Driffield and Davidstowe Moor

I think it is now more of a case of ‘fiddling whilst Rome burns’. Driffield may not be a premier site but it is representative of the situation befalling all airfields at present. We will soon be in a situation where very little remains on the landscape to indicate past deeds, and I am not just talking WWII here. Take a look at the evidence for WWI airfields, just a few fragile remnants remain and the majority of those are hangars.

Coming from Scarborough I often think airfields and their current ‘high speed demise’ can be paralleled with the ship building industry. Scarborough, along with the majority of other sea ports once had its own ship building industry, now only demonstrated by the odd sepia photograph. I would like to hope we are not close to that juncture with airfields but fear we might be.

A nice ray of hope. I was at RAF Davidstowe Moor today and spent an interesting afternoon with David Keast who has, with the help of a small band, put together a museum and raised a memorial to the site and its airmen. This I think will be the future for many airfields.

As to Driffield it is not the first and unfortunately will not be the last.