RAF Uxbridge
| Royal Air Force Uxbridge | |
|---|---|
Station crest
|
|
| Active | 1917–2010 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch |
Royal Flying Corps Royal Air Force |
| Garrison/HQ | Uxbridge, Greater London |
| Motto(s) |
Latin: Juventutem formamus ("We form youth") |
| Royal Air Force Ensign |  |
| Engagements |
Battle 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 was so much 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 properties 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. A small part of the station incorporating the Battle of Britain Bunker retains the RAF Uxbridge name and is maintained by RAF Northolt.
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. A footpath through the site that had closed in 1988 was reopened in 2011.
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