Background
- Listing: Grade 2
- Date of building: 1936
Web: www.bawdseyradargroup.co.uk
The Scots physicist Robert Watson-Watt, supervisor of a national radio research laboratory, instead outlined a method for detecting aircraft en route to the UK so they could be intercepted. A practical demonstration was successfully conducted in February 1935 and as a result, Bawdsley and a string of radio stations along the coast were set up and in operation by 1936.
Much groundbreaking work in radar technology took place at Bawdsley and the string of radar stations went on to become invaluable during the Battle of Britain. The strategic importance of Bawdsley led to the complex being bombed on 12 separate occasions, but the robust construction of the buildings using huge earth revetments, reinforced concrete walls and a roof designed to dissipate the force of a direct hit ensured the building's survival.
Bawdsley continued as an RAF station into the 1980s and today, although the transmitter masts have now gone, the Grade II listed transmitter blocks, receiver blocks and underground bunkers still remain. The radar station attracted 2,000 visitors during summer 2005.