Royal Air Force at NEWMARKET HEATH 1939-1947
Much has been written about the RAF bomber squadrons based on The Rowley Mile horseracing and training ground owned by The Jockey Club. It is alleged that Cecil
Marriott, the Jockey Club Agent was seen charging out of his house and across the Heath remonstrating about the un-announced arrival of Wellingtons of No.99 Squadron
on his patch. That was two days before the declaration of war.
During the second World War Newmarket fulfilled an important military role, supporting two active RAF airfields.
The town also sat astride the main road link from the west into East Anglia, where many RAF and USAF operational airfields had to be constructed and supplied.
The RAF also had a very active airfield at Snailwell between 1941 and 1946. basically a fighter station, it evolved into various other flying duties and hosted a
number of RAF and USAF squadrons and also had a training role for Polish and Belgian air forces.
The excellent booklet 'The Royal Air Force at Newmarket (third edition)' by John F Hamlin (published 1996) covers the period in considerable detail.
The booklet is still available from Amazon (as is the 2nd edition which has better photographs and some details not in the 3rd edition.
Trials of Britain's first jet-propelled twin-engined aircraft carried out on Newmarket Heath.
One highly secret activity at the time concerned the early development of jet propulsion aircraft and in 1942 trials were carried out on Newmarket Heath of a
prototype of our first jet-propelled fighter aircraft the Gloster Meteor. These trials were only taxying trials as the engines fitted were under powered for flight
but it is believed that on at least one run there was air between the wheels and the grass. The true first flight took place at RAF Cranwell in March 1943 and on
28th.May that year, after further trials, Gloster DG206/G the 5th prototype made the first cross country flight by a jet aircraft in this country, going off to its new base at in Oxfordshire. The aircraft developed into the Meteor, which entered service in 1944 against the V1 'buzz bombs'. |
Footnote by Rodney Vincent I can well remember stories circulating locally in 1942 of a mystery aircraft with no propellers flying from Newmarket Heath. It was nicknamed 'the whistler' from the high pitched noise it made.
It started with an enquiry from Roger Kirkpatrick about a house opposite the Church in Exning that he remembers as a boy during the war, occupied by him and his family when his father was a senior RAF officer. From Rodney Vincent NLHS webmaster.
An interesting contribution. Newmarket was buzzing with the military during the last war, with two local airfields and service people of many nations being accommodated in various degrees of comfort. December 26th 2012 a quick response from Tony Pringle.
RAF 3 Group HQ was at Exning House and I believe various sub units were about the village. Lanwade Hall was actually used for accommodaton, the decisions were taken at Harraton House in the village As you crest the hill on Burwell Road, leaving the village, there is still one military building at the rear of the farm on the left, This is all that is left of the 3 Group transmitter station.
Strangely enough Tom Stoneham (late organist at St Mary's) had worked on a SWB8 high power HF transmitter there and I actually re-installed the same transmitter on an airfield at Zutendaal near Maastricht 1967. January 2013. A follow up email from Roger Kirkpatrick
My father - at that time Wing Commander - H. "Jimmy" Kirkpatrick was twice, between 1941 and the war's end, Senior Air Staff Officer of the RAF Bomber Command's 3 Group, which had its headquarters at Exning. He himself piloted many missions over Germany.
I was 4-5 years old and remember my war time in Exning as though it were yesterday.
My younger brother was christened in St Martin's Church. A teenage girl called ?Heather, who lived in Exning, helped my mother.
Melton House Exning (formerly Manor House) no longer exists. Acknowledgements to The National Horseracing Museum January 12th 2013 From Les Morrow:
Further to Roger Kirkpatrick's memories, it was definitely the Horswill family involved with Melton House & Country Club.The entrance to it was from Church Street, the gateway being opposite the gate into Exeter Stud yard, as it was then called, the yard being part of my old home - Brickfields Stud - which was then owned by Major Harry Keylock MRCVS. From Roger Newman.
During the war my late father cycled every day from our house near the White Lion in Newmarket to I believe Landwade Hall where No 3 Group HQ had moved from Mildenhall as he was a clerical officer in the registry office. He finally retired on medical grounds in 1965 from RAF Mildenhall and passed away late 1966. From John Gentleman
From Tony Pringle.
Harraton House, Exning House and Landwade Hall all feature on various websites as 3 Group HQ. I have never been too sure exactly which it was.
The IWM though have this photo (right) with the caption Some more wartime flying memories collected by Tony Pringle.
From William Bates. rear gunner. 625 Sqd
My log-book records:
More bits and pieces:
and a bit more:
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The GPO Signal Centre at Newmarket was such that without it nothing in 3 Grp BC on WW2 would have worked. I rpt 'nothing'!: Look at:: There was also based at Harraton House Exning the headquarters of No.3 Group of Bomber Command overseeing all the many operational airfields which sprang up all over the Eastern Counties. There was a twenty-four hour staff of P.O. Engineers there to look after the telegraph and telephone equipment. I believe 20 or more WAAF teleprinter operators were at their machines when the bomb went through the Main Distribution Frame at Newmarket Exchange leaving just one of them still working. As a consequence main trunk cables from Cambridge to Newmarket and Newmarket to Ely were diverted in and out of Exning to provide alternative routings. Incidentally the building specially erected in Church Lane to house communication equipment stood empty after the war until in 1952 it was pressed into service to accommodate a U.A.X. No 13,when the couple who ran the village Post Office and the last Manual Exchange to work into Newmarket, decided to retire. This building, reckoned to be bomb-proof in those days, had walls about two feet thick, glass block window lights and a six foot layer of sand above ceiling level. The U.A.X. survived starting with 150 lines and with old recovered racks until converted to digital in the late 80's.: It were still in existence in the early 50's when I was at Wittering, and in the 60's when I was at Mildenhall (could tell a few stories about that!!). Have a good 'scrounge around' and let us see pix of what (if anything) you discover!: HTH Peter Davies
The RAF also had a Communications Centre in the town that continued well into the 1950s April 16th 2013. Margaret Cole has sent us an account of her aunt's service in the WAAF (Women's Auxiliary Air Force) during the war. This fascinating story illustrates some of the vital roles that women played alongside men in the armed forces. Of particular interest is her time at Mildenhall and Newmarket (Rowley Mile). The account can be read at WAAF Wartime (If your security settings prevent this file opening try dragging it to your Desktop and opening with Adobe Reader)
During the 1940s The Rowley Mile was home to two RAF squadrons actively involved in bombing operations against Germany and its occupied territory. For more about No 75 NZ squadron and their operations in Cambridgeshire visit the website for the RAF Museum on the old Witchford airfield site. rafwithchfordandmepal
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