Archive source help please (Merged)

[Krystal n chips]

Not quite on topic--but related nevertheless. Could anybody kindly offer me some archive sources ----tried Google etc to no avail--given that I am curious about 2 sites.

The first is the former RAF MU ( I think ) at Sinderland which is near Altrincham.

The second is more curious. During the course of my work, I visited Balsall Common recently--and came across a Hangar in the middle of nowhere. Now outside the Hangar--apart from the Gov't architecture of course--was some very serious hardstanding--and some equally serious earthworks / revetments--not to mention the heavy duty telephone cables--now disused. So I am curious as to what the place was used for--not an airfield obviously--some sort of comms centre perhaps ?.

Hence my query as to help finding an archive source that could offer the answers to both my questions please.

[henry crun]

I cannot answer your question because I have never heard of the place, but, do not dismiss an airfield too readily.

If there was a hangar, hardstanding, and revetments, surely that would indicate aircraft at some point in the past.

There are hundreds of ex wartime airfields that would not be recognisable as such now.

[teeteringhead]

RAF airfields rarely, if ever, took the "obvious" name of the nearest village, and it can seem strange that the name it uses is 2 or 3 villages away. I always used to wonder why Church Fenton wasn't called Ulleskelf. On second thoughts ....

One theory is that it took the name of the nearest railway station or 'bus depot/'bus stop, so that when AC Bloggs was posted to RAF Much Binding, a travel warrant to Much Binding would take him as close as he could get by public transport. Of course there were many more 'busses and trains in the late 1930s, and many more stations and stops than there are now! But it may be worth "Googling" or otherwise researching names apart from the "obvious".

[Groundgripper]

Looked on my old (1968) half million ICAO chart - nearest airfield (disused) shown is Honiley, about 3 miles south of balsall Common.

GG

[JDK]

There are quite a few websites and associations to do with (man-made) holes in the ground.

Have a search around 'subterrania' and the like. I've not got the info to hand, as frankly I find it a bit scary even for someone as broadminded as me. :cool:

The other think is to dig around with searches in terms of bunkers and pillboxes. If it's not one of theirs those website folk will know about it. I found out quite a bit about the Royal Observer Corps in the Nuclear era while trying to figure out what a couple of bunkers two miles from Weston on the Green were. Nothing to do with the airfield, but quite depressing in themselves.

Google more creatively. ;)

[StuartP]

Teeteringhead - I seem to recall reading somewhere ("Action Stations" ?) that they were named after the nearest Post Office, unless to do so would cause confusion with another military establishment.

Krystal - Don't know about MUs, but try the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington for your hangar. They have a document there listing all (?) military airfields in the UK together with a sketch showing the layout and a page or two of other details. It represents one gentleman's life's work and I guess you would have to inspect it in person (it's quite a large display in its own right) but if you ring they might at least tell you if Honiley is in the document.

Having said that, if it's a T2 hangar it could well have been disposed of as surplus after the war, dismantled and rebuilt on another site ("T" = "Transportable").

Stuart.

[teeteringhead]

StuartP I hadn't heard the Post Office theory - certainly for some stations it makes more sense that the railway theory.....on those grounds Odiham would have been called Hook and Shawbury called Hodnet!

[Krystal n chips]

My thanks for the responses so far :ok:

To quantify some more detail. The site at Sinderland was located on Sinderland moss--near the Broadheath area of Altrincham and, although I classed it as an MU, I did so because in days past the term MU covered a multitude of sins for the RAF---in this case, I think it was an ammunition store / depot of some kind. Certainly the dispersal of the site would suggest as much and as far as I am aware, it was in use well into the 50's--but could be wrong here of course.

Now to Balsall. The Hangar has solid concrete sides--and most of the access to what would be an internal balcony / offices etc--is outside. With the best will in the world, it sits in a dip and could never have been an airfield--far too boggy and the trees have been there for a long time--you can just see the place on the left as you come fom Honiley in fact--and the revetments--heading into Balsall. It seems to be used for a variety of things now, but the Hangar was not a transportable type.

A friend of mine has also done a search on the "hole in the ground" sites--being shall we say "very interested" in such matters--and nothing at all.

JDK--erm, where are the bunkers you mentioned near Weston then ? I used to fly out of there in my younger days so am familiar with the area---just curious.

As I said, I am simply curious about Sinderland--but the Balsall Common site is rather interesting to say the least.

Any more info. gratefully received and my thanks once again for your responses everbody.

[wet wet wet]

Is this the place? (http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=424000&Y=275500&width=700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=&pc=&zm=0&scale=10000&multimap.x=470&multimap.y=93)

Pretty certain that there was never an airfield there. And if an aeroplane could not land, then what use is a hanger?

With regard to RAF airfield names, I had heard (and this may be wrong!) that they were named afer the location of the Officers' Mess.

[StuartP]

Krystal,

Jonathon Falconer's "Bomber Airfields of WW2" lists Bellman and Blister hangars only at Honiley, both of which were corrugated tin/steel affairs so it's not one of those. Nothing in the English Heritage "Cold War" book.

There was an awful lot of R&D going on around Coventry in the 50s involving aviaton and rockets (Rolls Royce at Ansty for example). My dad lived there in the 50s, I'll ask him if he knows anything about it.

If you find out in the meantime could you post the answer please ? You've got me intrigued.

Ta, Stuart.

[Krystal n chips]

wet wet wet
Thats' the place !--shame the shot doesn't show the pot holes on the access road that resemble bomb craters however !!

The hardstanding outside the Hangar is also interesting. Now I am not a civil engineer--but I do recognise serious depth and construction when I see it--and this was clearly designed to take heavy loads.

Stuart------if I find anything----I'll let you know ----I am also intrigued hence my request for archive sources etc.

[JDK]

JDK--erm, where are the bunkers you mentioned near Weston then ? I used to fly out of there in my younger days so am familiar with the area---just curious.
On the S side of the A4095 just after you have gone W from the B430, about 100yds from the junction. There's two bunkers, hidden in trees and with what at a glace looked like a Perimiter Track concrete roadway with them. Despite their distance from the airfield (about 3 miles North) they were obviously military, and when I'd checked up, nothing to do with Weston. Also they won't be evident from the air.

Turns out they were the ghastly bunkers for poor ROC (see here: http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/roc/index2.shtml )

Cheers!

[Malcolm G O Payne]

Balsall Common was, I beleive a basic FTS during the war. There is a book, recently published, which is called, I think, Airfields of Warwickshire. I know that Waterstones in Leamington Spa has several copies.

[Malcolm G O Payne]

Sorry, I should have added that Honiley was active to the mid-50s and was the b ase of the County of Warwick Auviliary Air Force Squadron. I don't know what they flew at that time, but it would have been Meteors or Vampires.

[Krystal n chips]

Malcolm,
Many thanks for that ! :ok: --however as a basic FTS and even allowing for the return to nature over the years / agricultural development---it is difficult to envisage the site as an airfield------any chance of an ISBN at all please ?

[Malcolm G O Payne]

One of a series of books published by Countryside Books.
Try ISBN 1 85306 867 5.
Best wishes

[Krystal n chips]

Thanks for those Malcolm :ok:

[teeteringhead]

Honiley
No 605 (County of Warwick) Sqn RAuxAF flew Mosquitos (NF 30) from Honiley from Apr 1947 to Jan 1949, overlapping slightly with their conversion to Vampire. They flew Vampire F1s from Jul 1948 to May 1951,replacing these with FB5s until they disbanded in Mar 1957. I think that's when Honiley closed.

[Malcolm G O Payne]

Sorry, I was getting Balsall Common mixed up with Hockley Heath .. I have no information on anythingat Balsall common

[Krystal n chips]

Malcolm --not a problem and thanks for the effort--so my question still remains as to why a large Hangar is located thus--with evident mil.fortifications surrounding it--and yet no obvious reason for it's existence can be found.

[Malcolm G O Payne]

My Humblest apologies. I was mixing up Balsall Common and Hockley Heath.

[sycamore]

KnC, have you tried a few of the local pubs, or is there a local `rag` or library ? even the churchyard may give some clues .......

[Krystal n chips]

sycamore --already tried the "local" perspective and no joy---I only visited the place once--although by a quirk of fate I used to drive past and around the locality many years ago and never realised it was there---it's actually quite well hidden from the road and sits in a dip---so when I did visit, I was there for about 45mins and had time to have a look around---hence my curiosity about what it once was--and my reasons for posting here given the wealth of knowledge and information people have. The search continues !

[Gainesy]

Don't forget that the RAF in WWII did not just operate aircraft. They had to train barrage balloon operators somewhere. Just a thought, FWIW.

[Krystal n chips]

Fair comment Gainsey and something I considered when I first viewed the place-----given the location it struck me as odd to find a Hangar of that size and with such evident mil.structures surrounding it.

One thing I did notice--amongst others--was what appeared to be the remains of heavy duty tele-comms cable ducts near on of the out-buildings--hence my wondering even more as to the usage of the place. Anyway, now that I have become intrigued about the place--I will endeavour to find out the facts.

And if anybody is driving up the A452 from Kenilworth--have a look on the left hand side just before the 40mph signs appear and you can see the place and the revetments before the view id blocked by trees.

[StuartP]

Finally remembered to ask my Dad. Apparently his 1960s bicycling expeditions didn't often cover anywhere as posh as Balsall Common and Kenilworth, but he knew where I meant. He doesn't remember any military installations there other than the airfield at Honiley, but he suggested it might be something to do with Jaguar. Certainly the other car/engine manufacturers had test facilities in all sorts of out-of-the-way places away from their main plants, and Jaguar were based around Kenilworth.

Stuart.

[Krystal n chips]

Stuart,
Thanks for asking :ok: --however, this place was certainly not a civilian operation. The architecture has HM Gov't stamped all over it---so I can't see it being used by any car manufacturer.

Finally found out about my other query though. It seems the RAF camp at Sinderland was--eventually ---2 MU--and was open from 1928-1957---used as an ammunitions site with mainly civilian staff. Given the excellent pubs in the area however, it must have been a nice posting in it's time !.