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Original Text (Annotation: EPW046541 / 2022715)
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Ditton Park - home of the Admiralty Compass Observatory.
It was originally established in 1842 as the Compass Department of Admiralty.[3] In 1917, it moved to Ditton Park and used the house and its immediate grounds. The Radio Research Station of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was co-located at Ditton Park, and provided basic information in this field. In 1971, it was merged as part of the Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment (ASWE) within the navigation division.
The site was later renamed as Admiralty Research Establishment (ARE) Slough, and in its final years its became part of the Defence Research Agency (DRA) from 1991, and the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) from 1995.
I visited the place in 1967/8 to collect a Watts Datum Compass that had been serviced by them; it was for compass swinging Vulcan V Bombers at RAF Waddington where I was stationed as a navigator.
In the early 60s I had played cricket against them. They had a lovely secluded ground. '