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RAF Henlow
RAF Henlow is situated 5 miles north of Hitchin in Bedfordshire. It opened in May 1918 and during the second world war was home to No. 13 Maintenance Unit who assembled Canadian built Hawker Hurricanes, which arrived in packing crates. The control tower was unique as it was constructed from Hawker Hurricane wooden spares crates, sadly it was demolished in 2006 after efforts to move it to a museum were unsuccessful. The grass runways were strengthened with Sommerfeld track, a metal mesh. RAF Henlow is still active with RAF training units flying from the grass runways.
Squadrons stationed here during the Second World War.
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Those known to have served at RAF Henlow during the Second World War 1939-1945. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please
Add a Name to this List
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The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
Announcements
- 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time.
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Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our
Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. |
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Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted
photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them.
The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted.
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Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
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Want to know more about RAF Henlow ? There are:7 items tagged RAF Henlow available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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B Lesley Harding Lesley Harding volunteered for the RAF soon after the war broke out in 1939. He did his Square Bashing etc at Uxbridge and when this was finished he was posted to Henlow to train as an Aircraft Electrician. When this training was finished he was posted to Bircham Newton in Norfolk to a Squadron of Blenheim Bombers.
Towards the end of 1940 the squadron moved to Limavaddy in Northern Ireland where it stayed until about May of 1941. Then without any Embarkation leave he was put on a convoy to Egypt via South Africa. Dad was possibly the worst sailor and suffered horribly from seasickness.
The convoy put in at Capetown and stayed there for a few days to allow the troops to recover. When they set off again dad told me about the lady opera singer who used to stand on the dockside and sing to each convoy as they left the harbour. Hazel and I heard about this when we visited South Africa a couple of years ago.
Upon arrival in Egypt, Dad was posted to a Squadron of Wellington Bombers and moved up into the desert where the Eighth Army were fighting the Italian Army. Then the German Afrika Corps joined in the fighting and drove the British back to Torbruk. When the Eighth Army were strong enough they began to push the Germans back and a lot of the RAF Personnel, Dad included, were used as Army backup Troops.
Then dad, and part of his Squadron, were posted to Malta. The Germans had cut Malta off from the Convoys supplying Food etc., living in starvation conditions. Then the Navy eventually managed to get though and things changed for the better. Dad went onto serve in Sicilly and Italy until the war ended. He finally arrived home about September 1945, and found his little brother serving in the Parachute Regiment.
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LAC. Henry Thomas Fell 13 Maintenance Unit My Dad, Henry Fell, served with the Royal Air Force No. 13 Maintenance Unit in WW2. He was stationed at RAF Henlow during WW2 from about 1941. Because he was an engineer, he was suited as ground crew and often talked about the sheds. My brother was born in 1942 and when dad was allowed home he would tell him that he had landed his plane on top of the flats. Luckily he did not have to go overseas and died in 1995.
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