RAF Blidworth

I came across this photograph the other day It is the site of the former RAF Blidworth. I took this in the middle 80’s whilst flying in a Jodel with the well known author, my friend, W.A.Harrison and I thought that it might have wider interest. I then lived about half a mile from the right of this picture.

I also walked the ground around that time with local historian Wilf Baguley and Ron Blake (co author of The Airfields of Lincolnshire since 1912) with permission of the land owner the late Col Abel Smith (I believe a cousin of the late Queen Mother) and we found the original compass base by then overgrown in the trees

The airstrip ran from D to E with D being the ancient hedge field boundary grubbed out to lengthen the run . F to F is the Longdale lane and G a modern pump facility at the intersection of Rigg Lane where it crosses the Longdale lane.

A is a postwar bungalow which was built around the the original RAF Guardroom. B is the taxi track down to storage and dispersal areas among the trees. C is the later Craft centre and art facility housed in old wooden military huts.

Action Stations No 2 informs us that Westland Whirlwinds and later Lockheed Lightnings were stored there. It was also used by Tiger Moths from the Polish School at Hucknall as a relief landing ground. An old lady who lived on Rigg lane who I interviewed many years ago mentioned some aeroplanes “with lots of glass windows” whose name began with the letter ‘A’, operated from there in the middle of the war.

I think that these may have been the Polish Auster AOP spotters who formed at Hucknall and then went to Italy.

I’ll just say that this is all private ground.

John