RAF Windrush

Royal Air Force Windrush or more simply RAF Windrush is a former Royal Air Force satellite station near Windrush, Gloucestershire, England. It was opened in 1940 and closed on 12 July 1945.[1] Initially it was a Relief Landing Ground for RAF Chipping Norton, later coming under the control of RAF Little Rissington.[2]

RAF Windrush
Landing Strip, Windrush Airfield
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Air Force
LocationWindrush, Gloucestershire, England
Built1940 (Initial)
1942 Main buildings
In use1940-1945
Coordinates51°48′16″N 001°44′09″W
Map
RAF Windrush
Location in Gloucestershire
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
00/00 0 0 Sommerfeld Tracking
00/00 0 0 Sommerfeld Tracking

History

The airfield consisted of two Sommerfeld Tracking runways, a concrete perimeter track, 1 T1 building and 8 Blister Hangars amongst many others. Most of this infrastructure was added in 1942.[3] Some of the original buildings remain in situ though the site has been returned to agricultural use. The Watch Tower was restored in the 1990s. The airfield is partly in the ownership of the National Trust.[4]

The following units were here at some point:[5]

  • No. 6 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF
  • No. 6 Service Flying Training School RAF
  • No. 15 Service Flying Training School RAF

Memorial

A memorial at the church in Windrush village describes Sgt Pilot Bruce Hancock RAFVR who died on 18 August 1940 when downing a German Heinkel bomber by ramming it with his unarmed training Avro Anson aircraft.[6]

Post war

Following closure in 1945 the airfield history has not been fully recorded but the then landowner Lord Sherborne purchased the airfield in 1969 back from the MOD and over time either demolished many of the hundred or so RAF buildings, or else established conifer plantations around them seeking to hide them from view. Many bomb shelters, ancillary buildings and concrete access tracks remain in these plantations. The Midland Parachuting Club was granted a lease of a strip of grass for use as a runway from 1992 until 1997 and used the Watch Tower as their base for Parachuting during that period.[7]

Current Ownership

The western portion of the airfield came under the ownership of the National Trust in March 1987 as part of the bequest of the Lodge Park and Sherborne Estate by the 7th Baron Sherborne. It is currently part of a let agricultural holding on the estate. Apart from 2 public bridleways there is currently no public access to the site.

The National Trust Estate Office is in the nearby village of Sherborne, Gloucestershire.

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See also

References

Citations
  1. "Windrush". Control Towers. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  2. Phillips, Jenni; Lillywhite, Maisie (6 May 2020). "The lost airfields of Gloucestershire and the remarkable role they played in WW2". Gloucestershire Live. Archived from the original on 28 May 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  3. "RAF Windrush". Aircraft, Airfields and Airshows. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  4. "National Trust HBSMR and Windush". Archaeology National Trust SW. National Trust. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  5. "Windrush". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  6. "Memorial to Sgt Pilot Bruce Hancock". Archived from the original on 19 September 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  7. "Monument No. 1431860". Pastscape. Historic England. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
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