Forces and General Sir Frederick Alfred Pile took over. Anti-Aircraft Command then moved to 'Glenthorn', and the Gordon crest was adopted as the badge of Anti-Aircraft Command. This crest, the 'flexed bow and arrow', can still be seen on a silver bowl, presented to the mess when AAC closed, and is displayed in the Dowding Room. A Plotters School existed in one of the local houses where trainees used bicycles and megaphones to learn how to map incoming enemy aircraft. Wellington crash On 16 October 1940 a Vickers Wellington of the Czechoslovak-crewed No. 311 Squadron RAF collided with a cable of one of the barrage balloons protecting Bentley Priory. The aircraft had been on a bombing mission from RAF East Wretham to Kiel, but suffered icing and the failure of its compass and radio and was badly off-course. The Wellington crashed outside the sergeants' mess, killing five of its six crew. They are buried in a single shared grave at Pinner New Cemetery, from Bentley Priory. The tail gunner survived with serious burns. He later retrained as a fighter pilot and served with No. 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF. Airstrip With the requirement for frequent high-level meetings the need for an airstrip at Bentley Priory grew. Air Commodore Richard Atcherley undertook this project. The Air Ministry War Department advised him that it would take six months to construct two strips, so he approached the Americans. Cinder landing strips were laid in just four days. A Bellman hangar was erected next to the present Mess building. Flight Sergeant Geoff Elphick RAuxAF, a Battle of Britain pilot with 32 Squadron at Biggin Hill, flew from the Priory from April 1944. On a recent visit he clearly recalled the day that he unceremoniously pulled Air Commodore Atcherley out of an Auster which he had rolled onto its back while landing. He also recalled quietly cutting down some birch trees that were a hazard to aircraft when landing. Arthur Harris also made some hazardous landings and apparently often complained about 'those confounded balloons' which were not far away from the strip. Post-war operations After the war, the Priory gradually returned to something of its former self. However, on the night of 10 March 1947, the centre portion of the building, including the room above the Ante-Room and the offices on the floor above, were destroyed by a fire. Two years later, a new bar was