Resumes as a military base

In May 1951 the British and American Governments decided that a Strategic Air Command Joint Co-ordination Centre should be established in Britain – this was essentially to be an atomic warfare unit.

The Daws Hill base was selected for its HQ. The water which had accumulated in the Bunker, it was known at that time as ‘’The Block’’ or ‘’The Hole’’, was pumped out, and the base was refurbished.

The 7th American Air Division moved to Daws Hill from South Ruislip on October 1st 1952.

This began a period of 55 years when the base was occupied by the American military. During this time the base and its satellite operations were a source of employment for local people.

For most of this 55 year period the Bunker was at the centre of operations at the Daws Hill base.

During this time it played an exceptional role as a high level US command centre at times of great military activity during the Cold War.

During the 1980s it was one of the main centres of NATO’s Joint Strategic Targeting Planning Group.

The base was not without its controversies. In the 1980/90s the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament formed a Peace Camp outside the entrance to the base in Daws Hill Lane. In April 1983 Peace Protestors planned to link hands from the base all the way to the RAF base at Walters Ash near Naphill. In the event only about 400 protestors turned up !

In 1992 the base was home to about 260 USAF military and 130 civilian personnel, before in May 1993 it was handed over to the US Navy, mainly for the purpose of housing Navy personnel.

Base disposed of by the MoD

In October 2007 the base was handed back to the Ministry of Defence, who put the freehold of the estate, about 60 acres in area, but not including the Bunker, for sale by ‘informal tender.’

Sixty seven housing units on the estate were included in the sale, although they were being used by the MOD for military personnel working at RAF Strike Command at Walters Ash and their families.

There were no acceptable offers for the estate when it was first put on the market, so it was re-offered in February 2011.

An offer of £35,750,000 from Taylor Wimpey was accepted in August of that year.

The Bunker area was handed back to Wycombe Abbey school in October 2012.

There had been consideration given to the possibility of demolishing the Bunker, indeed the Bucks Free Press reported on March 12, 2012, that this would happen ‘before the summer was out’.

However, an application was submitted in the Autumn of 2012 for the Bunker to be awarded the status of a Building of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.

This was granted in October 2013, so it is now a ‘’Listed Building’’, Grade II.

The site was then developed with residential housing, which has been appropriately named ‘Pinetree’.