From ARVic, original post here.

The historically important Bawdsey facility in eastern England is to be preserved thanks to a grant.  The Bawdsey Radar Trust has been given a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant to conserve the Transmitter Block building in Suffolk that began in 1938 as a secret RAF radar station.

New displays will tell the story of radar and its significance, with radar estimated to play a vital part in the Battle of Britain in 1940 and it is estimated the technology helped shorten the war by two years.

The greatly improved accuracy of bombing raids and detection of approaching aircraft early, was disguised by constant rumours that aircrews had better eyesight due to a diet of carrots.

The world’s first operational radar station is to undergo major construction work in September, with an opening to the public a year later.  The pioneering facility is going to survive and tell its unique story, with it no longer being on the ‘Historic At Risk’ register.