RAF Bawtry

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RAF Bawtry
Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
Bawtry, South Yorkshire in England
Bawtry Hall, East side (geograph 3482406).jpg
East side of Bawtry Hall
South Yorkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
RAF Bawtry
Shown within South Yorkshire
Coordinates 53°25′43″N1°01′21″W / 53.4286°N 1.0226°W / 53.4286; -1.0226
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
Operator Royal Air Force
Controlled by RAF Bomber Command
RAF Strike Command
Site history
Built1785 (1785)
In use1941–1986
Garrison information
Past
commanders		 David Parry-Evans
(AOC 1 Gp 1982) [1]

Royal Air Force Bawtry or more simply RAF Bawtry is a former Royal Air Force station located at Bawtry Hall in Bawtry, South Yorkshire, England and was No. 1 Group RAF Bomber Command headquarters and administration unit during and following the Second World War.

Contents

Since the RAF Vacated in 1986, the hall has been used by a variety of private enterprises.

History

Bawtry Hall itself is a large redbrick house in two storeys with attics which was erected around 1785 by Pemberton Milnes, a prosperous wool-merchant from Wakefield, Yorkshire. It descended in the Milnes family for several generations before being sold to Major George Peake, a well-known amateur pilot, in 1905. It is a Grade II* listed building. [2]

During the Second World War the RAF took it over and it became an RAF command centre in July 1941. [3] RAF Bawtry did not have its own airfield but instead took advantage of RAF Bircotes, which was located nearby. Here the station based a number of communications aircraft. [4]

Bawtry Hall served the Royal Air Force from 1941–1984; first as HQ for No. 1 Group, Bomber Command during and after the Second World War, then as HQ No. 1 Group as part of Strike Command up to and including the later stages of the Cold War. The famous bombing of the airfield at Port Stanley by Vulcan bombers from RAF Waddington during the Falklands War was co-ordinated from the operations room at Bawtry Hall. [5]

RAF Bawtry became the centre of the RAF Meteorological Service for many years [6] and ceased military operations in 1986. [7] It was purchased by the Action Partners Corporation in the late 1980s. [8]

No. 1 Group Bomber Command units based at RAF Bawtry comprised as follows: –

Airfield .SquadronAircraft TypeNumber of Aircraft .
RAF Elsham Wolds 103 Sqn Avro Lancaster I and III17
RAF Elsham Wolds 576 SqnLancaster I and III8
RAF Kirmington 166 SqnLancaster I and III23
RAF Ingham 300 (Polish) Sqn Vickers Wellington X23
RAF Ingham 300 (Polish) SqnLancaster I and III0 – Re-equipping
RAF Wickenby 12 SqnLancaster I and III16
RAF Wickenby 626 SqnLancaster I and III14
RAF Grimsby 100 SqnLancaster I and III18
RAF Grimsby 550 SqnLancaster I and III7
RAF Ludford Magna 101 SqnLancaster I and III22
RAF Binbrook 460 Sqn RAAFLancaster I and III27
RAF Kelstern 625 Sqn RAAFLancaster I and III17

+data from: [9]

During the Miners' Strike in the mid-1980s, police officers were based at RAF Bawtry to provide a central Operations and co-ordination point on the South Yorkshire / Nottinghamshire border. [10]

Present

The Air Training Corps 2008 Squadron is still located at the former site on Park Road in Bawtry, in a new building that replaced the former ones. [11]

It was sold by Defence Estates in the mid 1980s to a Roger Byron-Collins company who owned Bawtry Hall for 3 years together with the nearby technical and domestic site at RAF Hemswell and the post war married quarters sites at RAF Finningley and RAF Scampton. Later the building was bought by Action Partners Corporation, a Christian organisation, and has been used as teaching and conference centre for the past 24 years. [5]

The trustees had taken the decision to close the hall on 31 December 2013 and a buyer was being actively sought. [12] The hall was sold in 2014 for £1.6 million to Bawtry Hall properties who would be moving various video gaming enterprises into the building. [6]

See also

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References

Citations

  1. ↑ Douglas-Home, Charles, ed. (13 December 1982). "Appointments in the Forces". The Times. No. 61413. p. 14. ISSN   0140-0460.
  2. ↑ Historic England. "BAWTRY HALL (1151550)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  3. ↑ Freeman 2001, p. 20.
  4. ↑ Halpenny 1981, p. 47.
  5. 1 2 "Bawtry Hall played an important role in history". Retford Guardian. 15 October 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  6. 1 2 Bateman, Stephanie (27 March 2014). "Bawtry treasure sold for £1.6 million". Doncaster Free Press. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Magnificent Bawtry Hall '" its history and timeline". Doncaster Free Press. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  8. ↑ "Historic RAF base put on the market - ProQuest" . The South Yorkshire Times. 27 June 2013. ProQuest   1372108971 . Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  9. ↑ Delve, Ken (2005). RAF Bomber Command 1936-1968 : an operational and historical record. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. pp. 273, 275, 277, 279, 281, 283. ISBN   1844151832.
  10. ↑ Dowden, Richard; Bevins, Anthony (5 July 1984). "Havers joins police cash fight". The Times. No. 61875. p. 1. ISSN   0140-0460.
  11. ↑ "Bircotes and Bawtry". Abandoned, forgotten and little known airfields in Europe. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Bawtry Hall Closure Plans". Action Partners Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.

Bibliography

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