Does your airfield have its WW2 history on view?

[theresalwaysone]

Reminded by Tim on the instructor forum that we owe a debt of gratitude and respect to our ex WW2 airfields that served us well in the 40s and continue to serve general aviation today.

Does anyone know of airfields in use that provide a visible airfield history that all visitors can access?

Does anyone feel that there should be such a history at each ex-WW2 airfield and perhaps even an event to celebrate something like the 1000 bomber raids etc each year!?

Does anyone feel that we shouldnt remember the war anyway?

Some airfields have a fascinating history and its sad that some pilots fly out of them for years without knowing of their past.

One that springs to mind for me is Shobdon which was an usual site due to its wider than normal runway used for wartime glider training.

Also interested to know in your reply if you actually know the wartime history of the airfield you fly out of?

Regards to all

[Genghis the Engineer]

Amongst other places, I fly from a small place called Chilbolton in Hampshire. What is on clear view is the memorial to those who died flying from there - there are two annual services at the memorial - Remembrance Sunday, and for Arnhem - two of the only three occasions of the year when we don't fly (the third is Music in the Air, because of the TRA around Middle Wallop).

No, there's no display about the history, for that you have to walk down to the Chilbolton village shop who will happily sell you two volumes of the history of the airfield by Eleanor Lockyear.

G

[Flash0710]

Plenty of stuff for " Cash In The Attic " At North Weald......

f

[Martin @ EGLK]

The clubhouse at Blackbushe (ex RAF Hartford Bridge) has a few items - more memorobilia than a history lesson. But it's clearly visible. From recall, it lists the squadrens, aircraft & times.

The memorobilia runs into the days when it was the equivilant of LHR and lists the airlines that were there.

[tmmorris]

Where I fly is still an active military airfield...

Lots still have gate guardians to show their military past - e.g. Gloucestershire (Staverton). But no, few have any formal display, I'm afraid. Most are content with photos in the cafe like Wellesbourne, Sleap, Old Sarum.

T

[muffin]

Genghis - one of these days I will tell you about the time my wife saw the Chilbolton ghost................

Some of the East Anglian airfields have nice museums and memorials. Seething, Framlingham, Thorpe Abbots, Shipdham, Old Buck, Rougham come to mind.

[englishal]

Henstridge has some interesting stuff posted on the wall....It used to be HMS Dipper.

[Cricket23]

Nothing at Redhill (where I fly from) that I know of.

I'm close by to Kenley (gliding of course only now) which does have a nice memorial to all those who served there, listing the dates and squadron numbers. The memorial is sited in one of the restored figther pens.

[BroomstickPilot]

I used to fly from Thruxton.

One day, I noticed a brass plate on the wall of the Jackaroo Restaurant on the side facing the racetrack and airfield movement area.

On reading it, I found that Thruxton had been the place from which the Bruneval Raid set off.

That was the episode when a detachment of the Parachute Regiment was dropped in Northern France to capture part of a German radar installantion and bring it back for British boffins to examine.

Later, it became the home of first a Typhoon squadron and later a USAAF Thunderbolt squadron.

I am told that just occasionally old Thunderbolt pilots still turn up there to have a look around, although I never met any.

Broomstick.

[Flash0710]

Nothing at Redhill (where I fly from) that I know of.



Nonsense,

There is Phil......:E

xx

f

[2close]

Swansea, despite having gone into the depths of despair over the past 2 years, is finally getting back up on its feet and this article from the local rag outlines a new project which is expected to be open by the autumn.

http://www.swep.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=161389&command=displayContent&sourceNode=161372&contentPK=15027070&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=filtersearch

The project managers have, by all accounts, done a very similar project in Cornwall which has been very succesful.

As I recall, Swansea, which was a WW2 RAF base, operated Defiants, Beaufighters, Hurricanes and Spitfires during its military days.

2close

[BlueRobin]

Tut tut. :=

Most are content with photos in the cafe like Wellesbourne

There is a small history on the noticeboard but the museum when open has a wealth of memorabilia including rare period photos of the airfield during WW2. Part of the museum encompasses the underground bunker and lookout, sometimes referred to as the "battle control tower". The airfield website also carries its history.

Sywell is another airfield which has a small museum and the airfield "friends of..." FOSA newsletter regularly details the airfield history and operations.

Its with the larger airfields such as, staying locally again, e.g. Coventry (Baginton) or Birmingham (Elmdon) where the history is lost and this is where local enthusiasts come in.

You also buy any of the "<<Your county>> Airfields in the Second World War" books by Graham Smith, published by Countryside Books(www.CountrysideBooks.co.uk) if you feel the need to get the low-down in your area.

[theresalwaysone]

Seems that most airfields do not have anything at show. I wasnt thinking about a dedicated museum as such but a wall display with a written history. You can see that the Welesbourne pilot didnt know of the museum and thats because like most visiting pilots his visits will be confined to eating/paying landing fees which should be a clue to where this brief information and history should be put!.

a museum would be beyond the resources of lots of airfields but a few pictures in a frame with a written history(and the info is available for every field) surely is a very simple exercise.

Someone mentioned websites and that would also useful .

Why not mention it to your local airfield manager, he can only say no!

[no slots]

Our local airport is steeped in WW1 & WW2 history.There are 2 excellent museums.One celebrates the history of the spitfire & hurricane and has free entrance.The other charts the history of RAF Manston and there is a small charge.Well worth a visit!

[theresalwaysone]

It must also have a great history of all the aircraft that crash landed on the famous Manston foam carpet!

[tmmorris]

Went to Panshanger for the first time today. An amazing collection of dilapidated old airfield buildings, but sadly nothing at all on show (that I could see, anyway) about the airfield history.

T

[ormus55]

http://www.bartonaerodrome.co.uk/visitorinfo_bvc.asp

barton has a small visitor centre with a history section.
manned by volunteers so its not open every day. call first.