Goodbye RAF Edzell

Here’s a photo of Edzell taken not so long ago
Edzell by wwshack, on Flickr

RAF Edzell USAF and RAF

In 1998 the entire post war Officers and NCO married quarters plus the post war USAF housing stock including the USAF Officers mess and PX were acquired by the Welbeck Estate Group. It comprised 155 houses and after upgrading they were sold on the open market and a newly created village was established named Edzell Woods. Over the ensuing 4 years the runway was reused by the regular fortnightly visits by Welbeck Estate’s BBC Air de Havilland Dove G-HBBC (former Royal Flight Devon VP961)

Here is Fordoun from the air.

http://www.content-delivery.co.uk/aviation/airfields/Fordoun.html

I lived a few miles from Edzell for many years. It was always a place of mystery and intrigue. Nobody was supposed to know what went on there and access was all but impossible. The local paper once gave it away when a US Navy chap married a local girl and they gave his job as “Russian interpreter” !

There were rumours that the US still used the runways from time to time but I never saw proof or evidence for such an event. I don’t know when the last aircraft would have been.

I don’t know of any local memorials to the crews lost while flying out of Edzell and its satellites during WW2. I guess being a training base it had its fair share of accidents. It would be nice if there was such a memorial.

The history according to Wiki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Edzell

I thought the aerials left when the USN did – there was motorbike racing and stock cars on the runways for a while after the closure….

Mile long runways. Covered with aerials!!