RAF Uxbridge

RAF Uxbridge
Uxbridge, Hillingdon, Greater London in UK
A full-size model Spitfire gate guard at the entrance to RAF Uxbridge.
A full-size model Spitfire gate guard at the entrance to RAF Uxbridge.
Station badge
Juventutem formamus
(Latin for 'We form youth')
RAF Uxbridge is located in Greater London
RAF Uxbridge
RAF Uxbridge
Location within Greater London
Coordinates51°32′32″N 0°28′11″W / 51.54222°N 0.46972°W / 51.54222; -0.46972
TypeNon-flying administrative, headquarters and support station
Area46 hectares (110 acres)[1]
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
OperatorRoyal Flying Corps (1917–1918)
Royal Air Force (1918–2010)
Open to
the public		Yes (Battle of Britain Bunker)
ConditionClosed
Site history
Built1917 (1917)
In use1917–2010 (2010)
Fate
  • Site sold by MOD for redevelopment, majority of station buildings demolished.
  • Operations room now Battle of Britain Bunker Museum
Battles/warsBattle of Britain
Evacuation of Dunkirk
Preparation for D-Day
Normandy Campaign

RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a 44.6-hectare (110-acre) site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years before the founding of the RAF. Until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the station was open to the public.

The station is best known as the headquarters of No. 11 Group RAF, which was responsible for the aerial defence of London and the south-east of England during the Battle of Britain. Hillingdon House served as the group's headquarters. A bunker, subsequently known as the Battle of Britain Bunker, was built nearby to house the 11 Group Operations Room, which controlled fighter squadrons operating within the group. The Operations Room was also responsible for providing air support during the evacuation of Dunkirk in May 1940 (Operation Dynamo) and the D-Day landings (Operation Overlord). It was here that Winston Churchill first said, "Never in the history of mankind has so much been owed by so many to so few", which he repeated in a speech to Parliament four days later.

RAF Uxbridge closed on 31 March 2010 as part of a reduction in the number of Ministry of Defence installations in the Greater London area. Many of its remaining military units were relocated to nearby RAF Northolt the following day. Plans for redevelopment, consisting of a mixture of new residential and commercial properties and the retention of all listed buildings, were approved in January 2011.[2] A small part of the station incorporating the Battle of Britain Bunker retains the RAF Uxbridge name and is owned by Hillingdon Council.

The River Pinn runs through the site from north to south, passing Hillingdon House and the Battle of Britain Bunker. The land around the river is mainly wooded and designated as greenbelt, and Hillingdon Golf Course borders the south of the station.[3] A footpath through the site that had closed in 1988 was reopened in 2011.

  1. ^ "Defence Estates Development Plan (DEDP) 2009 – Annex A" (PDF). GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. 3 July 2009. p. 49. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference PlansApproved was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Environmental Statement: Site Description" (PDF). London Borough of Hillingdon. January 2009. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2011.