largely recycled materials on the foundations of Duke Humphrey's Tower, the forerunner of Greenwich Castle, which resulted in the alignment being 13 degrees away from true North, somewhat to Flamsteed's chagrin.
Royal Observer Corps
On the day of the dedication of the ensign, (Sunday 24th), the approximately 2,000 observers present undertook the first ever uniformed ROC march-past to the accompaniment of the RAF Band, with the Under-Secretary of State for Air, Lord Beatty, taking the salute. The parade then formed into a huge square and the ROC Ensign was presented by Lord Beatty. The Ensign was borne from the drumhead by Observer Lieutenant Pollock, VC. During the parade, Observer Lieutenant Pollock carried the Ensign, flanked by two senior NCOs, at the head of the massed contingent of observers. A film record of these events is held in the archives at the Imperial War Museum. However, in a matter of only a few months, the ROC would again be called upon to meet the challenges posed by a new threat: the Cold War.
Edward Masterman
Air Commodore Edward Alexander Dimsdale Masterman, (15 April 1880 – 26 August 1957) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force in the first half of the 20th century. After retiring from the RAF, he served as the first ever Commandant of the Observer Corps.
Royal Observer Corps
In 1962, the forty ROC Groups were reorganised and reduced in number to thirty-one, with a further reduction to twenty-five taking place in 1968. Service age limits of 16 to 65 were introduced, with service after the age of 65 only occurring where replacements could not be recruited, subject to annual review, and where appropriate medical certificates could be provided. (Some individuals acting as wartime "post" observers had served well into their seventies and eighties, although wartime "centre" observers had been forced to retire at fifty.)
George Boddy
Air Commodore George Michael Boddy, was a senior Royal Air Force officer in the 1980s and the Commandant Royal Observer Corps.
Gordon Herbert Vasse
In March 1951 Vasse was posted to RAF Bentley Priory and took over as the seventh Commandant Royal Observer Corps from Air Commodore Sir Richard Bowen Jordan.
RAF Fighter Command
As a direct result of their efforts during the Battle of Britain the Observer Corps was granted the title Royal by King George VI and became a uniformed volunteer branch of the RAF from April 1941 for the remainder of its existence, retitled the Royal Observer Corps (ROC). The corps would continue as a civilian organisation but wearing a Royal Air Force uniform and administered by Fighter Command.
Royal Observatory, Edinburgh
During his visit of Edinburgh in 1822, George IV bestowed upon the observatory the title of "Royal Observatory of King George the Fourth". In 1834 – with Government funding – the instrumentation of the observatory was completed. This cleared the way to uniting the observatory with the Regius Chair, and Thomas Henderson was appointed the first Astronomer Royal for Scotland and second Regius Professor of Astronomy. The main instruments of the new observatory were a 6.4-inch (16 cm) transit telescope and a 3.5-inch (9 cm) azimuth circle.
Finlay Crerar
Air Commodore Finlay Crerar CBE RAF, was a senior Royal Air Force officer during the Second World War who served as the fourth Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps and led the ROC through the final two years of the war and the difficult period of the V-1 flying bomb raids on Southern England.
Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope
The Royal Observatory was responsible for a number of significant events in the history of astronomy. The second HM Astronomer, Thomas Henderson, aided by his assistant, Lieutenant William Meadows, made the first observations that led to a believable stellar parallax, namely of Alpha Centauri. However, he lost priority as the discoverer of stellar parallax to Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel who published his own (later) observations of 61 Cygni before Henderson got around to his.
Around 1840, Thomas Maclear re-measured the controversial meridian of Nicolas-Louis de La Caille, showing that the latter's geodetic measurements had been correct but that nearby mountains had affected his latitude determinations
In 1882 David Gill obtained long-exposure photographs of the great comet of that year showing the presence of stars in the background. This led him to undertake in collaboration with J.C. Kapteyn of Groningen the Cape Photographic Durchmusterung, the first stellar catalogue prepared by photographic means. In 1886, he proposed to Admiral A.E.B. Mouchez of Paris Observatory the holding of an international congress to promote a photographic catalogue of the whole sky. In 1887 this congress took place in Paris and resulted in the Carte du Ciel project. The Cape Observatory was assigned the zone between declinations −40° and −52°. The Carte du Ciel is regarded as the precursor of the International Astronomical Union.
Hong Kong Observatory
The Observatory was established in 1883 as the Hong Kong Observatory by Sir George Bowen, the 9th Governor of Hong Kong, with Dr William Doberck (1852-1941) as its first director. Early operations included meteorological and magnetic observations, a time service based on astronomical observations and a tropical cyclone warning service. The Observatory was renamed the Royal Observatory Hong Kong () after obtaining a Royal Charter in 1912. The Observatory adopted the current name and emblem in 1997 after the transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty from the UK to China.
Royal Watch
The Royal Watch, in French guet royal, was a French police unit founded in December 1254 by King Louis IX. It was officially merged with the "Lieutenancy General of Police" in 1750, to form the Paris Guard. The name "Royal Watch" was still used unofficially by the Paris Guard until the French revolution, when many members of the Paris Guard joined the new National Guard.
Ordnance Survey
Roy later had an illustrious career in the Royal Engineers (RE), rising to the rank of General, and he was largely responsible for the British share of the work in determining the relative positions of the French and British royal observatories. This work was the starting point of the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain (1783–1853), and led to the creation of the Ordnance Survey itself. Roy's technical skills and leadership set the high standard for which Ordnance Survey became known. Work was begun in earnest in 1790 under Roy's supervision, when the Board of Ordnance (a predecessor of part of the modern Ministry of Defence) began a national military survey starting with the south coast of England. Roy's birthplace near Carluke in South Lanarkshire is today marked by a memorial in the form of a large OS trig point.