| MOD Chicksands | |
|---|---|
| NearShefford,Bedfordshire in England | |
 An entrance to MOD Chicksands | |
 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Military intelligence centre |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Operator | Strategic Command |
| Controlled by | Defence Intelligence |
| Condition | Operational |
| Location | |
  MOD Chicksands Location in Bedfordshire | |
| Coordinates | 52°02′33″N0°21′45″W / 52.04251°N 0.36258°W /52.04251; -0.36258 |
| Area | 172 hectares (430 acres)[1] |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1936 (1936) |
| In use |
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| Garrison information | |
| Occupants |
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Ministry of Defence Chicksands, or more simplyMOD Chicksands, is a tri-serviceBritish Armed Forces facility inBedfordshire, approximately 35 miles (56 km) north ofLondon. It is named afterChicksands Priory, a 12th-centuryGilbertinemonastery located within the perimeter of the camp.
The site was formerlyRAF Chicksands, which closed in 1997, handing over control of the site to the British Army. Today, the Defence Intelligence Training Group (DITG) is based at MOD Chicksands, and is the Headquarters of theIntelligence Corps.
The base will close and be disposed of in 2031.[2][3]
TheCrown Commissioners bought the Chicksands estate on 15 April 1936, later renting it to Gerald Bagshawe, who lived there until it was requisitioned by theRoyal Navy. After nine months the RAF took over operations and established asignal intelligence collection (SIGINT) unit there, known as aY Station.[4]
The site operated as a SIGINT collection site throughout the Second World War, interceptingGerman traffic and passing the resulting material to theGovernment Code and Cypher School atBletchley Park, where ciphers and codes of severalAxis countries were decrypted, most importantly the ciphers generated by the GermanEnigma andLorenz machines.[5]
In 1950 the site was subleased to theUnited States Air Force serving as the base of the 6940th Radio Squadron, responsible for continued communications and SIGINT operation through theCold War. The RAF continued to act as a host unit for the resident USAF units, including over time the 6950th United States Air Force Security Squadron, later becoming the 6950th Electronic Security Group and the 7274th Air Base Group.[6]
In 1962, a 1,443 feet (440 m) diameterAN/FLR-9Wullenweberantenna array was constructed at Chicksands to form part of theIron HorseHFdirection finding network. This antenna array, dubbed theElephant Cage, was dismantled in 1996 when the USAF withdrew from the site, handing it back to theBritish Armed Forces.[7]
During an air demonstration on 7 July 1979, Colonel Thomas Thompson piloting aFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II crashed approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the site and was killed.[8]
In 1997, the Intelligence Corps assumed responsibility for the site, moving the Corps Headquarters fromTempler Barracks,Ashford, Kent along with Intelligence Training.[9]
Channel 4'sTime Team visited the base in 2001 and excavated areas in front of and around the priory. One of the unusual finds was the remains of a 45-year old woman. The bones were studied and carbon-dated and almost four years after they were unearthed, the bones were re-buried by the military chaplain on the base in August 2005. The Time Team were unsure who the woman was, but they believed her to be a commoner rather than a member of theGilbertine Order.[10]
In 2003, the Double AgentAlfredo 'Freddie' Scappaticci (codenamed 'Stakeknife') was debriefed at the base when his cover was blown. Scappaticci had been working for the IRA but informing on them to the Ministry of Defence, who were said to have been paying him £80,000 a year.[11]
In April 2004, the former US Elementary School site was sold off toMid-Bedfordshire Council to enable consolidation of two council offices inBiggleswade andAmpthill. The site was located at the extreme southern end of the base where it backs onto the crossroads on theA507 road byCampton village. The funds raised from this allowed the unit to build new accommodation blocks for officers and other ranks on the base.[12]
%2c_the_6950th_Electronic_Security_Group_(ESC)_and_the_Depar_-_DPLA_-_8d7a4d910fda003c1b5ab2a47679f398.jpeg)
The Defence College of Intelligence (DCI) is headquartered at Chicksands, and is responsible for delivering training inmilitary intelligence to members of theBritish Armed Forces, police and other public sector staff as well as international partners. Training is delivered over three sites, Chicksands, theDefence Centre for Languages and Culture, MOD Shrivenham and theDefence School of Photography atRAF Cosford.[13]
DITG trains 5,000 students a year across all disciplines including the Defence Humint Unit and diaspora training sites such as the Defence School of Photography.[14]
TheMilitary Intelligence Museum (formerly Intelligence Corps Museum) is located on site.[15]
The Headquarters of theIntelligence Corps is located on site. It is also where Phase 2 training for all Intelligence Corps personnel is undertaken.
The Royal Corps of Signals' Electronic Warfare Operators undertake a five-week aptitude course and a 17-week Communications Exploitation course at the Defence College of Intelligence,Chicksands, as part of their 'Phase 2 Trade Training'.
HMS Ferret is a training unit of theRoyal Naval Reserve which delivers intelligence-related operational capability.[16]
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