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by Paul C Low |
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| ANGLIA RADAR AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTRE, home of the 1261st Communications Squadron [1961], afterward changed to the 2161st Communications Squadron, was located in a sugar beet field across from RAF Wattisham, on the Bildeston Road. If we were to take a bearing from Anglia Control Centre to RAF Wattisham tower, it would be 119 degrees at 13 nautical miles. Funny, back then it didn't seem that far; perhaps only 5 at the most. The Control Centre consisted of two "H" shaped temporary buildings and a large square brick building. These were not your typical Nissan huts [what we would call Quonset huts] but were "pre-fab' types. The two "H" forms were lying on their sides with the long leg closest to the roadway. The barracks area was divided into four living quarters and for some strange reason the Radar Air Traffic Controllers got the two sections closest to the road while the rest of the assigned personnel got the two sections closest to the administration building. The cross bar of the "H" contained laundry and shower facilities. The laundry area was where our civilian barber [Brian?] would cut hair on a weekly basis. My bunk area was in the corner nearest to the Welcome sign and the Bildeston Road [and the fire exit door]. I also remember there being a concrete pillbox directly opposite my bunk area on the other side of the road [the aerodrome side]. The Photograph on the right is me on a BSA 250 Twin, hoisting a pint outside the Shepherd and Dog. The parking lot was located between the barracks and Administration building and, while quite large, usually only held a handful of cars, my 1939 Morris Minor being one.
The second "H" was the Administration building, located across the driveway from the barracks. As you entered the Administration building, the site's Post Exchange, manned by a gorgeous local girl, was your first encounter and was slightly to the right of the door. Next to it, continuing to your right, were the main administrative offices and the office of the base commander. Going down the hallway towards the second arm you found the Library on your left side. The Library also served as the base Movie theatre. Continuing down the hall you come to the Mess Hall with the Kitchen area on the left and the tables on the right. Against the far wall was the Milk machine, which would dispense cold milk 24 hours a day. Outside the kitchen area was the produce storage area where I peeled potatoes on 2 or 3 occasions. On the far end of the mess hall proper was a 20-inch Television set mounted on the wall so that many people could watch television at the same time. Just beyond that was the area used for washing dishes and scraping plates into slop barrels. A local farmer picked these slop barrels up at least twice a week. This is also where the door was located that would take you across the yard to the Control Centre
The Anglia Radar Air Traffic Control Centre, as stated, was a large brick building. The generators and radar dishes were located to the left of the main building as were the repair shops. One entered the main building into a fairly large reception/lounge area. Next you entered the heart of the Control Centre itself. Immediately in front of you, on a raised dais, was the "A" desk; the desk where all flight information came to and aircraft strips were made up for both arriving and departing aircraft. These were then dispensed to the various radar sections located in a fan formation around the room and counting counter-clockwise from 1 to 10. Each section had its own radarscope aligned with the aerodrome it served and a corresponding arrival/departure board. While each section could be manned by only one air traffic controller, they were almost always manned by two; one to control the aircraft and the other to co-ordinate with Ground Control Approach, the base tower and the base operations. There were also at least two supervisors [Sergeants] available and roaming throughout the Centre. One upper level supervisor [lieutenant] was also available for every watch. There were also three regular civilian controllers who would handle their own traffic through the Anglia Control area as well as co-ordinate activities with London Control, Heathrow Airport, the Purple Airway [Queen's special airway] and other things which needed to be properly co-ordinated. I remember that they were especially helpful in obtaining permission for President Kennedy to use the Purple airway when he visited Ireland, coming in via Germany. Anglia Radar Air Traffic Control Centre was responsible for all American aircraft in East Anglia [Norfolk and Suffolk Counties] and the following bases:
A group of us went from Keesler AFB, MS [Air Traffic Control School] to Anglia Air Traffic Control Centre [1261st Airways and Air Communications Service (AACS) Squadron (MATS)] under Special Order 104 dated 20 April 1961: A2C David L. Cavanagh [That's our Rosey!] By 4 April 1962 we were the 2161st Communications Squadron (AFCS) and under Special Order 71 we had our functional accounts changed. This affected about 82 people - ALL NAMED. In 1961-62 the base commander was Lt Col Boyd F. McCoy; in 1963 it was Major Dale Speicher. |
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The photograph on the left shows where my bunk area was, complete
with Confederate Battle flag hanging in the window. 
Marlboro,
Maryland. [ 
My Morris was a real classic. It
looked like a model-T Ford. It had electric start which usually
didn't work and a hand-crank back up. It got 39 miles to the gallon
at a top speed of 39 mph [down hill with a stiff breeze pushing].
There was also a basketball backboard located here and some horseshoe
pits. The baseball diamond was located just beyond the parking
lot.
