大象传媒

My Observer Corps

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Viv Foulds of Egerton Telecottage on behalf of Lesley Leney and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions

In 1935 I started working in the Navy, Army and Air Forces Institute Headquarters in Kennington as an office boy. In 1938 the decision was taken to evacuate to the country. And the Corps was installed in Ruxley Towers at Claygate in Surrey, a large country house built for Lord Foley in 1872. It had a tower 83 ft high and 200ft above sea level with a magnificent panoramic views over 8 miles.

Claygate and Esher were bombed and firebombed as the Battle of Britain took place. You could hear gunfire from Dunkirk at Claygate. After Dunkirk the tower was occupied by the local defence volunteers to guard against parachutists from enemy aircraft and any other incident night and day. A Spitfire was once seen attacking 25 hostile aircraft.

The Royal Observer Corp took an interest in the tower as there was a gap in the Victor Cluster. Builders got to work on it in 1940. The post became operational on the lower tower on 11 November in the same year. There was a protected ladder to the surrounded platform. In a gunfire protected area - with room for two - there was a plotting table in the centre with a telephone link to the plotting table at Group 19 HQ in Bromley. The post was given a special pair of tubular binoculars which had come from a 1914-18 German battleship.

Post members were recruited from NAAFI staff. The Observer Corps was divided into Groups and the Groups into Clusters or posts. Each Cluster had a pre-fix letter. Ours was V-Victor and each post had a number. The Clusters were V1 Headley, V2Homewood, V3 Clandon and V4 Claygate. My post was V/4 and Group 19 Bromley 6183 was opened in November 1940. The first Observer Corps group was Maidstone, followed by Horsham, to cover South East England and eventually Groups covered the whole of the UK.

Observers could plot aircraft that radar could not and so the Corps played an essential part in defence of the country. After the Battle of Britain King George recognised the service of the Corp by giving it the title of 鈥淩oyal鈥� and a blue RAF uniform was provided. Prior to 1940, the uniform was for Observer Corps Civilian-Special Constables, and had a blue and white police arm band with Observer Corps woven on it.

We had a room for talks on aircraft recognition and for rest between duties, which were in the beginning in six 4 hour shifts from 01.00 hrs. I became a full time observer for 48 hours a week. When off duty I cycled 20 miles home to Mitcham but otherwise lodged at Claygate. My duties were first with Nobby Clark, a First World War marksman. He liked very strong tea and I found a way to satisfy his need with 4 teaspoons of tea in a pot for two, with hot milk and lots of sugar. We had sandwiches of cheese or spam.

Our plotting machine had a circle measured off in squares. An inner distance sound circle of 5 miles and an outer one of 8 miles. A vertical bar in thousands of feet moved on a cog. This was the pointer which was on wheels and traversed the machine. It had a height correction pointer for distance over height and a torch for use at night.

Aircraft plotted included a few Blenheims and Hurricanes, the latter carrying beer in drop tanks South East. There were night attacks on Channel ports by Wellingtons and Whitleys, Hampdens and Herefords to damage invasion barges. As weeks went past, Blenheims were helped by Bostons and Mitchells, with more Spitfire and Hurricane escorts.

Each aircraft was logged. The weather played its part. On clear frosty nights sound travelled very far. One day the post had to be evacuated because of invasion by millions of flying ants!

A typical busy day might start with friendly bombers making a sortie to France escorted by a few fighters and more would follow during the day. There were hostile raids by night and friendly aircraft by night until the Americans came into the war. This led to mass raids by fortresses from early morning. Then there were mass raids at night by the RAF. A block of aircraft could be heard going over, miles wide and miles deep. Numbers were estimated by each post and plotted by Bromley Group. Later in the day planes would return form their sorties-some damaged. In between all sorts of local flights would be made.

When the night blitz started, hostile raids came up from the South East to London. During night raids parachute mines were used and Mitcham had its fair share. Two observers on duty were asked to look out for parachutes. Mine landed in Princes Covets 陆 a mile away had green and white parachute silk. This made good underwear for ladies!

In 1944, a memo from ROC Headquarters asked for volunteers to become an aircraft identifier on board ship. I volunteered. My call came to go to the Seaborne and report to the Royal Bath Hotel in Bournemouth where we trained. There were seven in my room-five from Scotland and a Mr Glenny, a 60 year old tailor from the City of London. We had intensive aircraft identification tests and instruction on the parts of a ship. After 10 days we had an elimination aircraft test. Several of us passed and were given a Seaborne shoulder badge and RN badge. We were made Petty Officers Royal Navy Seaborne and were paid 拢1 a day for one or two months.

When the Normandy invasion started aircraft were painted black and white stripes, so as to be easily identified. There were lots of planes to plot. V1 flying bombs started to come over from 13 June and they flew about 400 miles per hour at 1,000-2,000 feet. A special code word was used for them - 鈥淒iver鈥�. We learned 鈥渄iver procedure鈥� 鈥� the code word Diver was used to re-fix a flying bomb plot.

The first diver I saw crashed in woods, Princes Covets. The second landed in the corner of a 20 acre field and a house was blown to pieces near Epsom race course. The air balloons were alerted for a second line of defence after the guns on the coast. A Spitfire chased one all the way to Raynes Park closing to kill and ack ack fire put it off.

In July, I took the train to Stanraer with Doug Swindale, my partner from 5 Group Centre, and six others. We travelled from Stanraer to Larne. There was a rough crossing with many seasick. We then took the train to Belfast and our first Royal Navy mess. A lighter took us to our allotted ship, the US army auxiliary armed transport, Excelsior鈥� you grabbed the rope ladder as high as you can to step on and then hang on. I was allocated a cabin with American sailors, bosun and signalmen. I played my first game of basketball. Chocolate and cigarettes were very cheap.

Troops boarded - 鈥淭he Red Diamonds鈥� of the 5th Division. We soon weighed anchor in convoy down the Irish Sea.

With turkey and ice cream on the menu, we left on 4 July. There was much speculation as to where the 2,400 troops on board would go ashore. There were lookouts on each quarter of the ship. We sailed in zig zag fashion because a black pennant submarine was in the vicinity. Eventually all was clear and we sailed across the Channel at 8 knots so as not to detonate magnetic mines.

We travelled to Utah beach and landed all the troops successfully but a landing craft put a hole in our sides above the water line. This was repaired successfully with the aid of the bosun and carpenter. After a few days wait we were given the orders to return to base.

On return from France we saw an airman鈥檚 body in the water but did not stop to pick it up. I thought of my brother Sam who was missing in Norway during a sortie on the Tirpitz in Norway in 1942. Then we moved in a slow convey to the Solent, arriving late. At 02.00 hrs there was an alarm on the deck fly bridge. It was a V1 flying bomb. It was not within shooting distance of our ship-but many other ships were. The sound cut out-and it crashed about three miles away.

The following day we went in convoy to Lundy Island and eventually raced our sister ship to Belfast. We won. I travelled back to Southampton and then to Bournemouth as I was not needed for further duty. I enjoyed a final meal with the Seaborne at Bobby's-Scottish music and strawberries and cream-a wonderful evening. Bournemouth was a dry town after 20.00 hrs.

I phoned home to see how everybody was managing with the flying bombs. All were alive and well. My sister Win had been at work in Mitcham post office when a flying bomb crashed across London Road but she was alright.

I was then discharged from being a Petty Officer RN Seaborne and went home to Mitcham and eventually to Claygate . A klaxon had been added to the post to warn local people of flying bombs.

We plotted local flying and mass bombing raids. Flying bombs could glide for miles, loop the loop and come down immediately with devastating effect. Our worst experience came when a V1 came on course to our post. It cut out 戮 of a mile from the post and glided overhead, crashing on two houses in Hinchley wood. Very sad.

Then there were V2 rockets cruising at 1,700 miles per hour, 3 minutes from take off. One very clear morning I could see three take off from France. Two crashed on take off and the third was successful. A cloud of smoke obliterated Twickenhan Rugby stand and gasometer, some minutes later it cleared and both were untouched.

When RAF bombers came back damaged searchlights pointed the direction to a suitable airfield. On VE day all the searchlights in London showed us the 鈥渄ance of the searchlights鈥� Circles and pointers going back and forth a wonderful sight.

1945 was the end of my membership of the Royal Observer Corps. Looking back I wonder what happened to the binoculars and the logbooks we left behind at Ruxley Towers. I am now a member of the ROC and Seaborne Associations. Seaborne observers meet in different venues around the 6 June every year, thanks to our Hon Secretary Derek James and our President, AVM G Black.

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