Henfield,Sussex WW2 Landing Ground ?

Thanks Thirddam… Yes I absolutely understand about the rarity of cameras in those days…
I grew up with Box Brownies/110’s etc : )

rgds baz

Hi baz.. will get in touch with my cousin re. any photo`s, but in those days, cameras were a luxury, (box brownie!!)

Thirddam.

The forum comes to the rescue again. Nice to get the story behind the question and see it answered. I think that a lot of the time , when one enquires about these things, the people who say it never existed are usually people too young to have been alive or didn’t live in the area at the time.

Just a thought Thirddam

Any family photos taken around Woolfly either during or just after the war ?

Or have you seen any other pictures locally ?

rgds baz

Thanks for the recent replies everybody – much appreciated !
I have not been spending much time in sussex for the last few years so never made it for a ‘proper’ look.
Always nice to have some local input about these minor airfields.

rgds baz

Hi,
You have got the landing strip right..the red circle is actually, Woolfly Cottage,, Park Farm is directly to the east 600/800yds. The strip was the two fields (one either side of Park Farm road)..My aunt and uncle lived in Woolfly cottage at the time..
Regards.. Thirddam

Re. Park Farm Air Strip…
I was born in North end of Henfield. I remember well, my father taking me across the fields on a Sunday , we would stop at the wooden bridge at woolfly that crossed the stream there and watch the aircraft taking off over us..wonderful memories. I was told by my father and others, it was used to repair/refuel and rearm? Incidentally, my aunt, uncle and cousins lived in Woolfly cottage, which was beside the strip and about 400/ 500yds up from the bridge and I would often go there to play. I also remember the night that six bombs were dropped along the Wantley stream (Chess Brook) with three failing to detonate!!! After the war ended, most of the older men, including my father, managed to obtain some of the steel landing mesh and 2ft. metal stakes, from which they made fences and hen runs.

Park farm emergency landing strips

…there’s some more info on this page…
http://100megsfree.com/hhg/page8.html

best regards,

David

Re Henfield landing ground.
I was born in Henfield and vividly remember the emergency airfield at Park farm. I think it would have been summer 1944 on a sunday morning, I was with my father in the garden of our remote farm cottage, when we heard a terrific noise approaching. A large airplane struggled by directly overhead. The noise was a terrible clattering and banging, sounding nothing like the engines we were used to. My father said that the plane must be heading for the emergency field at park farm. It was usual for our family to go walking on sunday evenings and end up at a local pub. As Park farm was on the Wheatsheaf Road, we would walk that way to the Wheatsheaf pub. On the airfield stood a large twin engined airplane. I was only a small boy, but to me it looked extremely damaged and was dripping oil all over.
Moving on to around the year 2000 I had decided that I would like to write a chronicle of my lifetime. The damaged plane at Park Farm came to mind, and I would like more details. I contacted the Henfield museum, and was told that no such airfield existed! Undeterred I carried on and was able to trace a man that I knew lived at Park Farm in 1944. He remembered the incident clearly, and confirmed the aircraft as a Mitchell Marauder. I also found out that when the hedgerows had been grubbed out and the field considered operational, two spitfires performed practice landings at this airfield. As for the Marauder I know nothing except it was not long at Park Farm

I think that there is a thread on the Henfield landing ground on the AIX forum. I should have checked there when I was visiting earlier this morning.

thanks AA…yes I had seen the aix thread but other than the aerial photo (same area as my 1st GE pic) there is no other info,I have seen henfield mentioned on a couple of occasions as being used for pre D Day strip landing practice,it is quite possible that the site used had a previous aviation connection, I live quite close to it so of local interest.

regards BV

I think that there is a thread on the Henfield landing ground on the AIX forum. I should have checked there when I was visiting earlier this morning.

‘Sussex Airfields in the Second World War’ (Robin J. Brooks – Countryside Books, 1993) makes only one mention of Henfield as follows:

“Of particular interest was the letter sent from the Air Ministry on 15th September 1942 to Sussex County Council stating that at a meeting held at the Ministry it was agreed that the following sites originally under consideration had been abandoned – Shortgate, Hurstpierpoint, Henfield, Ripe and Halland”.

Maybe the reason why Henfield had been under consideration was that it had seen some prior aerial activity and thus was viewed as having potential as a landing ground. I too think that I have seen mentions on the web concerning a Henfield landing ground – but I may be confusing that with the pre-war gliding site on the outskirts of Henfield.