RAF Aird Uig
We are interested in hearing from any former servicemen who were stationed at RAF Aird Uig, with a view to compiling memories of the place. Please get in touch! There is also an RAF Aird Uig topic in our forum.
On the windswept, 60-metre high, cliffs at Gallan Head, Aird Uig, a watcher’s hut was built for shelter, during the Second World War. Local men, in the Auxiliary Coastguard Service, kept a watch on the North Western Approaches for enemy ships. The watch was maintained 24 hours a day and the men were uniformed and armed.
A radar station, type R10, eventually replaced the watcher’s hut around 1954, as the main surveillance building and a domestic camp, where the servicemen lived, was built around the same time. Virtually every able man in the district was employed in its construction and teams were also bussed in from other parts of the Island.
The radar station was in operation until 1964, when it was replaced by a radio communications surveillance system. The domestic camp was adjacent to the village of Aird Uig and a few hundred metres south of the radar station; it too was closed in 1964. The buildings remained unused for many years until the site was sold in 1977; it has been resold several times subsequently. Individuals now own the buildings and have transformed them into homes, restaurants and guesthouses. The Headquarters and NAAFI shop building is now the Gallan Head Hotel & Restaurant.
Local civilian workforce
Thirteen (perhaps as many as 20) local people were working at the camp as civilians, managers, cleaners, cooks, drivers, handy men and shop assisants in the NAAFI shop.
- Donald Matheson, Ardroil – General duties in the Sergeant’s Mess
- Malcolm John Macaulay – Refuse collection
- Calum Iain Macaulay – Handy man
- Calum Macneill , Carishader – Handy man
- Calum Beag Macneill, Carishader – General duties in the Officers Mess
- Angus Smith, Carishader – Kitchen staff in the Airmen’s Mess; also construction
- John Murdo Maclean, Breanish – Water man (water supply to the camp); also camp construction.
- Calum Iain Buchanan, Breanish – Storeman
- Peigi Matheson, Aird Uig – NAAFI shop
- Murdanie Maclean Aird Uig – General duties in the Airmens’ Mess
- Nora Macdonald – NAAFI Manageress
- John Angus Maclennan, Aird Uig – Bus driver
- Joan Maclennan – General duties in the Officers Mess (wife of John Angus)
Angus H. Smith from Carishader, who was involved in the construction of the domestic camp, along with John Murdo Maclean, Brenish and Finlay Maciver, Geshader, was approached by the first commanding officer of the base, Squadron Leader Parker and asked if he wanted to become part of the full-time civilian staff at the camp. Angus agreed and went to work in the cookhouse, helping with the preparation of food for the servicemen. He worked in the camp from 11th April 1955 until it closed, he was then asked to continue working at the main radar facility, R10, at Aird Uig, which was a restricted area; here he was involved in the general cleaning of the building.
John Murdo Maclean, Breanish, was involved in the building of the camp in the early 1950s, he continued working there for 5 years, involved in various construction work but finally worked on the camp water supply, which was fed from a local loch (possibly Loch Bheannaich), the pump building is still standing (2005), up the hill from the loch.
About 150 servicemen were stationed at Aird Uig camp, Radar operators, radar technicians, mechanics, electricians, cooks, storemen, police and firemen.
Buildings at the camp include: (see map)
Sick Quarters
C.O.s Quarters
Sergeant’s Quarters
Airmen’s Quarters
Officer’s Mess
Sergeant’s Mess
Airmen’s Mess
Fire Station
NAAFI
H.Q. / NAAFI shop (Bonaventure)
M.T. Workshop (Garage)
General stores
Guardroom
Fire Station
Air Ministry – Public Building Works
There was a flammable substance store near the M.T. Office.
There were 2 buses (driven by John Angus Maclennan and Angus Unknown – from Harris), 3 trucks and 2 Land Rovers; plus officer’s cars. The men often went, by bus, to dances and events in various villages and to Stornoway. Discipline was uniformly strict during the tenure of all commanding officers.
Commanding Officers include:
Squadron Leader Parker
Flight Lieutenant Fletcher
Squadron Leader Nascutin
Squadron Leader Christopher
Squadron Leader Evens
Sergeants include:
Sergeant Macavoy
Sergeant Fitzgerald
Sergeant Sharp
Sergeant MacKnight, was the skipper of the 5m fishing boat that belonged to the RAF. This was often used to supply the cooks with fresh fish, and the excess fish was given to local villagers.
There were two incidents recalled by Angus H Smith (cook in the Airmen’s Mess), one in which a civilian Englishman call Mr. Lee was bird watching on the cliffs to the north of the domestic camp when the rocks suddenly gave way, he fell to his death on the rocks below. Angus was in the boat that recovered his body from the sea.
On another occasion a corporal used the NAAFI shop keys to unlawfully enter the shop, taking some whisky from the storeroom. He was found out and disciplined by the commanding officer. Local men from Uig gave the NAAFI shop some money to pay for the missing drink, which shows there was a friendly relationship between servicemen and local civilians.
Brought back memories of the time I spent at the Aird Uig. I was there from July 1959 to July 1960.I found the Smith family in the village very friendly and visited them a number of time, I am sure that he and his wife worked at the camp. Sargent Richie was in charge of the police section and my nco in charge.
Best wishes and god bless.
Jim McIntosh.
I was stationed at Aird Uig from 1958 when the establishment was 15 men and 2 officers The establishment went up to 100 men I remember Sgt Ritchie as I was a member of the Police Section as was Alan Round and Brian Caisley The three of us each paid a £5 to a villager in Uig for a Matchless 350cc motor bike. Brian and I i mmediately went off to test the machine. Brian first, the me with Brian on the back We decided to go to the petrol pump at Maiavig but crashed at the bridge just before the pump
We were thrown over the parapet but fortunately landed on the only piece of grass amongst the rocks The bike went over the parapet and crashed on the rocks below the bridge Alan never saw the bike A point of interest, one of the C.O’s was Sqd.Leader Liskutin who is mentioned in Laddie Lucas’s book about airmen who rode their luck He was piloting what I believe was a Tempest when he shot down a doodlebug but had got too close and was fortunate to survive the resultant explosion
I was an Air Defence Operator at Aird Uig from 1959 until national service ended in 1961. Met many good friends there from all parts of the UK. Remember boarding the Loch Seaforth at Mallaig wondering where the heck I was headed and how long am I going to be here. At Stornaway I was met by someone driving a Land Rover who loaded my bags int the back and off we went on the lonely road to Aird Uig – a single lane road with laybys in places for oncoming traffic to get by. As I recall it took at least 55 minutes to arrive at the camp. The WO man who greeted me (who remembers the WO man in charge of admin) an excitable person to say the least who would shuttle one about like some mother hen showing me the mess hall where I had my first real meal since making the long train and ferry journey from Compton Basset via my home town of Sunderland where I was allowed to take a 48 hour break. The billet I was to spend the next 18 months in was almost full, with a newcome having to take a bed nearest the door. One worked ones’ way to the top of the billiet as airmen left for other postings which took several months to achieve. Squadron Leader Christopher was CO – a likeable guy – who sometimes liked to accompany us on the twice a week liberty runs to Stornaway where he would partake in a drink with the boys especially on a Saturday. I remember being trapped in Stornaway after a snow storm and had to spend the night in a hotel with a bar (can’t remember the name) staying at the hotel was Calum Kennedy the Scottish singer who bought the rounds of drinks for all of us. Needless to say a good time was had by all. I have often wondered where my friends are now Taffy Cross,(storeman) Scotty,(ADO). Dennis Wood (ADO) Trevor Stevenson (ADO) Barry Weed (ADO). Edie Mooney (cook) Dave Andrus ( wireless technician) and many others. It was at Aird Uig that I very foolishly volunteered for Common Cold Research after seeing a notice posted at the camp, which resulted in myself – and others before me – ending up at Porton Down where the most vile human experiments were conducted on so many of the volunteers… Many of you will know of the Wiltshire Police investigation that began in 1999 and lasted for 5 years with no charges being made, despite police knowing the identity of the perpetrators. One particularly vile experiment that was conducted on myself and 114 other airmen consisted of injecting a cell altered bacteria derived from salmonella abortus equi into the blood stream of 81 airmen with a further 34 inhaling the highly toxic endo toxin. It will shock you to know that only 7 airmen have ever been accounted for after forming part of this Josef Mengele type of human experiment with Wiltshire Police ignoring my many requests to have the missing airmen traced.
To add further to this atrocity Leigh Day & Co attended two secretly held “mediations with the MOD that resulted in 645 Porton Veterans including 39 family members of deceased veterans each receiving 8356 pounds and 54 pence, with Senior Partner Martyn Day being awarded 3.72 million pounds…. YES 3.72 million pounds from the MOD for legal work that was never carried out. Anyone interested can contact me at
Beat wishes to all.
Gordon Bell
Spruce Grove
Alberta
Canada.
My address should read: 40 Morel Drive, Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada. T7X 2P9.
I was at aird uig 1959 -61 sorry I don’t remember you being there during this period.
As an “Air Defense Operator” we had to produce our “1250″ to the police on entering the workplace. I did this for over 18 months yet I have no recollection of the name Mcintosh.