It was famous as the headquarters of Fighter Command during World War II. In the Second World War, Bentley Priory was the headquarters of RAF Fighter Command, and it remained in RAF hands in various roles until 2008. It was from that night that the campaign to save the Priory really began and it was eventually decided that the Priory should be renovated at a cost of approximately £1 million. The clock was lost in the fire of 1979 but the original bells survived.On 30 April 1968, Fighter Command was amalgamated with other operational commands to form Strike Command. The remainder of the estate, about 240 acres (0.97 km.On 26 May 1926, Inland Area (Training Command), a part of the organization of the Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) moved into the Priory from Uxbridge.

The command and control systems vital to the Battle of Britain were developed at Bentley Priory.On the amalgamation of Fighter Command with Bomber Command to form Strike Command, RAF Bentley Priory became the headquarters of Number 11 (Fighter) Group, responsible for the air defence of the United Kingdom. Liz Lake Associates led the landscape team that produced the Landscape Conservation Management Plan and all landscape-related documents and plans that formed part of the planning permission granted in July 2008 on behalf of RAF Bentley Priory. Although the finances did not allow this pattern to be restored at the time, it has since been returned to its former glory by Mess members.RAF Bentley Priory was latterly home to the,Project MoDEL is making a major contribution to the consolidation of the Defence Estate in Greater London through the delivery of three key outputs: the development of an integrated 'core site' at.A final dinner was held for the Battle of Britain veterans in July 2007 to celebrate the role of the building and those who worked in it in preventing Hitler's planned air invasion of Britain in 1940.Other items in the Museum include a number of "trophies" taken by the Royal Air Force from the,The Officers' Mess was also notable for the number of Royal Portraits hanging in the building; there were two of HM,Following the closure of the RAF station the site was handed over to.Under Supplementary planning guidance agreed in 2007 by London Borough of Harrow the site will include a museum open to the public in the main rooms of the house, recording and interpreting the history of the site and in particular the Battle of Britain and Cold War heritage. The Fighter Command badge remains above the main entrance Headquarters No 11 (Fighter) Group. Reduced to less than 300 members in total over the whole UK, the retained NRCs now found themselves tasked with the daunting challenge of providing a comprehensive Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare analysis and warning service for the Military Home Commands, on a reserve-manned basis as NBCCs but without the previous flow of data from posts and controls.From 1991 onwards the "Remnant Elements" became a single reserve,Despite having successfully built upon the extensive NBC reporting trials, undertaken with the RAF Regiment and meeting full NATO standards and evaluations (,Fighter Command's Spitfire gate guardian. 6 RAF Bentley Priory was an active (although non-flying) RAF station until 30 May 2008, with a site area of approximately 24 hectares. It remains the home of the Royal Observer Corps.RAF Bentley Priory Officers’ Mess still contains the original office of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding (later Lord Dowding), Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, preserved with its original furniture. In January 1939, work started on the underground Operations Block which was occupied and commenced operations on 9 March 1940. Other Battle of Britain historic artifacts are kept in the Officers’ Mess, including one of the few remaining Battle of Britain Lace Panels.The Officers’ Mess is also notable for the number of Royal Portraits hanging in the building; there are two of Her Majesty the Queen (one as a young woman in the Dining Room and one with a background of the Italian Gardens, hanging in the Ladies Room), one of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh (dressed in a flying suit, hanging in the Dining Room on the wall facing the Queen), one of George VI (in RAF No 1 uniform wearing a ‘chip bag’ and wings, which hangs in the Abercorn Bar) and one of The Queen Mother (gifted to the Mess by the Queen Mother after she generously paid for refubishment following fire).© 2006 - 2020 DigiLondon content and photography is © all relevant parties. Most of the paintings and other valuables were taken to.On the evening of 21 June 1979 at 8:27 pm, smoke was seen coming from the Priory. The cinder T-strips were laid approximately east-West just south of the bunker with the leg of the T pointing south. General Pile would walk from 'Glenthorn' and they would talk about the War, and a variety of other subjects, as they were firm friends. Only the entrance hall remains virtually intact with its eight 'Roman Doric' columns supporting a shallow vaulted ceiling. About. It was formerly the headquarters of fighter command during the Battle of Britain. The colourful window was constructed from an original design and drawing by Observer Lieutenant Commander A P Angove,The 10,000 member main field force of the ROC were stood down on 30 September 1991, and the ROC's original 1966 Royal Banner was laid up at.ROC Banner is marched into St Clement Danes church, London for laying up on 29 September 1991.The S Ad O, retitled as Senior ROC Officer (SROCO), Observer Commander N A Greig OBE and his adjutant Observer Lieutenant P Proost remained in post to administer the reduced ROC contingent under a revised RAF structure. However, on the night of 10 March 1947, the centre portion of the building, including the room above the Ante-Room and the offices on the floor above, were destroyed by a fire.