HMS
Valkyrie was established as the
Royal Navy's No. 1 Radar Training School, its personnel billeted in a number of
guest houses which had been requisitioned for the duration and which were situated on
Loch Promenade, Douglas. The training was undertaken at a series of buildings on
Douglas Head, one being the Douglas Head Hotel, and one of which today is occupied by
Manx Radio. HMS
Valkyrie was commissioned in October 1941. Much of the early work involving Radar took place at Douglas Head with investment in the required equipment totaling £3,000,000 (£146,864,930 as of 2018). The training school worked in conjunction with a
Sea Hurricane of the
Fleet Air Arm which belonged to
772 Squadron (FAA) and was based at
RAF Andreas. The aircraft was employed to provide simulated attack conditions. The Hurricane was replaced in October 1944, after crashing on Douglas Head, killing the pilot
Sub Lieutenant Robert Paton. During the operation of No. 1 Radar Training School,
Douglas Head was closed to the public which meant no access to
Port Soderick was available via the Marine Drive, which had been a popular recreational area for tourists before the war.
HMS Valkyrie II HMS
Valkyrie II was commissioned in September 1943, to train signal men and
wireless telegraphy ratings for
landing craft assembling for
D-Day as existing establishments could not provide sufficient personnel in time. To meet this requirement men were transferred from the Army and RAF, and at the peak period 2,500 ratings were under training on a six months course. The
messing problem of this huge commitment was solved by supplying the food from naval sources and cooking it at the Empress and Palace hotels under the supervision of civilian contractors. The Palace Dance Hall was converted into a vast
mess hall where 1,200 ratings could sit down together for a meal. A section of Douglas Beach was closed off to the public for training, much of which necessarily took place outdoors. By the time of the
Invasion of France,
Valkyrie II's function had ceased and the establishment was paid off in March 1944. KCB, CVO, Commander in Chief Western Approaches, inspecting WRNS during a visit to HMS Valkyrie.
Decommissioning On the cessation of hostilities plans were put in place to decommission HMS
Valkyrie. At 16:00hrs on Monday 30 December 1946, the
White Ensign at HMS
Valkyrie was lowered for the last time. The premises on Douglas Promenade were vacated and this was followed by the premises on
Douglas Head which were vacated on 31 January 1947, at the conclusion of the decommissioning ceremony. During the lifetime of HMS
Valkyrie over 30,000 naval ratings passed through the
Royal Navy's No. 1 Radar Training School.
French Detachment HMS
Valkyrie was responsible for the training of Radar operators from various countries and in addition it became home to a detachment from the
French Navy who underwent
Radar training at the establishment. Under the command of
Lieutenant Jean Colin, the detachment arrived at the commencement of the ''Valkyrie's'' commission and from June 1943 over 400 French sailors were trained in
Douglas. ==Notable personnel==