The Central Signals Establishment was disestablished in July 1965. RAF Watton and its Signals tasks would now be controlled directly by Signals Command. Air Commodore J. Goodman was the last Commandant CSE. The Station Commander, Group Capt. Webb was now the senior officer on Watton. He was soon to be superseded by Group Capt. Hogan DFC AFC. The Signals Research Section and the Special Radio Installations Sections were put under the control of the Electronic Warfare Support Wing.
Eastern Radar, and Air Traffic Control Radar Unit was formed at RAF Watton during the summer of 1965. Under it’s first Commanding Officer W/Cdr. Don Newall, Eastern Radar was to operate from the radar site as an air traffic control service to selected RAF and USAF airfields in the East Anglia region.
In line with changes to the Navy Army and Air Forces Institute, RAF Watton’s NAAFI underwent a comprehensive refurbishment and became a ‘Club’. It was opened in the summer of 1965 as ‘The Shirley Club’ by the AOCinC Signals Command Air Vice Marshal Shirley.
Eastern Radar became operational in November, with the official opening ceremony taking place on December 13th.
These and the previous ‘snapshots’ of my post-war history of RAF Watton are extracts from
‘In Support Of So Many’
Royal Air Force Station Watton 1945 ~ 2000
A Story of a Peacetime RAF Station
© Peter J. Long 1999