Dear all,
My children attend this school and quite commendably i feel in this day and age the school is actively trying to save some of the old airfield at Oakington as a memorial to the bomber crews who flew and died from there.
I find this quite heartening in this P/C world that our local youngsters are being encouraged to do this.
If anyone can or would like to express their views and concerns please feel free to look at the website,
Many thanks 🙂
Swavesey Village College : Longstanton Heritage centre petition
This message is sent in support of a local group trying to create a Heritage centre within the proposed development at Northstowe. The museum and heritage centre would preserve 8 RAF buildings and be used for local school children to discover the history of the WWII RAF Bomber Command station at Oakington.
If you would like to read more, please see the attachment and visit their website below. Letters of support are welcome, or just print off the petition form and send it in to them. Their address can be found on the attachment.
The school will put out the petition in our reception for visitors to the school.
Further details can be found at:
Once on website go to Information – Latest News – December
By: trumper - 26th January 2013 at 11:15
Just doing a quick search for someone about Oakington and came up with this thread with some photos just before they started demolishing the site.
http://www.airfieldinformationexchange.org/community/showthread.php?1259-Oakington/page15
By: Gingie - 18th February 2011 at 11:02
After a quick trip yesterday, there is now plant on site and some activity however I don’t know how much, i’ll keep an ear to the ground.
By: trumper - 11th January 2011 at 21:30
I signed but wasnt sure about the donation part??
Hello Peter,No i don’t think that is anything to do with the organisation ,i think that is for the people running the online petition itself.Thanks for signing.:)
By: kartman - 11th January 2011 at 20:35
Signed, hope you can preserve them………….Martin
By: Peter - 11th January 2011 at 18:04
I signed but wasnt sure about the donation part??
By: Wyvernfan - 11th January 2011 at 17:46
Signed. Good luck :).
By: Blue_2 - 11th January 2011 at 15:18
Signed. Best of luck in making sure RAF Oakington and its contribution isn’t forgotten.
By: BPS - 11th January 2011 at 15:10
Thank you Anon and JT.
You are luckier than I, Anon as I have never set foot on the airfield.
You have some great ideas to develop the site but there is no chance of it falling into rack and ruin as the buildings are either saved or bulldozed for development (with the exception of one token building).
The heritage society feel as if they are battling everyone and they really do need all the support they can get.
So thank you to everyone who has signed the petition and if you haven’t quite got round to it yet, can I please ask you to consider doing so?
David
By: me109g4 - 9th January 2011 at 18:55
Done on the petition. JT
By: Arabella-Cox - 8th January 2011 at 21:08
Oakington
I used to know a 7 Squadron Stirling pilot who flew from Oakington early in WW2. I was fascinated to hear his stories and knew that most of what he experienced went untold.
I had the opportunity to visit Oakington station a few years ago when a large car boot sale was held there. I took a look around the tables all the while I was fascinated by the great imposing hangars in the background.
I then took a walk over and found that it was possible to enter some of them and also walk around the deserted roads of the camp behind. Everything was still there, intact – the only things missing were the men and the aeroplanes.
The grass was overgrown but the roads were clear and one could easily imagine the place in its heyday all neatly trimmed, RAF personnel walking or marching around all the time to a backdrop of roaring Merlin or Hercules engines as aircraft came and went.
I was surprised at the completeness of what remained and it would be great to see at least some of it preserved. I wonder, though, if the locals are successful, what they will do with the buildings. Is this the beginnings of a new aircraft museum?
Many aircraft types flew from RAF Oakington including the Vampire T.11. Perhaps one could be found which previously served there? Any display could feature just about all of the major aircraft types used from 1939 until the mid-1970’s so it would be quite a sight, even if only in pictorial form.
Perhaps a memorial could be built to incorporate the names of every one of the 900 men who were killed on ops out of there. I wonder if this number also includes the post-war casualties?
It would be good to save something now before it was too late and the place was vandalised and fell into rack and ruin.
Anon.
By: trumper - 8th January 2011 at 18:52
🙂 Thanks for posting that link,they did e mail and say they would let me know when it was online,i shall sign it now THANKS 😀
By: BPS - 8th January 2011 at 18:20
Could I please remind everyone that the closing date for signing the online petition is 14th January 2011?
It is great to see a local school and community rallying support to try to save a number of buildings including the mess rooms and station headquarters for the good of the local community and to preserve the memory of the RAF Pathfinder bomber base.
The link to the online petition is http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saverafoakington.
From my contact with LDHS (Longstanton and District Heritage Society) they are in a race against time and need all the help they can get. Therefore, could I please ask anyone to sign up and get your friends and family to do so as well?
Why am I so keen?
Well, my father was a decorated pathfinder navigator who flew from Oakington throughout most of 1944.
David
P.S. I have checked Forum rules and I hope I am not breaking rules with this post
By: pagen01 - 13th December 2010 at 12:12
Also is there any chance of the control tower being preserved.. or has that been demolished already?
Not much Rob, it was demolished years ago.
Edit, some nice pictures of it here though, http://www.controltowers.co.uk/O/Oakington.htm
By: trumper - 13th December 2010 at 10:26
🙂 They are in the process of creating an online petition,as soon as i receive the information i will pass it on for anyone interested ,Thanks 🙂
By: Wyvernfan - 10th December 2010 at 16:38
Very commendable and i shall be signing the petition for the retention of these buildings. Can i just ask which building are they, as i cannot see a mention of them specifically. Also is there any chance of the control tower being preserved.. or has that been demolished already?
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December 10, 2010 at 4:14 pm