Type

Monument

Title / Name

Blakehill Farm Airfield

Summary

A former Second World War and post-war military airfield, opened in 1944 and closed in 1957.

MILITARY AIRFIELD; MILITARY BASE; RESEARCH STATION; RADIO STATION, Second World War to Late 20th Century (1939 to 1999)

Source Detail: Priddle, R., 2003

Title: Wings Over Wiltshire: An Aeronautical History of Wiltshire

Summary: Publication Source ID: SWI22354

Description: A Royal Air Force airfield constructed in 1943-4. It included three hard surface runways, a control tower, type T2 hangars, a Double Extra Over Blister hangar, Guard room and Operations block, plus a larger than normal NAAFI block. It closed as a military establishment early in 1997 and was returned to agricultural and industrial use. At the main entrance to the airfield there is a memorial stone erected on 25th September 1994 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Canadians serving at Blakehill Farm.

Source Detail: Willis, S. + Holliss, B., 1987

Title: Military Airfields in the British Isles 1939-1945

Summary: No summary information. Source ID: SWI26227

Description: Willis and Holliss include Blakehill Farm in their gazetteer of World War Two military airfields, at SU 078 915. The closing date here is given here as 1952. The source provides a statistical profile of the base as of December 1944, when 2579 men and 122 women were stationed there. There is also a simple sketch map: the outline of the base conforms to the area enclosed in the research station boundary indicated on the OS map referred to in source 3 above.

Source Detail: Berryman, D., 2002

Title: Wiltshire Airfields in the Second World War

Summary: No summary information. Source ID: SWI26229

Additional Information: Countryside Books

Description: David Berryman's volume on Wiltshire Airfields of the Second World War contains a detailed history of Blake Hill

Source Detail: Slocombe, P., 2008

Title: A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Wiltshire

Summary: Gazetteer Source ID: SWI28692

Additional Information: Association for Industrial Archaeology

Description: Building work started in 1943. A few wartime buildings remain in poor condition including the fire and ambulance stations and there are parts of the perimeter track. Part of the airfield is occupied by the Chelworth Industrial Estate.

Source Detail: Historic England, Various

Title: National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) Entry

Summary: Data held by the NRHE database. The data is made available and licenced under the Open Government Licence version 3. Source ID: SWI29488

Description: A former Second World War and post-war military airfield, opened in 1944 and closed in 1957, the site is now intended for use by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Construction of the airfield began in 1943: the airfield layout was the standard "A" shape of three runways. Wartime construction methods typically involved the use of temporary materials for many types of airfield buildings. In 1944 the base was used for missions in support of the allied invasion of France (Overlord) and the Arnhem campaign. On the night of the 5th June 1944 233 and 271 Squadrons towed Horsa gliders filled with Parachute Brigade troops using Dakota aircraft to their assigned drop zones as part of operation "Tonga", the initial airborne phase of operation Overlord. After the initial invasion Blakehill Farm was used to ferry supplies in to and casulties out of France. Another unit at the base, Number 437 (Royal Canadian Air Force) Airborne Support Squadron was heavily involved in the Arnhem campaign. In 1945, the Blakehill Farm Squadrons also took part in the operations in support of the crossing of the Rhine around Wesel and the subsequent advance across northern Germany. After the war there was a hiatus of activity at the base, although from 1948 to 1957 various RAF training units intermittently used the airfield. The site initially remained in government control and in 1967 General Communications Headquarters established a radio research station at Blakehill, moving out in the late 1990s. Much of the old airfield was cleared in the 1970s. The MoD disposed of the site in 2000, it was planned that Wiltshire Wildlife Trust should turn the site into meadowland.

Source Detail: Ordnance Survey, 1975

Title: Ordnance Survey Map 1:10000 - 1975

Summary: No summary information. Source ID: SWI29825

Additional Information: !:10000

Source Detail: Ordnance Survey,

Title: Ordnance Survey 1:10000 Map

Summary: Map Source ID: SWI9540

Description: The OS sheet SU 09 SE shows the radio research station at SU 078 915; labelled at various points with the legend "masts".