Royal Observer Corps, Devizes Wiltshire in World War Two

The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 1925 and 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down. ROC headquarters staff at RAF Bentley Priory stood down on 31 March 1996.

It was composed mainly of civilian spare-time volunteers, ROC personnel who 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.

Above right Fred Brewer on the roof of the Anstie's building in the Market Square, Devizes . Right Market Square in the 1930s, The Anstie building is far left, 2 buildings to the left of the current Tourist offices.

The instrument on the roof measures the angle of approaching German aircraft. Fred would telephone this data to Bristol to enable them to set the angle of fire and height for the shells to explode for the anti-aircraft guns. His call sign was George 5. Fred was a full time Observer throughout the war, after losing his chauffer job at Rowdefield House after it was commandeered for war duties.

The Battle of Britain

After the Fall of France, the goal of Germany was to achieve air superiority over Great Britain by destroying RAF fighters, both in the air and on the ground, and by bombing aircraft manufacturing facilities. Winning the Battle of Britain, as it became known, was Germany's prerequisite in preparation for the invasion of Britain; Operation Sealion.

Below the Staff and volunteers of the Royal Observer Corps in Devizes. They were based in Southbroom House on the the Green, now Devizes School, during the 1939 to 1945 World War

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 tracking of aircraft overland was the responsibility of the Corps but scientific research had developed a system known as radar whereby it was possible to detect the presence of an aircraft over the sea area. This detection and the resultant tracking was treated as a form of early warning of the approach of possible hostile aircraft. The joining of radar tracks produced over the sea approaches with ROC tracks overland gave the fighter controllers at RAF control rooms a complete picture of enemy incursions and made possible a greater number of interceptions.

112. During this vital period experiments were also made in giving imminent danger warnings to factories on war work. These experiments were so successful that the Ministry of Home Security installed air raid warning officers in ROC centres to warn certain vital industrial undertakings. This warning scheme was extended considerably and was responsible for saving many millions of man hours, thus making a vital contribution to the production of a large bomber force and of war material which made possible the invasion of France.

The Observer Corps formed the cornerstone of Air Marshall Hugh Dowding's air defence system, who stated in a despatch following the Battle of Britain that: "It is important to note that at this time they (the Observer Corps) constituted the whole means of tracking enemy raids once they had crossed the coastline. Their work throughout was quite invaluable. Without it the air-raid warning systems could not have been operated and inland interceptions would rarely have been made."

As a result of their role during the Battle of Britain, in April 1941 the Observer Corps was granted the title Royal by King George VI, and the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) became a uniformed civil defence organisation administered by RAF Fighter Command. Also during that same year, in a change from the policy of the Observer Corps, the ROC undertook to recruit women personnel for the first time. Initially, the only uniforms provided were RAF overalls, (boiler suits), with an ROC breast badge, commonly referred to as the "soup plate" because of its shape and size. Standard issue RAF No.2 Battledress uniforms were issued in a rolling programme over the next two years. For the remainder of the war, the ROC would provide an essential part of Great Britain's air defences.