Bawdsey is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, eastern England. It is situated on the other side of the mouth of River Deben from Felixstowe. It had an estimated population of 340 in 2007, reducing to 276 at the Census 2011. Bawdsey Manor was the location RAF Bawdsey where the United Kingdom's Air Ministry started research into the military application of radar in 1936, prior to World War II. Following the outbreak of the War in September 1939, the research was moved to Worth Matravers near Swanage in May 1940, and from there to Malvern, Worcestershire in 1942.