From 'Memories of Henham". Our thanks to Frances Roberts and Carol Eaton for permission to reproduce the following text.

The above photo is of the Second World War Royal Observer Corps Ground Observation Post, Henham 'How 1". This building located in a field adjacent to the public footpath from Carters Lane to Glebe Meadow was used for the detection and reporting of enemy aircraft during the 2nd World war. Towards the end of the war they were also used for the detection, reporting and tracking of the V1 and V2 rockets launched from France. The information gathered was relayed by telephone to the Area HQ in Colchester. There the whole picture would be built up of the enemy's strength and intentions from information gathered from all parts of Eastern England. With about about 800 of these posts throughout the land they were a vital component of successful counter-attacks against enemy aircraft.

Unusually, the main concrete structure had the comparative luxury of a glazed roof which protected the two observers on duty from the elements. The timber building used for living accommodation and storage. Six observers covered a 24 hour shift. Several villagers remember taking tea to those on duty during the war. One of them remembers watching the V2 rocket which came over Henham and exploded in a tree near the cricket field.

During the 'Cold War', in the 1960s, the threat of nuclear attack was uppermost in the minds of those defending the country. By this time about half of these buildings had been demolished and the sites re-used to build underground bunkers, with all things necessary to survive a nuclear attack except a direct hit. The plan was, if the unit survived, to plot damage and radiation, giving warnings to areas of population and important services in the path of wind-borne radiation and fall-out.