Western Daily Press (Saturday)
RAF vet fumes as quarry to replace wartime airfield
AFORMER RAF serviceman says it is a crying shame the heritage of a Cotswold airfield that played a pivotal role on DDay will be lost as it is turned into a quarry.
The former RAF Down Ampney base will be used as a sand and gravel quarry after Gloucestershire County Council approved plans for the site in September.
Hills Quarry Products Ltd’s wants to extract around 6.5 million tonnes over 13 years from an extraction area of 440 acres at the New Road site.
But Cirencester resident Terry Nicholson, 82, who served in the 1960s as a senior aircraftman responsible for safety and survival at nearby RAF South Cerney, said the site’s heritage should be preserved.
“I thought the heritage of that site in itself would have protected it from what they are going to do to it. It didn’t deserve this type of fate, especially given how much people went through in the war.
“It will be said by those for the consent that the actual memorial will be untouched and two parts of the end of main runway will remain and eventually the outline of the main runways will be outlined with trees.”
But he said that “the majority of the airfield will be destroyed and filled in with imported landfill”.
Mr Nicholson continued: “Also the airfield, the church, and the memorial are intrinsically linked together. All Saints’ Church was adjacent to the airfield and its spire served as a welcome sight for those returning from operations.
“I am at a complete and utter loss as to understand why this consent was given? I refuse to accept that such sentiments such as mine are solely in the domain of people of my generation.
“For example, my mum and dad lost three brothers between them. I was born during an air raid and my playground was the bomb ruins in Plymouth with 1,500 civilian lives lost so it is very much of my DNA.
“I am unable to see why RAF Down Ampney cannot continue to be farmed as it is today leaving the airfield preserved and intact including the trees as a fitting epitaph to those that served there and the many who sacrificed themselves from there in the quest for keeping our freedom. As many war memorials say, ‘for your tomorrow we gave our today’.”
Mr Nicholson applied to Historic England to consider preserving RAF Down Ampney from demolition.
But he was told that while the site has a notable history for its role in the Second World War, to demonstrate special interest more of the structures on the site from the 1940s would need to survive.
“The former RAF Down Ampney site, Gloucestershire, is not considered to be of special interest and is therefore not recommended for listing,” they said in a response to him.
During the Second World War,
RAF Down Ampney was based on the outskirts of the village and was operational from February 1944-February 1947.
The base was home to around 3,000 personnel. It was from there that RAF 48 and 271 Squadrons’ Douglas Dakotas flew on major missions.
On D-Day they dropped the main elements of the 3rd Parachute Brigade into Normandy and later in 1944 they were heavily involved in Operation Market Garden in Arnhem.
Down Ampney was part of a group of airfields dedicated to air transportation, alongside RAF Broadwell and RAF Blakehill Farm.
A HOUSING developer has been taken to court after committing four offences in Somerset relating to roadworks.
St Modwen Homes Limited appeared at Taunton Magistrates’ Court and was ordered to pay more than £30,000 in fines and costs following offences at Norton Fitzwarren. St Modwen, of Two Devon Way, Longbridge, Birmingham, admitted failing to reinstate white lines and red cycleways in the village.
It was fined £28,000, and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £190 and £3,866.50 costs.