RAF Stanton Harcourt - another ruddy MMC airfield write-up

[MMC]

RAF Stanton Harcourt is something really rather special. I had no idea, even having ridden past hundreds of times. I’d no idea so much was there, but this Saturday I thought I’d stop and take a look...

Stanton Harcourt was the satellite base for RAF Abingdon, and flying commenced on 3rd September 1940 with 10 OTU, mostly flying Whitleys (training for night missions) & Halifaxes. There was also a gunnery school. The remains of the turret trainer are still there - see...

Here’s how it would have looked:

Hanson have a depot for gravel extraction at the site, and a lot of it has been given over to landfill. There’s little left of the runways, but you can get an idea of how the place used to be laid out:

The white arrow points to the bit I was looking at.

But the reason I was interested was two-fold:

- Halifaxes from 35 & 76 Squadron mounted the July 1941 attack on Scharnhorst from Stanton Harcourt and,

- Winston Churchill flew to the Casablanca Conference on 13th January 1943 from Stanton Harcourt in Liberator AL504 (Operation 'Static').

This was the main entrance

So it’s pretty likely that Churchill would have been driven down this track to meet his aircraft:

More later...

 

[Paul Wakefield]

Keep it coming Mark. Stanton Harcourt only rates a fairly small entry in Robin Brooks' book on Oxfordshire Airfields - one interesting snippet is it was attacked whilst still being built in August 1940 resulting in 9 civilian workmen being killed.

 

[MMC]

Part two...

As you walk in the old main gate, the first thing you see is the gatehouse:

It’s in pretty good nick and, by the look of it, is used as a farm office. But there are still maps of the old airfield on the walls:

Amazing the small spaces you can get a camera through - these were snapped through the letterbox:

The place is in amazingly good condition. Just inside the gatehouse - opposite the room above, is this:

A closer view:

I’ve not been able to track anything down about Sgt Schofield at Stanton Harcourt... But I’ve never seen a door board in this sort of condition before.

Just by the gatehouse is this - the water tower:

Now pretty derelict and used to store machinery.

 

[Tarka]

Brilliant stuff...........fascinating.

More.......more.........c`mon............

 

[MMC]

The raid on the Scharnhorst

But I’d come to see from where the July 1941 raid on the German battleship The Scharnhorst was launched.

This is from this site. The site is well worth a read, although you may find you have slightly damp eyes by the end of it...

Daylight Bombing Raid on German Battleship Scharnhorst at La Rochelle 24th July 1941

Nine aircraft took off from Stanton Harcourt at 1035 hrs at one minute intervals. Joined up in Squadron'vic' formation in sections of three also in 'vic', and proceeded via Lizard Point to a point 50 miles west of Ushant and then direct to the target. From Base to the turning point off Ushant was made at 1,000 feet and below, and the climb to the bombing height between this point and the target. 19,000 feet was the intended bombing height, but only 15,000 feet was reached before arrival at the target area. The weather was excellent, brilliant sunshine and no cloud, with perfect visibility.

An enemy destroyer was passed in the proximity of the Isle D'Yea, which, apparently believing itself about to be attacked, commenced evasive action and opened fire but did no damage. This was accounted a most unfortunate incident for it is supposed that the destroyer, finding itself not to be the target, passed on information of the Squadron, for on it's approach to the target area a very heavy barrage of AA fire was immediately put up, and some thirty enemy fighters were observed, some in the air and others taking off from aerodromes in and about La Rochelle.

The Squadron went forward however, to attack in echelon as planned, but the intensity of the AA fire not only damaged several aircraft, but one, Captain F/Sgt Godwin, was seen to go down in a slow spiral with smoke coing from one or two of it's engines, but necessitated evasive action and the formation became considerably disrupted. Several aircraft were attacked by enemy fighters on the approach to the target and encounters were experienced over the target area, some of the enemy aircraft paying little heed to their own AA*fire. The concentrated attack however, was carried out as the Squadron was withdrawing, and at this stage air fighting became general and extremely active, only breaking off after the target area was left well behind. Those aircraft which were lucky enough to be in formation with another suffering less, while one aircraft was engaged in as many as twenty combats, another ten, and another nine.

Sgt Bolton, the first operator of the Leader's aircraft was killed, and the second pilot injured. P/O Stone, tail gunner of another aircraft was killed by cannon fire which went on to rake the aircraft and injure both beam gunners. Another wireless operator was wounded seriously and another tail gunner slightly wounded. All kept to their posts and with the tail gunners, displayed the very highest standard of coolness and skill. They not only defended their aircraft successfully throughout all attacks, but came away with the score of five enemy aircraft confirmed shot down and three probables with many others damaged.

All aircraft, except one whose bomb hung up, succeeded in delivering their attacks, but shell bursts, evasive action and damage permitted no reasonable sighting and although many registered near misses, only one aircraft, Captain F/Sgt Greaves, was seen to obtain a direct hit. This aircraft did not return to Base, and the conflict with the enemy fighters and the bad visibility caused by the AA bursts apparently covered its withdrawal from the formation for it was not seen at all by any other aircraft. All the remaining aircraft returned safely to England, those damaged and with dead and wounded landing at St Eval, two at Weston Zoyland and the other at Stanton Harcourt.

The following message was received by the C in C from the C.A.S. and forwarded on:- 


"Please convey to all who took part in yesterdays operations my warm appreciation of the efficiency and determination with which the attacks on the enemy warships were conceived and executed.
I'm sure all Units realise the supreme importance of keeping these German Cruisers inactive and the great contribution their attacks have made towards relieving the Royal Navy of some part of its very heavy burden. It was most satisfactory that the number of enemy fighters destroyed by your gunners well exceeded your own losses"

The C in C sent the following reply:-
"I can assure you that your message of appreciation which I*am passing to all Units is stimulating to us and is warmly welcomed. Many thanks. Peirse" (sic)

The following message was received from the C in C:-
"A magnificent days work executed with that characteristic dash and courage which the world now knows is the tradition of Bomber Command. Well done. Pierse" (sic)

This is one of the crews that didn't make it back to base - until 40 years later...

Their story is on the same page.

 

[Hustler]

Excellent, thank you.
How are you able to wander into these places, or do you just happen to know some important people ?

 

[MMC]

Thank you!

Most of them are pretty easy to walk around, but, failing that, just looking confident seems to help... In this case, I did try to get Harcourt Estates' permission to stroll around but couldn't get hold of them. A lot of times, the landowners are as interested in finding out the history as I am.

 

[Wanderer]

I think that you chaps may like to take a look here ...

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/index.php

 

[MMC]

Taking shelter...

Just by the gatehouse there’s a mound of earth:

It’s an air-raid shelter, sharing a field with three other - very overgrown - brick blast shelters:

I thought I’d take a look. Most of these places are pretty derelict and I’ve never come across one that’s intact.

So I stood at the top of the top of the steps and looked down:

And ventured in, expecting tramps, rats and hell-knows what else. In fact, it was all intact, the brickwork and concrete all just as it was left in 1946 when the base closed down:

There are loads of paths all around the site in various states of over-grownness - like this one:

So I followed it to see where it went...

 

[MMC]

Around the MT and Tech site

It led me here:

Funny. In all the time I’ve been trolling around old airfields, this was the first building to give me the creeps. Actually - that’s a lie. It had a VERY nasty atmosphere to it.

I couldn’t work out what it was for, apart from maybe a dog-pen of some sort.

It was pretty derelict:

I got as far as this, took the pic and walked away. There was no way anyone was getting me in there.

A little way from the dog-pens was the rest of the technical and MT site. It’s a fair old size - and must have been a big airfield.

And it’s a pretty setting, with the village right next door:

So I pushed on:

I’m guessing this was perhaps a crewroom or a mess. The whole site is now agricultural storage:

Probably fortunate - the old RAF hospital at Bradwell has been bulldozed for housing. At least the buildings are still being used and maintained to some extent.

Ford rather than Halifax I guess...

 

[MMC]

Pumped.

Another crew-room or a mess hall?

It had certainly found alternative use as a clay pigeon store:

It was at this point a real pigeon flew out and nearly scared me shitless! Still rattled from that dog house...

Someone had been doing well in shooting competitions:

Another shot of the mess?

This was certainly a maintenance garage as I could see a pit inside as I peered through the door:

There were a couple of buildings I’d liked to have taken a proper look around, but not much chance of that:

Plenty of stuff to see even though:

Pump of some sort?

Then I spotted this - a rather different sort of pump:

Closer:

Not one of yours is it Kev?

 

[MMC]

Not quite the Scharnhorst

But it seemed this was not the only unusual find at Stanton...

I came across this pool/reservoir, just by the MT site:

Not sure what it was for... But in a building just next to it was this:

In incredibly good nick too:

I guess the farmer had retired it from the river and dumped it there years ago.

I don’t think they’d have managed to launch it from here anyway:

Nowadays, where some of the old peri tracks would have been is the village cricket pitch:

And life’s going on in a very English fashion:

Hard to believe this was one of the key bases in the South East in WWII...

 

[Hustler]

.................
In incredibly good nick too:

Is that a key I spy in the ignition there ?

But did they have keys back in those days ?

And when you turned it did it start easily ???

 

[Keith Mcclintock]

Excellent stuff-as close to travelling back in time that you will get

 

[MMC]

Excellent stuff-as close to travelling back in time that you will get

Thanks Keith. It's funny - the past does seem very much closer stood on one of these airfields.

 

[judge]

No wonder I didn't find you in the coffee houses you were scrabbling around derelict sites looking for ghosts

Managed to not stray too far from Long Hanborough, yesterday poaching (fishing nets) on the river on one part of the Blenheim estate, today using local knowledge to bunk into the Belenheim Palace gardens for free only to get ripped off in the garden cafe.

Still at least I got to see something of where I may be in a couple of weeks at the CLA Game Fair - setting up already.

Ended up at Churchill's grave, odd seeing as two weeks ago I was at Chartwell and now here - fekkin stalkin the dead like you Mark!

Great report again BTW

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

nice report Mark

are you going to cross post over on 28dayslater ?

 

[MMC]

nice report Mark

are you going to cross post over on 28dayslater ?

Thanks MM - that's much appreciated! I thought 28DL had folded - I thought the guy who ran the site had got fed up and given up... But having just nipped over there and back, looks like he's not!

They're a bit hardcore over there though - reckon my stuff would be a bit tame for them...

 

[Ash]

Cracking stuff.
after spending a few years working from Stanford in the vale and using the villages for short cuts/skyving, it's nice to see whats inside them buildings.
PS
wasn't white horse business park [at Stanford] part of something as we used to park our wagon and drag units on old concrete hard standing
and there are old RAF/army buildings on the left as you approach Stanford coming from wantage direction.

 

[MMC]

Cracking stuff.
after spending a few years working from Stanford in the vale and using the villages for short cuts/skyving, it's nice to see whats inside them buildings.
PS
wasn't white horse business park [at Stanford] part of something as we used to park our wagon and drag units on old concrete hard standing
and there are old RAF/army buildings on the left as you approach Stanford coming from wantage direction.

Ahhh - sounds like RAF Shellingford? That looks well worth a poke around... Nice one Ash

P.S. 28 Days Later now closed to new registrations...