In June 1934, a small group of senior civil servants in the Air Ministry began to question whether Britain's air defences could cope with the threats posed by an aerial bombardment. The harsh conclusion was that that the defences were virtually non-existent. So in 1935, the British Government commissioned a small team of young, brilliant scientists under the leadership of Robert Watson Watt, Superintendent of the Radio Research Unit based in Slough to set up a new research unit. The original brief was to try to develop a "death ray" that could shoot down an enemy aircraft at a distance! This was totally unrealistic but the detection of aircraft using the 'Radio Echo Method' was deemed feasible.

Technical progress continued at a remarkable pace over the next 5 years and was based at Bawdsey Manor on the Essex coast. Detection equipment was getting more accurate and powerful all the time. The team had been moved to Dundee and then to South Wales at the outbreak of the war. Then, suddenly, in April 1940 the decision was taken to move to a field with one hut in the Dorset countryside! The site was 3 miles west of Swanage and was located between the village of Worth Matravers and St Aldhelm's Head. The team moved in on May 7^th 1940.

Building work continued apace during the summer of 1940 and the highly secret research was masked by naming the site as the "Telecommunications Research Establishment", TRE Worth for short. There were in fact, 5 sites ('a','b','c','d' and 'e'). Most of the research centred on the continued development of ground-based defensive systems but gradually more effort was deployed into researching airborne /offensive systems.

The scientists were happy and productive at Worth and the results were apparent because the period from May 1940 to March 1942 was arguably the most fertile ever in the quest to produce an effective ground to air and air to air radar. They particularly enjoyed their lunches at the 'Square and Compass' pub in the village which was affectionately known as the 'Sine and Cosine'. This hostelry remains virtually unchanged to this day.

In August 1940, the team achieved a world 'first'. An accurate 10cm radar echo (capable of detecting an individual building) was transmitted and returned to a detector and then displayed on a Cathode Ray screen. The building in question was the tiny chapel on St Aldhelm's Head.

Meanwhile, the Germans were also developing their own Radar systems and one particular installation had been installed at Bruneval on the Normandy coast. A combined Paratroop and Royal Navy raid was planned with the intention of recovering components for analysis. The training for "Operation Biting" was conducted off the Dorset coast and Osmington beach was used to practice beach landings. The raid was successful and a number of the German radar
components were brought back to Worth Matravers for analysis which confirmed the operating wavelength to be 50 cms and the range, 12 miles. The scientists at TRE Worth were soon able to devise a 'jamming' set so that allied bombers had greater protection when engaged on missions into enemy territory.

One of the consequences of the Bruneval raid was that it was feared that retaliatory raids would soon take place. Certainly attacks in the area became more frequent and in one raid on TRE Worth a number of RAF airmen were killed. Some bombing raids even coincided with specific train departures from Swanage station! Churchill gave the order that the unit was too vulnerable and had to be moved and this was to be completed " before the next full moon". So just one month later (26th March 1942) the whole operation transferred to Malvern College, a public school. The unit is still there now (RAF Malvern).

TRE Worth was only in existence for 22 months but the work they did there gave the allies an irreplaceable weapon &.effective Radar.

Today, there is little left to see of the old TRE site except some ruinous buildings clinging to the cliff edge at what was site 'd'. The RAF maintained the site as a radar station until the early 1960's and then the site was cleared and the land returned to agricultural use. The largest site was 'c' site where the pivotal 10cm radar research took place. Today, there is nothing left but green fields. There is however, a memorial in the shape of a Radar dish overlooking the sea at St Aldhelm's Head and close to the old 'D' site.

The inscription reads:

"This Memorial Commemorates
The Radar Research
Carried Out At
Worth Matravers
From 1940 - 1942
Which Was Crucial To
The Winning Of The War
And The Birth Of Modern
Telecommunications"