Leighton Buzzard Remembers: Secret wartime heroes honoured in Westminster
Those who served at a top-secret wartime "communications hub" near Leighton Buzzard have been commemorated by local MP Alex Mayer in the heart of Westminster.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, invited Ms Mayer to make a special gesture of remembrance to honour the unsung women and men at “Q Central” in his official Constituency Garden of Remembrance.
Located at RAF Leighton Buzzard, near Stanbridge, “Q Central” was at the heart of Britain’s wartime communications network and played a vital role in coordinating key military operations such as the Battle of Britain and D-Day.
At its peak, around 2,000 people worked at Q Central many from the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. They operated over 1,100 teleprinters, connecting Britain’s ships, aircraft, and troops across the globe. It became known as the “largest telephone exchange in the world”.
Among Q Central’s later outstations was Bletchley Park, home of the group of brilliant mathematicians, former chess champions, and crossword puzzle solvers, including Alan Turing, who cracked German Enigma codes during the second world war.
Its existence remained completely unknown until the 2010s.“Let’s help make the women and men of Q Central as famous as their Bletchley Park peers.”, says Ms Mayer.
Alex Mayer MP said: “The women and men of Q Central were the backbone of Britain’s wartime communications. Their dedication, working in the utmost secrecy, was instrumental in ending the war.
“I am delighted that Mr Speaker has given me this opportunity to share their story on the national stage. They deserve a place in the nation’s collective memory.”
The Constituency Garden of Remembrance contains tributes both religious and secular - from MPs, Ministers and representatives from the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories.
Remembrance Sunday took place on Sunday 10 November.