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A substantial archive of the Royal Observer Corps is held at Hampshire Record Office in Winchester, and all are welcome to consult it there.

The archive includes written records and audio-visual material, covering the work of the Corps nationwide from 1925 onwards, including its work in tracking aircraft during the war and thereafter, and from 1955 in providing a monitoring service in case of a nuclear attack.

The Corps was called out on 24 August 1939. At the outset of war, new recruits became necessary; they came from all walks of life, and included women from September 1941. Post observers were responsible for monitoring the skies around the clock, spotting and tracking aircraft by sight or sound and reporting to control centres. These centres then collated the information and passed it on to Fighter Command. This work during the Battle of Britain led to the grant of the 'Royal' title to the Corps in April 1941. Post observers also guided lost friendly aircraft to safety.

Hampshire Record Office holds log books for many Observation Posts both in Hampshire and elsewhere, which vividly capture the experiences of Observers, ranging from the drama of successive waves of hostile planes and air battles, to the self-discipline of staying alert during an uneventful watch.

The catalogue of the ROC archive can be seen online by going to the Hampshire Record Office website at www.hants.gov.uk/record-office and selecting Search Catalogue, then entering the reference 36M96 in the FindingNo box on the Search Page. For film and sound material (held in Wessex Film and Sound Archuve within Hampshire Record Office), please use the FindingNo AV183 instead, and for photographs held by the ROC of which digital versions are held in the Hampshire Photographic Project, please use the FindingNo HPP60.

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