The defence of Gloucester and Brockworth was primarily the responsibility of the Army’s Anti-Aircraft Command, which was operationally controlled by RAF Fighter Command and initially consisted of four elements, an RAF Barrage Balloon Squadron,a Searchlight Regiment a Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment and a Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, equipped with mainly machine guns and rifles.
Later in the war, as home defence forces were thinned to enable troops to be deployed to other war fronts including, India, North Africa, Italy and in preparation for D-Day. some aspects of air defences were taken over by Home Guard units.
RAF Rudloe Manor – No.10 Group Headquarters
Intelligence about enemy aircraft arose from Radio Direction Finding (later known as Radar) and the work of the Observer Corps. Al Murray and James Holland in a fascinating podcast and also available as a YouTube video have provided a detailed overview of how this system operated, primarily in terms of how information was used to communicate to RAF Squadrons. Group operations room included intercommunication to direct Anti-Aircraft units in the area, which in the case of Gloucestershire was No. 10 Group Headquarters at RAF Rudloe Manor, Corsham, Bath, the operations room is shown in the Imperial War Museum archive photograph below. The intensity of the co-operation meant that commands to Anti-Aircraft batteries could stop guns being fired when RAF fighter planes were approaching to attack enemy planes.
The Operations Room at RAF Fighter Command’s No. 10 Group Headquarters, Rudloe Manor (RAF Box), Wiltshire, showing WAAF plotters and duty officers at work, 1943. Image: IWM (CH 11887)
Barrage Balloon Squadron
24 balloons were regularly deployed at sites in Brockworth, Hucclecote and on Churchdown Hill to help prevent aircraft attacking Gloster Aircraft Company. 912 (County of Warwick) Balloon Squadron arrived in Brockworth in June 1940 and remained here until the balloons were withdrawn in July 1944, some weeks after the start of the invasion of France in Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944. The Barrage Balloon Squadron was part of the RAF Balloon Command
5 Anti Aircraft Brigade
All of the Anti
Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment
A number of Regiments provided Heavy Anti-Aircraft Batteries to provide personnel to operate gun sites at Belmont (Upton St Leonards), Deans Farm(Brockworth), Parton (Churchdown) and Elkstone (Birdlip). The photo above shows a visit of Queen Mary to 494 Mixed Battery at Belmont they occupied this site and Deans Farm from February 1942 until January 1944 when they were moved to Plymouth.
Search Light Regiment
Search Lights were originally located individually but to reduce manpower were later relocated with three on a single site. A number of different regiments moved through this area during the war the Regiment was usually headquartered at Stonehouse. In later stages of the war units were often staffed by women from the Auxiliary Territorial Service as shown in the photograph above. Given the disbursed area the regiment covered it is likely that unit members were accommodated very close to the searchlight site.
Light Anti-Aircraft Regiments
Light Anti-Aircraft batteries were located in the area, however, during the later stages of the war, the deployments were very short and unit listings published by the Gloucestershire Sub District Headquarters simply listed the battery HQ locations.