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As someone who was born in the mid 1960's I have no knowledge of what it would have been like to live in the midst of a military airfield during wartime. However, I have a fascination with such places and have explored the remains of an increasing number of former airfields. This gallery allows me to share the photos I have taken and also serves as a reminder of the fact that many people lost their lives in such places in order for us to experience the relative freedom we have today. Sadly, many former military airfields are in a derelict, pitiful condition and as a result are vulnerable to developers who only see them for their investment potential and as nothing more than prime building land that can be utilised to make way for the environmental excesses of modern society. One should also consider that by the end of the First World War there were in totality less than one hundred airfields in the United Kingdom, both military and civil. However, by the end of the Second World War there were over 700 military airfields alone. This gives an indication of the scale of the construction project that was undertaken in less than a decade and at a time when materials and manpower were in short supply. In fact the construction of military airfields during the Second World War is probably one of the largest and singularly ambitious achievements of military engineering this country has ever seen or is ever likely to, with an estimated 25% of the United Kingdom's construction workforce engaged in airfield construction in one way or another during the war years. Surely we owe a debt of gratitude to the gallant airmen who lost their lives flying from these airfields and also to those who were responsible for planning, designing and constructing these truly historic places.
© Shaun Churchill |
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The following information may be helpful to visitors to this site.
Non airfield stations are listed in alphabetical order with a suffix such as 'Radar Station' to the name of the site. Where as military airfields are listed in alphabetical order and may have a suffix in brackets, that either indicates the locally given name for the airfield, or a location if situated overseas or not within the UK mainland. |
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I am always pleased to hear from persons willing to share any period photographs of former World War II airfields and radar stations. Due credit will be given to those who supply any images which are subsequently posted on this
website.
ww2airfields@aol.com |
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* Cherwell District Council have rejected plans for the wholesale redevelopment of RAF Bicester. The council now officially recognise the historic importance of the site and in the words of Councillor Michael Gibbard, Portfolio Holder for Planning & Housing, "the aircraft hangers with their massive, blast-proof doors should be kept to remind future generations of the potential threat that has hung over the country in the past".
* On a less positive note, the plans to redevelop the site of Andover Airfield have been given the go ahead by Test Valley Borough Council. In addition to the colossal Tesco distribution depot (the so-called Mega Shed) planned for the site, the developer, Goodman, wants to build a hotel and other amenities. |
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