RAF Moreton-in-Marsh
RAF Moreton-in-Marsh was operational throughout World War II as
part of Bomber Command, the home station of 21 Operational Training
Unit, which was responsible for the training of air crew to fly
Wellington Bombers. The station also flew operational aircraft,
most notably during the large bomber raids on German cities such as
Cologne, Dresden and Hamburg.
RAF Moreton-in-Marsh ceased to be an operational station in the
late 1950s but, with the Cold War at its height, the Government
decided that all RAF National Servicemen would attend complete
three weeks' firefighting training at Moreton-in-Marsh during their
basic training.
It was anticipated that, in the event of a nuclear war, the
majority of these trained ex-national servicemen would form the
nucleus of a wartime fire service. They were trained by fire
service sub-officers, most of whom were on secondment from all over
the country with temporary promotion.