A new Spitfire replica has been installed at the entrance to the No. 11 Group Operations Room at RAF Uxbridge. The new fiberglass Spitfire replaces an old, somewhat battered replica which used to be one of the station’s gate guardians.  The other one is the Hurricane in Polish markings, which was installed in September. The new gate guardian was unveiled during a ceremony on held yesterday,on 25 November.

• See news article at the RoyalAir Force site

  http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive.cfm?storyid=254B4BBF-5056-A318-A813BB0F6CB4ADE8&rss=true

It is good to see this initiative following the formal closure of RAF Uxbridge. The base itself was closed on 31 March 2010, a sad development in the year of the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain. The entire area was handed over to developers and will eventually be converted to housing, with one exception. The famous No. 11 Group Operations Room, (known as “the bunker”), famous for its role during the Battle of Britain, is to be retained by the RAF and parented by RAF Northolt. It has been declared that the ops room will be open by appointment to visiting military and civilian groups.

The famous ops room in Uxbridge
[Ian Mansfield, via Wikimedia Commons]