Operational instruments of the Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 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; a serving RAF Air Commodore.
Geoffrey Ambler
Air Vice Marshal Geoffrey Hill Ambler (23 June 1904 – 26 August 1978) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Ambler served as the third Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps, the first serving RAF officer to hold the appointment as his predecessors were retired air commodores.