CHOCKS AWAY! LAMMY SECURES A FUTURE FOR AVIATION SITES

2 Dec 2005 12:15 PM

Historic airfields linked to the First World War, the Battle of Britain and the Dambusters are amongst 255 buildings listed by Culture Minister, David Lammy, it is announced today. The listed buildings include:

* One Grade I listing - the 1938 Uxbridge underground bunker containing the Group Operations Room from where the vital 11 Fighter Group was commanded during the Battle of Britain.
* Three Grade II* listings - the 1910 hangars at Larkhill and the operations blocks at Debden and Duxford, both fighter stations vital to the Battle of Britain
* Eight buildings upgraded to Grade II*
* 160 buildings listed at Grade II

19 of the 31 sites with newly listed buildings are owned by the MOD.

These listings are the result of a thematic survey of military aviation sites by English Heritage, which consisted of a long process of evaluation and consultation both with the MOD, military historians and the private owners of some of the sites. The survey highlighted the importance of focusing on the protection of airfields, which have a historical importance on an international level.

The Battle of Britain was one of the defining events of the Second World War, some historians would argue of the twentieth century, and was associated with a limited number of sites - the most famous one is Duxford. The headquarters at Uxbridge, preserved exactly as described by Churchill in his famous account of September 1940, are also among the listings.

David Lammy, Culture Minister, said:
"As we saw with the Remembrance Day celebrations in November it is important for younger generations to remember and learn from the past, and the courage of our veterans. I hope the protection of these historic sites will help to ensure that. These sites and the buildings on them are testimony to generations of heroes."

Don Touhig, Under Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans said:
"These iconic historic aviation sites, along with those who served, played a crucial part in achieving the successes of the two world wars. Air power had an increasingly important role in armed conflict throughout the last century and is an aspect of our heritage that should not be forgotten.

"The protection of these important sites, which include Larkhill - our first military airfield used by the early flying pioneers of the Royal Flying Corps, as well as famous RAF sites such as Scampton - associated with the Dambuster Raids, and Biggin Hill - Britain's most celebrated fighter station, demonstrates our commitment to protect our Defence heritage. The listings announced today reinforce our commitment to investing in the future of our Forces, while never forgetting the past. I hope that many of the sites and building will be enjoyed by generations to come. "

Roger Bowdler, Head of Designation at English Heritage, said: "Powered flight transformed modern warfare. Britain's aviation structures form powerful witnesses to the world wars, and to the role of the Royal Air Force in securing victory. The aeroplanes have - generally - departed, but the aerodromes remain. The hangars, officers' messes, technical buildings and defensive structures form moving ensembles that provoke remembrance and demand respect. Our recommendations are underpinned by considerable research, and we are proud to be recommending these special places for protection and appropriate re-use."

Military airfields are typically extensive and highly complex sites, whose planners had to take into account both the functions of a technology-based service and the accommodation, ordered by rank, of communities of flyers, technicians, administrators and their families.

Given the character, great number and diversity of military airfields, the strategy for protection has focused on the identification of the most complete, historically important and strongly representative sites. In England, military airfields have been assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

* identification of the most complete sites, and those which are most strongly representative of functionally distinct airbase types; * identification of buildings and sites which have strong associations with key historical episodes, particularly in the Second World War;
* individual and well-preserved buildings and groups, of intrinsic architectural and/or historic merit;
* international context.

LIST OF SITES

BICESTER
Oxfordshire
Bicester was built as a bomber station from 1924. It retains, better than any other aviation site in Britain, the layout and built fabric relating to both the first Expansion Period of the RAF and subsequent developments up to 1940. The grass airfield survives with airfield defences, bomb stores, perimeter track and some hardstandings added during the Second World War.

BIGGIN HILL
London Borough of Bromley
Britain's most celebrated fighter station. It retains a particularly fine officers' mess of 1934 and a good group of technical and domestic buildings (mostly 1930-34). The latter include the best-preserved married quarters group associated with a
nationally-important site. The flying field, with later runways, retains defence posts and fighter pens from 1939.

CALSHOT
Hampshire
Opened in 1913, Calshot is the best-preserved of a chain of contemporary seaplane bases. The surviving group of hangars of 1913 - 18, now listed II*, exemplify the development of military aviation over this period in Britain.

CATTERICK
North Yorkshire
Originating as a Home Defence Station in 1914, Catterick is the best-preserved fighter sector station in the north of England. It retains a group of First World War hangars and Expansion Period buildings dating from the 1920s and 1930s. Fighter pens and defences were added around the airfield at the beginning of the Second World War.

COSFORD
Shropshire
Planned began in 1937 for a new training establishment for 4,000 personnel at Cosford to relieve the huge demands on the facilities at RAF Halton. Opened in 1938 as No.2 School of Technical Training. During the course of the Second World War over 70,000 engine and airframe mechanics and armourers attended courses at Cosford.

CRANWELL
Lincolnshire
The development of the Cadet College at Cranwell, begun in 1929, was a cornerstone of Britain's independent airforce. College Hall (1929-33) and its formal setting form the most architecturally impressive set-piece designed for the RAF. Although best known for the Cadet College, Cranwell has in addition a long aviation history dating back to 1918.

DEBDEN
Essex
Opened as a fighter station in 1937, Debden retains much of its 1930s character. It is also noted for the largely intact preservation of its flying field and defensive perimeter. Its historical importance largely resides in its role as one of the vital 11 Group sector stations during the Battle of Britain.

DUXFORD
Cambridgeshire
A famous fighter station noted for its Battle of Britain associations and later used as a USAAF fighter station. It retains the best-preserved technical fabric remaining from a site up to November 1918, including 3 paired hangars. The station was mostly rebuilt in the 1930s, with architecture representative of both expansion periods remarkably well preserved, and the airfield largely intact.

EAST KIRKBY
Lincolnshire
Opened in 1943 in support of Bomber Command's offensive, airmen from nearly 200 Commonwealth countries operated from East Kirkby with 57 and 630 squadrons. The control tower is one of 162 built to this particular design, of which, only a small number survive to this degree of preservation.

ELVINGTON
Yorkshire
Opened in October 1942, the Halifax Bombers based at Elvington were heavily engaged in the Battle of the Ruhr in early 1943. In May and June 1944, two heavy bomber squadrons of the Free French Air Force formed here, and made their first attacks near the invasion beaches of Normandy.
The control tower is one of 162 built to this particular design, of which, only a small number survive to this degree of preservation.

FILTON
Gloucestershire
Former Aircraft Acceptance Park for the reception and final assembly of aircraft and their flight testing, storage and distribution to squadrons to the north of Sir George White's aircraft factory of 1910. The hangars were built between 1917 and 1918, and were retained after the war by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, becoming part of an operational fighter base after 1929. The hangars reverted to use by the nearby aircraft factory, now British Aerospace, following the disbanding of 501 Squadron in 1957.

HALTON
Buckinghamshire
Halton was established as the centre for technical training for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. After the First World War the site was developed to house the Aircraft Apprentice Scheme. The domestic site retains an extensive and well-preserved group of buildings from the 1920s and 1930s including the Groves and Henderson Barracks.

HENLOW
Bedfordshire
The five General Service Sheds at Henlow comprise the most complete ensemble of hangar buildings on any British site for the period up to 1923. The domestic site retains an extensive group of married quarters, executed in the Garden City tradition, and barracks and office buildings dated 1933-5. These display unique architectural treatment for a military air base.

HULLAVINGTON
Wiltshire
Hullavington, which opened in 1937 as a Flying Training Station, embodies to a unique degree the improved architectural quality associated with the post-1934 Expansion Period of the RAF. Most of the original buildings have survived and form a particularly coherent and well-ordered ensemble. The flying field remains, bounded by groups of hangars.

KEMBLE
Gloucestershire/Wiltshire
Kemble is the most strongly representative - by virtue of its range of hangar types - of 24 Aircraft Storage Unit sites planned and built by the Air Ministry between 1936 and 1940. The hangars are dispersed in pairs around the airfield and include the most advanced Air Ministry hangar types of parabolic form and concrete construction.

LARKHILL
Wiltshire
Together with Eastchurch in Kent, Larkhill is one of the two sites in Britain where aircraft sheds built in association with the early pioneers of powered flight have survived. Therefore they are amongst the most historically significant structures associated with this phase of pioneering powered flight - ranking, in terms of date, with the remains of the Wright Brothers workshops and the resited 1910 Boeing workshop at Seattle.
The flying field at Larkhill, now partly developed, was Britain's first military airfield, with the Bristol Aeroplane Company then made Larkhill the first in a series of civilian schools where army officers also received their first flight training. By September 1910, the company was collaborating with the War Office in army manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain, centred on the observation of artillery and troop movements. Many prototype aircraft were flown from Larkhill, whose flying demonstrations - often including trips around Stonehenge - attracted great publicity.

LITTLE STAUGHTON
Cambridgeshire
Active from the RAF Little Staughton from April 1944, Pathfinder Mosquitoes from 109 Squadron and Lancasters of 583 Squadron marked targets for Bomber Command's precision raids. This is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a control tower of 1941 design for bomber satellites, of which 24 of the 45 built survive.

LITTLE WALDEN
Essex
Little Walden was used by the USAAF from April 1944, and some lengths of the perimeter track and a section of runway survive, although another section of runway is now absorbed into the B1952. A few prefabricated structures, including Romney huts and a T2 hangar have also survived on site, but these are not listed. The surviving control tower stands out as an exceptionally complete example of the type commonly used on airfields during the Second World War, even though it has now been restored and converted into a house. The tower was one of 160 of its type erected, of which 82 still survive.

LUDHAM
Norfolk
Opened in 1941 as a forward operating base for Fighter Command, RAF Ludham served as a satellite airfield of Coltishall in 12 group. Its main work was with Coastal Command, in the patrolling of convoys and e-boat attacks. The control tower here is one of 162 examples built to this particular Air Ministry design, of which 82 now survive, but is one of a very small number to have survived in this degree of preservation.

MANBY
Lincolnshire
After Hullavington, the most complete and architecturally unified of the post-1934 Expansion Period stations in Britain. Both the technical and domestic buildings show a meticulous attention to layout and detail. The airfield is now in agricultural use.

NETHERAVON
Wiltshire
Begun in 1912, Netheravon is the most complete of the sites that relate to the crucial formative phase in the development of military aviation in Europe, prior to the First World War. The domestic site retains a remarkably well-preserved group of single-storey barracks and mess buildings dating from 1913-14. The grass airfield remains intact.

NORTHOLT
London Borough of Hillingdon
Northolt was one of the 11 Group sector stations which played a significant operational role in the Battle of Britain. Although parts of the site have been subject to post-war redevelopment, most of the original buildings of the 1920s and '30s survive. Among these are the Officers' Mess, four barracks blocks, two hangars, the station workshops and the operations room. A fine memorial commemorates the contribution of Polish airmen to the Allied war effort.

NORTH WEALD
Essex
Fighter sector station with Battle of Britain associations, and after Kenley and Debden retaining the best-preserved of the landscapes put in place by Fighter Command at the beginning of the Second World War.

OLD SARUM
Wiltshire
The best-preserved flying field of the First World War period, bounded by one of the most complete suites of technical and hangar buildings of the period.

ROUGHAM
Suffolk
Rougham airfield was used by the USAAF's 94th Bomb Group, whose more notable missions included those against the ball bearing works at Eberhausen and Schweinfurt, and the Marienburg raid of 9 October 1943 (hailed as the most accurate of that year). The group's leader, the charismatic Col. Frederick Castle, died in action on Christmas Eve 1944. During the war, 94 Group lost 153 aircraft and 1800 airmen killed, missing, injured or captured.
The control tower itself was targeted on the night of 3 May 1945 by ME 410s. It is one of 162 examples built to this particular Air Ministry design, of which 82 now survive, but is one of a very small number to have survived in this degree of preservation. Remarkably, some wartime signs have survived on the doors and walls.

SCAMPTON
Lincolnshire
Opened in 1936 as a bomber station, Scampton's association with the Dambuster Raids make it Bomber Command's most famous base of the Second World War. It also played an important role in the Strategic Bomber Offensive and the daylight raids in support of the Allied offensive in Europe. It continued to evolve as a landscape for the projection of deterrent power against the Soviet Union in the Cold War period.

SPITALGATE
Lincolnshire
After opening as a training station in 1917, Spitalgate was one of the few retained for use by the RAF after 1919. 3 FTS moved here from Scopwick in April 1922, and after a brief period as a bomber station, it became a training station until it was absorbed as an operational and training base into 5 Group, Bomber Command. The site was completely rebuilt between 1925-27. The mess building, designed in 1924-5, is an impressive and uniquely distinctive example of its type.

SWANTON MORLEY
Norfolk
Along with West Malling, Swanton Morley has the best-preserved example of the most definably Art Deco of the Air Ministry's control tower designs, with a meteorological section incorporated into the design, behind the control room.
One of the last phase of the 1930s Expansion Period stations, Swanton Morley was opened as a medium bomber base on 28th September 1940, followed a month later by the arrival of Blenheims from Watton. Played an active operational role in Bomber Command's 2 Group, as a medium bomber and especially Mosquito base. The first combined bombing raid with British and American personnel was launched from Swanton Morley on 29th June 1942, with both Churchill and Eisenhower present for the occasion.

UPAVON
Wiltshire
Founded in 1912 as the Royal Flying Corp's Central Flying School, Upavon comprises one of three sites around the Army training ground at Salisbury Plain which relate to the crucial formative phase in the development of military aviation in Europe, prior to the First World War. Several buildings of the 1913/14 period survive here among later development.

UXBRIDGE
London Borough of Hillingdon
This site was developed as a major armaments training school at the end of the First World War and then as a recruit-training centre for the RAF in the 1920s. The site was developed in the grounds of Hillingdon House, which still stands. The underground bunker of 1938 contains the Group Operations Room from where the vital 11 Fighter Group was commanded during the Battle of Britain.

Notes to Editors

1. The main purpose of listing a building is to ensure that care will be taken over decisions affecting its future, that any alterations respect the particular character and interest of the building, and that the case for its preservation is taken fully into account in considering the merits of any redevelopment proposals.

2. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (then known as the Department of National Heritage) announced in March 1995 that there would be public consultation on recommendations for listing arising from English Heritage's thematic studies of post-war and other building types. In August 1995 the Department announced that the consultation procedure would be extended to proposals to spot-list individual post-war buildings. However, the Secretary of State may take action to list a building at any time on the basis of information before her if she considers it to be under threat of alteration or demolition.

3. Further details of English Heritage's recommendations can be obtained from Historic Environment Designation Branch, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2-4 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5DH.

Public Enquiries: 020 7211 6200
Internet: http://www.culture.gov.uk