Pitreavie Castle is thought to have been built by Sir Henry Wardlaw, the 1st Baronet of Pitreavie, who bought the Pitreavie estate in 1608, with the castle believed to have existed by 1614. It was sold to Archibald Primrose, 1st Earl of Rosebery, in 1703, and then to Sir Robert Blackwood, Lord Dean of Guild, and later Lord Provost, of Edinburgh, in 1711. It remained in the Blackwood family for 170 years, but was unoccupied for almost a century. The castle was bought by Henry Beveridge, a wealthy mill owner, in 1884. It was extensively extended and altered in 1885.[1]
Establishment
Before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Works Department of the Air Ministry was looking for a site to accommodate the headquarters of newly reformed No. 18 (Reconnaissance) Group, part of RAF Coastal Command. In 1938, Pitreavie Castle was found and purchased for £12,306.[1] The building, which was in a dilapidated state, was considered suitable due to the room available for expansion in its large grounds and its close proximity to the Royal Navy base at Rosyth.[2] In 1939, the Admiralty made it known to the RAF that it was interested in co-locating at Pitreavie and creating a joint RAF/Royal Navy Area Combined Headquarters (ACHQ), to which the RAF were agreeable.[3][4]
In order to protect the important headquarters from potential aerial attack should war break out, work began on an subterranean bunker within the grounds, located to the south-west of the main building. It comprised a two-storey bunker, square in shape, buried 20 feet (6.1m) underground. It featured two entrances, one for the RAF, leading to an external entrance beside the main building and one leading to the newly built above ground Royal Navy block to the west. It was completed in 1941.[3]
Second World War
WAAFteleprinter operators at work in the signals centre at RAF Pitreavie Castle during the Second World War.
The site became home to the No. 18 Group headquarters, which had responsibility for maritime air operations north of Flamborough Head in Yorkshire, including the areas north and west of Scotland. The Navy's Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth was responsible for naval operations north of Flamborough Head to Wick in Caithness.[3] The site featured a joint Officers' Mess and a steading to the east of the main building was used as a Sergeants' Mess.[3][5] Towards the end of Second World War, three wooden huts were located to the east of the main building and used to accommodate officers, non-commissioned Officers and other ranks and ratings. The huts were believed to have dated from the First World War and had been relocated from RAF Donibristle, approximately 2.7km (1.68mi) away at Dalgety Bay.[3][6]
During the war, No. 18 Group had responsibility for more than twenty squadrons and controlled aircraft predominately involved in anti-shipping and anti-submarine warfare in the seas around Scotland. The Prime MinisterWinston Churchill, visited Pitreavie Castle twice during the war.[7]
Cold War
Pitreavie Castle in 2011
After the end of the Second World War in 1945, Pitreavie Castle's peacetime role continued to be maritime coordination. However, Flag Officer Rosyth transitioned into the Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland position.
During the Cold War, Pitreavie Castle had several administrative and command roles.
On the formation of the NATO alliance in April 1949, both the Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland and Air Officer Commanding 18 Group took on second, additional, NATO command roles.[7] An associated Royal Naval Reserve unit was commissioned in 1957, later being named HMS Scotia in 1960. Initially based in the Maritime Headquarters, it was relocated to an above ground building in 1962.[3][4]
In 1963, following a review of Royal Navy and RAF headquarters sites, the bunker was rearranged and enlarged. After Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) Headquarters based at Northwood Headquarters (HMS Warrior) in Hertfordshire, Pitreavie became the second most important naval headquarters in the UK, as FOSNI had a war role under CINCFLEET. The castle however remained as a joint Royal Navy/RAF operation.
On 28 November 1969, No. 18 Group RAF, part of RAF Coastal Command, stationed at Pitreavie Castle, was disestablished by being redesignated Northern Maritime Air Region. From that point onwards AOC Northern Maritime Air Region appears to have also had the responsibility of Air Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland (AOSNI). FOSNI had command and control of Royal Navy warships and auxiliary vessels (apart from submarines) and in the seas around Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England. AOC Northern Maritime Air Region directed RAF maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), any allocated attack aircraft, and helicopters. Peacetime operations would include training exercises and routine patrols. The station was often used as the base for coordinating Joint Maritime Course exercises. Had war broken out with the Soviet Union, the station would have taken command and control of NATO vessels and MPA in its allocated areas.[4]
Among Air Officers Commanding Northern Maritime Air Region was then-Air Vice Marshal Thomas Kennedy.[8]
Pitreavie could also, if required, take over the functions of Northwood Headquarters. In these circumstances Pitreavie would take on a wider area of responsibility, have increased contact with politicians, co-ordinate submarines, and after 1970, control Polaris, the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent.[4]
During the mid-1970s the number of Royal Navy personnel increased whereas the level of RAF personnel reduced. A limited number of married quarters were provided at Pitreavie, however most personnel were accommodated at Rosyth Dockyard (HMS Cochrane) or RAF Turnhouse near Edinburgh.[4]
Administration
The station was home to the administrative offices of the senior Royal Navy and RAF officers in Scotland. Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland (FOSNI) had offices in A-block and AOSNI had offices in the main castle building.[4]
Rescue Co-ordination Centre
The Search and Rescue (SAR) cell, known as Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCC) Edinburgh, controlled Royal Navy and RAF aircraft taking part in rescues over both land and sea in Scotland, Northern Ireland and most of England.[4]
Draw-down and closure
During the early 1990s, RAF Pitreavie Castle's future looked secure with plans announced in July 1993 to locate a combined national Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCC) at the site. The combined RCC would have coordinated all military aircraft involved in military and civilian search and rescue operations in the UK. The plans would have seen the closure of the UK's other RCC, which was located at Mount Wise in Plymouth. The national RCC was expected to be operational by the end of 1994.[9][10][11]
However, Frontline First: The Defence Costs Study, published by the Ministry of Defence in July 1994, recommended various changes to the structure of the British military and the defence estate. The study resulted in Pitreavie's roles being relocated and the station proposed for closure.[12] The creation of the national RCC at Pitreavie was cancelled, with a new home for it proposed at RAF Leuchars, also in Fife.[12] In the event, the national RCC was established in 1997 at RAF Kinloss in Moray and became known as the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC).[13][14]
In December 1995, the office of the Air Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland moved from Pitreavie Castle to RAF Leuchars.[15] Flag Officer Scotland Northern England and Northern Ireland moved to Faslane (HMNB Cylde).
RAF Pitreavie Castle closed on 31 January 1996.[16] The closure of the station was expected to save £22 million over 10 years.[17]
Post-military use
After the closure of the station the castle and former steading buildings were converted to residential use. Other buildings were demolished and the bunker sealed up, with all surface elements removed.[3]
The Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) was the admiral responsible for the operations of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the British Royal Navy from 1971 until April 2012. The post was subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Naval Service. In its last years, as the Navy shrank, more administrative responsibilities were added.
The Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS) was a uniformed, unarmed, civilian volunteer service, administered and trained by the Royal Navy to operate in the ports and anchorages of the United Kingdom in an emergency. Although the abbreviated title would logically have been RNAS this abbreviation had long been taken by the various Royal Naval Air Stations, so RNXS it was. It maintained training units, and vessels at most major ports in the UK. and was formed in 1963 from the amalgamation of the Royal Naval Mine-watching Service (RNMWS) and Admiralty Ferry Crew Association in response to the perceived nuclear threat to British ports. The service was disbanded on 31 March 1994 due to Ministry of Defence (MOD) cuts. Most vessels from its fleet were transferred to the Royal Navy or sold, with the exception of XSV Loyal Volunteer, which was struck by a ro-ro ferry while berthed in Ipswich Harbour and was later scrapped.
Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) is a unit of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and an element of the Joint Aviation Command of the British Armed Forces. Its primary role is to provide Rotary-Wing support to 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines and other UK force elements in the amphibious environment. CHF uses a combination of transport helicopters based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset, England.
Northwood Headquarters is a military headquarters facility of the British Armed Forces in Eastbury, Hertfordshire, England, adjacent to the London suburb of Northwood. It is home to the following military command and control functions:
The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic was based at Norfolk, Virginia. The entire command was routinely referred to as 'SACLANT'.
Air Marshal Sir Richard Gordon Wakeford, was an officer in the Royal Air Force for 36 years, from 1941 to 1977. Beginning as a pilot of flying boats with Coastal Command, he became a flying instructor, and commanded the Queen's Flight. After various operational commands, his last post was as Deputy Chief of Defence (Intelligence) at the UK Ministry of Defence.
Pitreavie Castle is a country house, located between Rosyth and Dunfermline in Fife, Scotland. It was built in the early 17th century, and was extensively remodelled in 1885. The house remained in private hands until 1938, when it was acquired by the Air Ministry, and became RAF Pitreavie Castle. The RAF station closed in 1996, and the building was converted into residential apartments.
No. 18 Group of the Royal Air Force was a group active from 1918 to 1919, and from 1938 to 1996.
Air Officer Scotland is the senior Royal Air Force officer in Scotland. Since January 2024, the appointment has been held by Air Commodore Bill Gibson.
The Navy Command is the current headquarters body of the Royal Navy, and as of 2012 its major organisational grouping. It is a hybrid, neither a command, nor simply an installation. Royal Navy official writings describe Navy Command Headquarters both as a physical site, on Whale Island, Hampshire, a collective formed of the most senior RN officers, and as a budgetary grouping.
The Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland (FOSNI) was a senior post in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It was based at HM Naval Base Clyde, and the holder of the post was the Royal Navy’s senior officer in Scotland. The post of FOSNI, dating from 1946, was re-scoped and re-named in 1994 to Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England & Northern Ireland (FOSNNI), then named back in 2015, before being dis-established in 2020.
No. 15 Group was a group of the Royal Air Force, which disbanded in 1945. It was operational in the last year of, and just after, the First World War, a reformation saw it active throughout the Second World War.
Royal Naval Air Station Donibristle or more simply RNAS Donibristle was a former Fleet Air Arm base located 2.7 miles (4.3 km) east of Rosyth, Fife, and 8.7 miles (14.0 km) northwest of Edinburgh. It was also known as HMS Merlin.
Admiralty House is a substantial building at Mount Wise, Devonport, Plymouth. It is a Grade II listed building.
Allied Command Channel (ACCHAN) was one of three major North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commands from 1952 to 1994. Commander-in-Chief Channel was a Major NATO Commander (MNC).
At the end of the Cold War in 1989, the Royal Air Force (RAF) structure was as follows:
In 1989 the Royal Navy was under the direction of the Navy Department in the UK Ministry of Defence. It had two main commands, CINCFLEET and Naval Home Command.
His Majesty’s Ship Caledonia is a military establishment of the Royal Navy based next to the former Royal Naval Dockyard, Rosyth in Scotland.
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