Goodbye to ULAS THQ??

[BEagle]

Sadly, but probably inevitably, it seems that MoD bean counters have decided to flog off 206 Brompton Road:

MoD to sell WWII Tube station command bunker - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10209470/MoD-to-sell-WWII-Tube-station-command-bunker.html)

Many happy memories of the place, both as a student from 1969-73 and as a QFI from 1989-93.....

But with a cash-strapped MoD and an ever-shrinking air 'force', is there any wonder that the eyes of the MoD bean counters have spotted this 'opportunity'?

[teeteringhead]

And it also houses HQ London Wing ATC IIRC........

A classic Tube Station design by Leslie Green - using his signature oxblood red Burmantofts tiles.

http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/26/78/2267859_fb7908f8.jpg

Opened as a tube station "Brompton Road" in 1906 (Piccadilly Line between Knightsbridge and South Ken), closed in 1934, used as an Anti-Aircraft Ops Room by the gunners in WW2.

[Flying Lawyer]

As you say BEagle, sad but inevitable.

Many happy memories of student days, and some enjoyable visits in recent years representing the Guild of Air Pilots.


FL
Cadet Pilot 1970-72

[BEagle]

I also recall how long it takes to race from the bar to the gents....

After my last Annual Dinner, at which as Senior Student I had to deliver a speech, releif at not having porked it up led to after dinner drinks which included a comforting hip flask of Glenfiddich as well as a few pints. For some weird reason at 0-dark-00, I then decided to try Guinness for the first time....:(

Bar to gents: 29 sec; Guinness from stomach to sudden and unwelcome reappearance: 30 sec.....:yuk: Luckily my aim was a harbinger of winning the Viking Trophy at Chivenor just over 8 years later and there was no colateral damage. But as for Guinness, I've hated the stuff ever since, except in rich beef casserole.

If you arrived at THQ early for a training night, you might bump into a celeb as the BBC used the drill hall for rehearsals. I encountered Marty Feldman on one occasion and Orson Welles on another. Rumour had it that it was also used by Pan's People for rehearsals.....:ok:

Before they widened/re-aligned the Brompton Road, there was a great little pub at the front of the building - I think it was the Gladstone?

[Evalu8ter]

Many happy memories of the place (and some memory gaps....) as both a student (90-92) and a holding officer (95). A shame, but inevitable. Who has the honour of the last Harrod's dash I wonder....?

[smujsmith]

Despite not ever having served as Aircrew (we all have our faults) I did a few visits to Brompton Road when part of the Groundcrew 77 - 79. A great night out with studes and QFIs. And some great memories of some great people. It's a shame, but then, everything has to come to an end. Well marked Mr BEagle sir, and well worth the thread, I'm sure many have good memories.

Smudge

[hippocrates]

Sad but agreed inevitable.
Some of the best nights(91-96) that i can remember and a few i cannot in that building!
Many good friendships born and nurtured in the bar and surrounding pubs.
So many stories to tell, probably not the place to do it!
Eval, should we organise a last midnight run perhaps................?

[Lima Juliet]

Maybe they'll restore it to its former glory...

http://www.bromptonroad.org.uk/images/1906bromptonroad.jpg

[Lima Juliet]

Crikey, that was quick...take a look at this:

BBC News - Brompton Road Tube ghost station resurrection plans announced (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17699680)

Plenty of other places that Studes can go and stay and get mullered, but the Capital needs Tube Stations. Give them an old TA Centre or Prescott's Flat in Admiralty Arch!

LJ :ok:

[Wrathmonk]

Blimey Beags

winning the Viking Trophy at Chivenor 16 years later

16 years from ULAS Senior Student to TWU Stude - and I thought holds in the 90's were long....!

[BEagle]

Oops, yes - sorry, a senior moment. I won the Viking Trophy in Jan 1981, so only 8 and a bit years later. Which included Cranwell, Valley, Brawdy, Wittering, Brawdy and Honington :( ...then Vulcans :) from 1977-80 before FJ cross-over at Leeming, Valley and 'Heaven in Devon'.

Post duly amended.

[StopStart]

Well I (88-90) certainly never made it down to the platform. Nor did I ever try and convince the Transport Police I'd never been down there, whilst unwittedly being caked in grime and dirt from the tunnels....

Great place, great memories. Or lack of them. Is there a final Great Boo's Up or is it already boarded up....?

[BEagle]

Stoppers, can you recall what went into a 'Timmy Special'?

Flying with those who'd made it to FHQ on Friday after a night at THQ on 'Timmy Specials' was often 'interesting'!

[BEagle]

Regarding the train set in the cellar, rumour had it that during the Cold War the occasional stop at the old station occurred, followed by sinister activity as someone was 'escorted' by blokes in heavy overcoats from an otherwise empty carriage...:confused:

Personally I think that rumour was probably bolleaux.

[Satellite_Driver]

Another part of my youth (1986-90) disappears!

Strictly speaking, it's where I joined the RAF proper; my bursary was converted to a cadetship part way through the year so I was commissioned into the Engineer Branch of the RAF at THQ rather than at Cranditz.

Alas, one of my more lasting memories of the place is being on the clean-up detail after one Summer Ball. Let's just say that someone had clearly lacked Beag's aiming skills...

[Torque Tonight]

Dammit. Many happy memories of the place (those that I am able to remember) and within stumbling distance of my halls of residence. I wonder where ULAS will end up? Just think how good the balance sheet will look when every last MoD asset has been sold off.:(

[Gerontocrat]

Talk of the bar reminds me of the nights Grant Batty's (All Black winger) sister was a guest of a ULAS member. She drank as well as her brother scored tries - which was frequently and oft!!
Then there was the newly minted APO who, when asked for 1250 at the door, expressed serious surprise that it was going to cost that much each evening he attended!
Edited to add: This was in the early 1970s - a time when, as APOs, our pay cheque went just over the GBP 100 mark, a party was held at Brompton Road to relieve us of a great deal of that sum!

[BEagle]

Yes, we received about £1200 p.a. from 1970 - at that time the average LEA grant for a London student was about £600 and Hall Fees were £6 per week for bed, breakfast and evening meal.

In my final year, having been at Cranwell as a Flt Cdt, I was promoted from APO to Plt Off - a pay rise of about 50%!! Hence a 2 yr old MG Midget was soon acquired....for £750.

I was astonished when I went back as a QFI to learn how hard up students were, when compared with my time as a student.

But the spirit at THQ was just the same....:ok:

With ULAS likely to move FHQ to that well-known near-London aerodrome of RAF Wittering :rolleyes: (surely even O'Leary wouldn't go that far), perhaps THQ will relocate to Stamford?

[Gerontocrat]

For real riches, though, my 3rd year was the best - I was reading modern languages. I asked the MoD if I should go to Salon, or somewhere similar, to be told, no, do the same thing as other students.
So I signed up to be an Assistant in a French school and, at my request, was sent to a Lycee in a smallish town, 25mins from a ski resort.
The deal with the French Government at the time was that Assistants were paid for 12h work a week - tax free - and the school provided food and accommodation. The head of the school, organised my teaching timetable in such a way that I had 8h on a Tuesday, 4h on Wednesday morning and the rest of the time was my own! Brilliant during the skiing season.
HMG, in their munificence, also paid me as an APO, with LOA, lodging and subsistence allowances for France and first-class rail travel to and fro. In addition, I was offered the chance to claim Home-to-Duty, but since I walked to the school from my flat, there seemed no point in wrestling with 1771s.
An MG Midget appeared at my door when I returned to the UK.

[BEagle]

So I signed up to be an Assistant in a French school...

My brother did that in his 3rd year - went to have a year in Burgundy teaching 17 year old French girls......:ooh:

I went to visit - they were 17 going on 27! Ooh-la-la....:ok:

Any ULAS in the house? Any whispers of the likely location of the new THQ?

[teeteringhead]

Well the ATC bit of the building is rumoured to be going to White City TA Centre. I'm sure ULAS would love that ..... :{

[Gerontocrat]

I'd forgotten to mention that as a side benefit of that year. I, too, was teaching the 17 and 18 year olds and half of each class came from the tres jolie distaff side. But I remained completely professional until my contract ended in mid-June, the day they all finished their Baccalaureat exams!

[Haraka]

The garages alongside were also part of the property and at least one kit car was built there by ULAS students in my time ( 69-72). The 206 location was part of the quirky, privileged and much appreciated ethos of ULAS in the middle of the then "swinging London". Unique times ,unique people.
We were " students " :), and ( some of us) as permanently commissioned officers were getting the equivalent of a student grant a month, plus free membership of the finest Flying Club in the world.
Unforgettable.

[CoffmanStarter]

Just posted by the MOD ...

MOD Brompton Road (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/inside-mods-tube-station)

And a special pic for BEagle :ok:

https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/image_data/file/14504/20130807bromptonroad07.jpg

[Milo Minderbinder]

the links in this thread on Jet Blast may interest you: photos of parts of the building I suspect some of you never knew existed, including the closed platforms
http://www.pprune.org/jet-blast/520888-206-brompton-road.html

[teeteringhead]

Also on the MoD Intranet here. (http://authdefenceintranet.diif.r.mil.uk/News/BySubject/EstateandEnvironment/Pages/InsideMODstubestation.aspx)

[BEagle]

Now sold for £53M.......which will no doubt disappear without a trace.

So where is the new ULAS THQ going to be located?

[aw ditor]

Near Wittering, say, The George at Stamford?

[teeteringhead]

So where is the new ULAS THQ going to be located? Spoke to the Cadets in the margins of the Guildhall Dinner last week - none of them seemed to know. :(

[Torque Tonight]

Another piece of family silver taken down to cash converters. A fine defence estate asset soon to be an oligarch's shagpad. Bentley Priory, Chelsea Barracks, Admiralty Arch, etc etc etc. What a shame.

Remember that thread: 'You know you're a third rate air force when...'

[Haraka]

My bet also would be on ULAS THQ being relocated across to one of the surviving Army barracks in London and co-located with some lodger T.A. unit and its drill hall.

[gr4techie]

All the gen about the sale is now on the BBC News website.

BBC News - London's Brompton Road Tube station sold for £53m (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26382658)

[smujsmith]

I spent many a good night in THQ, even though I was a lowly Corporal Airframe fitter, when ULAS were based at Abingdon. Its a shame that money, is the driving force, and once more raises its ugly head, when so much is being wasted on non UK recipients.

Smudge

[kenparry]

It's not only ULAS that is losing its THQ. The Bristol one (which was leased on hugely expensive terms) was closed around the time of the move from Filton to Colerne, with no replacement. I get the impression that apart from Oxbridge and London, many THQs have long gone.

Any further info from those who know the detail?

[Jwscud]

The London URNU, which shared the building, and of which i partook, has gone off to HMS President.

Plenty of good banter with the ULAS guys in my time. There are also a few safeguard unpleasant stories about the place those in the know will tell over a beer late at night.

[CoffmanStarter]

It would seem that ULAS aren't on an immediate eviction notice ... possibly up to twelve more months before any move ... according to their Twitter feed.

[Lima Juliet]

Time for one last naked Harrods run, then? :E

Thought not...:(

LJ

[johnnypaveway]

I couldn't agree more - such a waste turning a beautiful building steeped in heritage into a £55M crash pad with underground parking for an oligarch.

I am biased, not only have I enjoyed some awesome evenings on the roof of Brompton Road (Mary Poppins style with Brandy and Cigars) but I'm part of the team trying to preserve the history of the 'ghost stations'

I had the pleasure of being in Aldwych Strand (just 150 yds from St Clement Danes) and Down Street (only 100yds from the RAF Club) last week with Colin Salmon (of James Bond and new 24 fame) who is a staunch supporter of protecting the sites.

I just hope that we can stop them all becoming luxury mansions.....

[johnnypaveway]

and now the new owner of Brompton Road is arrested by the FBI -

:=

Ukrainian Dmytro Firtash was Brompton Road Tube station buyer | The Times (http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/construction-property/article4041326.ece)