Place Name
Named after the star that is takes its name from the Arabic word aðāra meaning virgins, in the 17thCentury it was translated into Latin as Prima Virginum, meaning First of the Virgins. It is one of a cluster of streets around Eastbury Park Northwood named after stars to represent the area’s association with the Royal Air Force. The Ministry of Defence website explains this “was the home of The Headquarters of Coastal Command, Royal Air Force from 1939 to 1969 and is now the home of its successor HQ 3 Group. It was in fact the RAF who started going underground to build their Headquarters. In 1953 the Headquarters of the NATO Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic Area was established at Northwood.” Today the site is the base of the Permanent Joint Headquarters, which plans and directs all joint military operations abroad.
