The West Berkshire Historic Environment Record (HER) is the primary index of the physical remains of past human activity in the unitary authority of West Berkshire Council. Limited elements of the West Berkshire HER are available online via the Heritage Gateway, therefore it is not suitable for use in desk-based studies associated with development, planning and land-use changes, and does not meet the requirements of paragraph 194 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2021: 56). Please read the important guidance on the use of the West Berkshire HER data. For these purposes and all other commercial enquiries, please contact the Archaeology team and complete our online HER enquiry form.

Summary

Second World War airfield used by the United States Air Force, and since 1955 a large munitions store

Other Statuses and Cross-References

• National Monuments Record No.: SU 47 SW 70
  SU 4178 7446

Monument Type(s):

• MILITARY AIRFIELD (Second World War - 1943 AD to 1945 AD)
• AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS (Mid 20th century - 1947 AD to 1952 AD)
• AMMUNITION DEPOT (Mid 20th century to Early 21st century - 1955 AD to 2050 AD)
• MILITARY BASE (Mid 20th century to Early 21st century - 1955 AD to 2050 AD)

Full Description

RAF Welford was authorised in October 1941 as an Operational Training unit. Approval was given in 1941 for the acquisition of land for a satellite for Membury as a standard RAF bomber airfield <2><3><7>.

Construction was being carried out in the spring of 1943 on land north of Welford Park known as Welford Woods; Hugman’s Wood, Stogdale Copse and two field barns and some cottages shown on the 3rd Epoch Ordnance Survey of 1912 <5> were presumably removed by this time. The airfield is on a plateau defined by the river Lambourn to the southwest and a parallel dry valley to the northeast, and this position effectively hides the site from view <9>. The airfield had three runways in an ‘A’ shape (one 6000 feet long and two 4200 feet), hardstandings for 50 dispersed aircraft and two T.2 type hangers. Accommodation for over 2000 men was provided to the north of the airfield. The area of the base included the historic site of Poughley Priory, and Poughley Farmhouse of 14th century origins was used as the Commanding Officer’s house for several years.

Welford Park, as the airfield was also known, was handed over to the USAAF in September 1943 for use as a Troop Carrier Group (TGC) with an RAF presence, although the base was still under construction at that time <2><11>. The 315th TGC arrived in November of that year and were joined by the 434th TCG and later the 435th TCG in February 1944. The 435th was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its part in the D-Day missions. They also took part in the airborne operation Market Garden. Aircraft and gliders from RAF Welford reinforced and resupplied troops of the US 101st Airborne Division during Second World War offences.

After the end of the war in Europe Welford returned to RAF use on 20 June 1945 and was tasked with training crews in para-dropping, glider-towing and resupply. It briefly became No. 1336 Transport Conversion Unity but was disbanded in March 1946. A non-flying presence was maintained until 1952.

During the Cold War, the Soviet threat meant that the United States established a presence in the countries of their alliance members <6>. In September 1955 RAF Welford was reopened by the 7531st Ammunition Squadron, Third Airforce, USAF. It became a US logistics and supply base, with a massive weapons storage area which partially obscured the old airfield layout. An ammunition maintenance capability was also developed. In the event of war, ammunition would be taken to nearby bases at Greenham Common, Brize Norton, Fairford and Upper Heyford and flown abroad.

In 1995 RAF Welford became a joint use facility by the USAF and RAF <2>. In October 2002 responsibility for Welford transferred to the 424th Air Base Squadron at Fairford <7>.

A transport link to RAF Welford was provided initially by a branch line off the Lambourn Valley railway, constructed in 1953-4 <20> and later by a slip road off the M4 motorway <2>.

The Lambourn Downs National Mapping Programme <12> recorded the remains of the Second World War air base and its post-war reuse from aerial photographs <13><14>. The three runways and aircraft hardstandings have been partially reused or incorporated into the modern site.

Much information about RAF Welford's history has been collected by the Ridgeway Military and Aviation Research Group, both on their website <8> and in a museum within the base.

A short report was compiled by Cocroft following a field visit to RAF Welford in connection with proposals to demolish some structures <9>. This gives a summary of the site’s history, landscape and settlement context, an assessment of the significance of the site as well as recommendations for future research. The post-war buildings were of a more unusual type than the wartime structures and included prefabricated Soule sheds for more sensitive weapons and components as well as munitions igloos. There were a number of memorial stones and inscribed plaques on Ammo Alley that may be of local or communal heritage interest.

RAF Welford was included in an audit commissioned by English Heritage (subsequently Historic England) of Second World War temporary airfields <10>. A scoring system rated the percentage of survival, weighted in favour of buildings and structures as opposed to runways and dispersals. No English airfields scored higher than 7/10, and Welford's rating was 3/10.

Photographs were supplied in 2013 <21> of 23 historic buildings or structures at Welford that had been demolished including the old entry control point with a small arms store, a squash (hard ball) court, a grouping of Nissen huts, a T2 type hangar, a standby-set house, two-bay pyrotechnic stores, a bomb reclamation facility as well as blast shelters.

An interactive website American Air Museum in Britain <11> includes several vertical aerial photographs of Welford taken in the 1940s by the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group <15><16><17><18><19>.

The GIS polygon of the airfield and its base has been created using a combination of National Mapping Programme transcriptions of the runways and hardstandings <12>, Historic Landscape Characterisation and 21st century aerial photographs <22>. It does not represent all the land holding within the secure fencing however, much of which is woodland.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.