{"id":1630,"date":"2012-08-12T18:07:05","date_gmt":"2012-08-12T18:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetimechamber.co.uk\/beta\/?page_id=1630"},"modified":"2025-03-03T18:36:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T18:36:16","slug":"roc-posts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thetimechamber.co.uk\/beta\/sites\/roc-posts","title":{"rendered":"The Royal Observer Corps"},"content":{"rendered":"

A\u00a0brief introduction.<\/h2>\n
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The Royal Observer Corps was first formed loosely\u00a0in 1914 in response to the threat of bombardment from the air, the objective of this newly formed organisation was to aid in the identification of any incoming enemy aircraft. This role was initially fulfilled by special constables reporting to directly to the Air Ministry, but as WW2 loomed this role was increasingly formalised and the Observer Corps developed into a professional uniformed network of posts and headquarters. The Observer Corps served with distinction during WW2 and as recognition of this the King awarded the organisation the title ‘Royal’. With the war in Europe and the Pacific coming to a close the ROC was stood down in 1945.<\/p>\n

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Cyril Carter and Bob Leake at Cuckfield Observer Corps Post in 1945<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the late 1940’s the threat of atomic attack by the Soviet Union rapidly increased with the escalation of tensions in Eastern Europe and Germany\u00a0and the marked the beginning of a new period of hostilities and nuclear stand off, now commonly referred to as the ‘Cold War’. \u00a0This new era\u00a0brought about\u00a0the need to track Soviet bombers and monitor nuclear fallout post-attack \u00a0in order to provide warning and support to the civilian population. As the ROC already had in place a network of posts, HQ’s\u00a0and a proven field force (albeit stood down), this new responsibility fell to the ROC and the Corps were re-activated in 1947, initially performing the same role as they had during WW2, but by 1955 the fallout reporting role was introduced and the first underground protected post was built at Farnham in 1956. Between 1956 to 1968 a rigorous building program ensued and saw 1563 underground posts and 40 protected group headquarters built up and down the British Isles to meet this new challenge.<\/p>\n

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Cuckfield Underground ROC Post in the 1960’s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These new underground posts were organised into ‘Sectors’ consisting of approximately 4-5 ‘Groups’. These ‘Groups’ were made up of approximately\u00a020-40\u00a0posts and a HQ. Within these ‘Groups’ the posts were arranged into ‘Clusters’ of 3-4 with one being designated a ‘Master’ post. The Master post was equipped with a radio as well as the land-line based loud speaker telephone which ensured that communication was possible from all posts to the group HQ’s.<\/p>\n

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Bedford No7 Group ROC HQ in the 1980’s. Courtesy of Bob McIntosh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To read about the differing roles and history of the Corps, click the following links:<\/h2>\n
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