Yatesbury flying sites
YATESBURY: Military aerodrome (Aka RAF CHERHILL)
(Much later microlight strip, see seperate entry below)
Military users: WW1: RFC/RAF aerodrome.
RFC/RAF Training Squadron Station and Training Depot Station 1916 to 1919
RFC 28 Sqdn (Avro 504Ks & Sopwith Camels)
66 Reserve Sqdn (Sopwith Pups)
99 (Madras Presidency) Sqdn (de Havilland DH.9)
Australian Flying Corps
No.7 & No.8 Squadrons (A wide variety of types)
Note: These three pictures from postcards were kindly sent by Mike Charlton who has an amazing collection. See, www.aviationpostcard.co.uk
Second picture: I wonder if anybody can kindly offer advice? The aircraft look to me like a version of the Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8 (?) which would presumably pre-date the types listed above in WW1? Is it possible this picture was taken around 1915/16?
Third picture: Here again an interesting picture. Clearly taken by an amateur with a very basic camera, why was this selected for a postcard? And, to date, I can find no mention of Avro Ansons operating here. Once again, any advice will be most welcome. I suspect, but only suspect, that this picture may have been taken just before WW2?
Between the wars: Closed from 1920 until 1935.
10 ERFTS (Hawker Harts)
Also civilian flying school, operated by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, training RAF pilots.
No.10 ER&FTS [Elementary Reserve & Flying Training School] (de Havilland DH82 Tiger Moths)
WW2: RAF Technical Training 27 Group
2 RS (Radio School)
Location: Originally divided into the ‘Western Aerodrome’ and ‘Eastern Aerodrome’, N of A4, S to SW of Yatesbury, 4nm E of Calne
Period of operation: Military: 1916 to 1969
Site areas: WW1: (Eastern Aerodrome) 278 acres 1097 x 1280
(Western Aerodrome) 260 acres 1006 x 960
Runways: WW2: Steel matting 13/31 889 grass 03/21 865 grass
NOTES: 28 Squadron has at least one claim to fame. They had an Indian pilot, one Harditt Singh Malik, the first to fly with the RFC who wore a specially fitted leather helmet over his turban. In his excellent book Fighter Heroes of WW1 Joshua Levine tells this story; He had - “applied for a commission in the RFC on completion of his history course at Oxford University. He had been rejected, before being accepted by the French flying service. (My note: The French have always been far better than the British at accepting people on their abilities rather than race). When Malik’s Oxford tutor heard that a suitable subject of the British Empire had been turned down for a commission, presumably on racial grounds, he wrote to Sir David Henderson, a friend of his, asking him to intervene. Strings were pulled, bigotry was forgotten, and Malik was commissioned into 28 Squadron.”
Which just goes to prove, in the UK (as elsewhere of course) it is invariably 'who you know' rather than 'what you know' that invariably really counts. What doesn’t appear known is where Malik joined 28 Squadron. Was it here, or when they were stationed in France? As with so many Squadrons it is well worth a ‘Google’ to read their fascinating history.
BETWEEN THE WARS
According to a web-site, www.forces-war-records.co.uk/unit -info/2031/ : “The airfield returned to pasture land in 1920, and remained so until mid 1935 when the Bristol Aircraft Company purchased the site to house its Bristol Volunteer Reserve Flying School. In February 1938 the title of the school was changed to No. 10 Elementary Reserve Flying Training School.” – “An advanced flying training aspect was also undertaken, for which a lesser number of Hawker Harts were issued. In September 1938 a second contract was awarded for the training of Navigators, this element becoming known as No. 2 Civilian Air Navigation School.”
It is often mostly forgotten, or perhaps should I say - ignored?, (even today), that behind every military pilot (or aircrew member) a very substantial number of essential ground based people are required, from cooks and admin staff to highly trained technical people. Were cooks and admin staff also “highly trained” in those days? I expect they are today. “With the rapid expansion of the RAF in mid 1938, a very large wooden hutted campsite was built a few hundred yards to the east of the airfield, which opened as No.2 Electrical and Wireless School in September. This school was later to train thousands of ground wireless operator/mechanics for the regular RAF.”
WORLD WAR TWO
“As soon as the war broke out in September 1939 the resident flying school dropped the Reserve part of its title, and at the same time was placed on a war footing, with many more RAF personnel being posted in. The number of Tiger Moths in use quickly approached sixty as the requirement for new pilots rose rapidly. The students under training were then called up for the RAF, and everyone was in uniform except the Bristol Aircraft Company ground staff.”
“Due to the increase of air wireless operators requiring air experience the resident No.10 EFTS transferred to Weston Super Mare in September 1940, and on the following December 14th the No. 2 AON.S closed down.” But, “By mid 1942 some 150 Proctors or Dominie aircraft were on strength, which gives some measure of the number of wireless operators passing through Yatesbury. In December 1942 part of the school became No.9 Radio School, which also embraced Radio Direction Finding techniques, but by then many instructors and pilots were members of the RAF, although there was still many civilians on the staff, especially in the huge neighbouring ground school. A further title change occurred in early 1943 when it reverted to No.2 Radio School, which still operated well over one hundred aircraft.”
IS IT JUST ME?
Having been totally immersed from an early age in certain aspects of aviation, the CHERHILL/YATESBURY site meant nothing to me. I’d never heard of it, and if I had, would, without much doubt, have dismissed it as being of no consequence or interest. Indeed, having frequently driven past the site, on the A4 in the early 1970s, I have no recollection of seeing anything resembling a large military establishment, let alone a major airfield, existing.
Which probably accounts for me noting, shortly after I started the research into this ‘Guide’ in around 2000: “Here again there seems a very good reason to doubt ‘so called’ official records? According to one source at the end of 1944 YATESBURY had 7179 RAF personnel based here ‘on station’ plus 681 WAAFs. I have no good reason to argue against these statistics except that these really are exceptionally large numbers. Does this reflect the importance of the site for the D-Day invasion perhaps? This seems so unlikely.”
It wasn’t until 2014 that I discovered the fuller history of this site. All along the line, in the years of research, I have been amazed by two major aspects of aviation sites. The first being that so often much infrastructure still exists, the second being that equally often nothing gives a clue that the site ever existed. There seems to be no particular ryhme or reason for this - just the hand of fate perhaps.
POST WW2
Again from the web-site: “The airfield aspect then became the home of No. 2 Elementary Flying Training School whose role was still training a few student pilots for the post-war RAF. Once again Tiger Moths were in use, chiefly for performing take off and landing practice, only this time at a much reduced rate. However, with the dramatic cut back in the strength of the RAF the school closed in September 1947. Although the RAF found little further use for the airfield, other than by visiting light aircraft, or aircraft flown in for ground instructional training, civilian aircraft clubs used it for another ten years, but no exact date can be found as to when flying actually ceased.”
“In April 1969 the RAF abandoned Yatesbury completely.”
MORE NOTES
In his excellent book Tiger Moth Stuart McKay has this to tell us about how this classic type was used after WW2: “The RAF’s Elementary Flying Training Schools were still well stocked with Tiger Moths in the late Forties and in addition there were Station Flights, Grading, Air Navigation, Test Pilot, Glider Pilot, Beam Approach and Air Traffic Schools, Conversion, Display, Recruitment and Maintenance Units. It was possible to tell what belonged to whom through a complicated system of code letters carried on the fuselage, usually straddling the roundel, and with some exceptions, all Tiger Moths were painted in their last coat of warpaint: the universal silver dope described in official handouts as “aluminium”.
Today it can easily be a subject of amusement, to see how incredibly conservative the majority of British people in aviation were, regarding aircraft colour schemes after WW2. Any hint of colour had to be of a rather conservative hue, and even then – any further embellishment such as lines or shapes - constrained. As we now know, this attitude seemed almost purposely designed to inhibit easy air-to-air visual identification and therefore positively enabling airborne collisions to happen. Which they did, quite frequently. But of course, in those days almost nobody in civilian paid much if any thought to this aspect of aviation - except the military who eventually introduced large 'day-glo' areas onto aircraft which weren't engaged on front line operations. However, regarding even the latter types, one wag of foreign extraction once asked - "Why do the RAF paint targets on their aircraft?"
JUST ONE MORE NOTE
On the modern Ordnance Survey map an airstrip is shown just to the SW of the site and this is the microlight strip listed below. And, I believe, this current site may well have been on the southern area of the WW1 'Western' aerodrome.
JUST ONE MORE EXTRA NOTE
In July 2023, Mr Graham Frost, a great friend of this 'Guide', discovered in the official records that the Miles M.25 Sparrowhawk, G-ADWW, was based here, registered from 27.05.36 until November 1936. When it was sold to the USA as NC191M.
YATESBURY FIELD: Microlight airfield
Note: All six of these pictures were obtained from Google Earth ©
Note: Picture by the author.
Operated by: Mr Tony Hughes
Flying club/school: Wiltshire Microlight Centre
Location: Near Cherhill roughly 2.5nm E of Calne
Period of operation: 1995 to -
Runway: 10/28 410x19 grass
NOTES: It is well worth calling in here to ask to see the astonishing collection of photographs on display in the club house - of crop circles.
Sue Harvey
This comment was written on: 2020-07-30 15:35:06The Wiltshire Microlight centre operating from the Yatesbury field is a lovely venue to visit. The history of the site is fascinating and many ex-service men have visited to reminisce. A comprehensive book, “The history of Yatesbury” is on sale there at £20 and makes interesting reading. Air experience flights are available and can be booked online at Wiltsmicrolights.com. Well worth a visit.
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