Sorry said I wasn't going to respond to inaccuracies on here anymore but Beagle if you are going to quote examples please chose relevant ones, Wellesbourne Mountford is operated by FISOs, and as such they cannot issue any control instructions to ac in the air....pretty difficult to over control in those circumstances.
Which was my point. Despite the large number of aircraft, pilots of varying experience operate without problem at W-M, there is NO NEED for any ATC! Pilots cope quite happily with FISO information - and no "TriStar approaching 10 miles, orbit downwind" cr@p! SEP Class aircraft VFR minima equate to what you probably know as 'Yellow' and yet they cope without any need for an approach service, although admittedly at no more than 140KIAS below 3000 ft amsl and in sight of the surface.
Having flown in the Vale back in the 1970s, I know how busy it was back then. Leeming and Linton were busy FTS aerodromes; low level training was conducted on the low level link route and in the LFAs; once below FL245 we used to descend to low level visually without needing to talk to
anyone. Unlike the wretched Tucano, JP flying occupied a much larger volume of airspace thanks to the ability to operate at higher levels due to pressurisation. Dominies, Jetstreams, JPs and Bulldogs flew a vast number of sorties from Finningley. At the same time, unlike today, Lincolnshire and East Anglia were absolutely heaving with military flights. Yet we didn't even turn our transponders from S'by at RAFC Cranwell and somehow ATC managed. The level of civil GA was comparable with today - yet the only mid-air I can recall was the sad Pawnee / Phantom accident on a low level link route which led to the CANP system.
There were over 40 more military flying locations in 1968 in the UK alone. So thanks, but no thanks, I have no desire to visit Yorkshire.