|
|
|
RAF Silloth
Silloth aerodrome, Cumbria was opened in June 1939 as a Maintenance Command station, storing new aircraft. The station as was soon transferred to Coastal Command with the 22 Maintenance Unit remaining as a station within the aerodrome.
In April 1940, The Coastal Command group pool was re-designated No:1 Operational Training Unit. Being replaced by No:6 O.T.U in March 1943.
It was at Silloth that the "Silloth Trainer" was developed. Consisting of a Hudson fuselage with electrics and pneumatics fitted to simulate instrument readings, engine sound, and movement for "realistic" training. The device was one of the predecessors of the modern flight simulator.
After hostilities ceased, the aerodrome, was handed back to No:22 Maintenance Unit and the site was used largely for scrapping and storage.
The airfield was used briefly for civil flights in the late 1950s and was closed in 1960. Today the remaining buildings are used for industrial units and a sunday market takes advantage of the hard standing.
17th Feb 1940 Aircraft
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
|
Those known to have served at RAF Silloth during the Second World War 1939-1945. - Bird Austin.
- Bird Morton.
- Brown Gilbert Benjamim.
- Cave Victor Frank. Sqd.Ldr.
- Gardner Sidney Alfred. Sgt. (d.21st Sep 1942)
- Lambert Robert. F/Lt
- Marsh John. Sgt. (d.20th Aug 1943)
- McKenzie William Thomas. Sgt. (d.23rd July 1943)
- Walton George Crogan.
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
|
|
|
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.
- The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 25 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
- 19th Nov 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than
264989 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
- Looking for help with Family History Research?
Please read our Family History FAQs
- The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
If you enjoy this site
please consider making a donation.
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. |
|
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.
World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion
Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
|
|
Want to know more about RAF Silloth? There are:1 items tagged RAF Silloth 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. |
|
Austin Bird ground crew My grandfather, Austin Bird and my uncle, Morton Bird, both worked at Silloth on the ground.
|
Morton Bird ground crew My uncle, Morton Bird and my grandfather, Austin Bird worked at Silloth on the ground.
|
F/Lt Robert Lambert As a child of 2 in 1942 I lived with my parents and older sister Claire on the coast road in Silloth. My father, Flight Lieutenant Robert Lambert,(Coastal Command) had been posted there from Squires Gate, Blackpool as Flying Control Officer and served at Silloth until sometime in 1943 when he was posted to Reyjavik, Iceland (now Squadron Leader) as FCO. We then moved from Silloth to Hawkshead in the Lake District. Being only 3 at the time I remember very little else other than going for a fizzy pop to the Skinburness Hotel.
|
Sgt. John Marsh (d.20th Aug 1943) My cousin, RAF. SGT. John Marsh, Wireless Air Gunner, was one of the crew of Wellington X3986 when it took off for a training flight over the Solway Firth, from RAF Silloth on the 20th August 1943. The aircraft ditched into the sea at 1137 hours. It was engaged in a low level, 600ft bombing exercise, it made a run into the target and circled the target, smoke was seen to come from the aircraft, engines lost power and then it proceeded to ditch 0.5 miles off Silloth. Rescue boats failed to pick up any of the six crew members.
John's body was eventually found on the 5th September 1943 on the Solway Sands and the cause of his death was given as drowning, he was 22 years of age.
|
Sgt. Sidney Alfred Gardner 1 OTU (d.21st Sep 1942) Sidney Gardner was my late cousin.
|
George Crogan Walton Only know my father George Walton served at RAF Silloth during WW2. We have no other information.
|
Sqd.Ldr. Victor Frank Cave 206 Squadron My father, Victor Frank Cave, [service # 47778] was a Fg.Off. in 206 Squadron based at Silloth, Cumberland. On the night of 26/06/42, whilst taking part in one of Churchill's 1000 bomber raids, his Hudson was shot down.
He was held in Stalag Luft 3 as a POW until the end. His time as a POW was seldom talked about but he did describe the hell that was experienced on the Death March to Northern Germany. Though he did say the German guards had just as hard a going as the rest of the POWs.
Victor served in the RAF until he retired on the 30/07/53, he attained the rank of Sqd. Ldr. After the war & after some substantial time to recover he served in Coastal Command before being posted to RAF Nicosia 11/03/49. Then on the 23/02/51 he was moved to RAF Shallufa. Sqd. Ldr. Cave's last command in the RAF was as Officer in Command HQ, Home Command from 14/01/52 until 19/01/53
After service in the RAF the Cave family moved to Canada & in 1964 moved to N.Z. where Victor served in the NZ Hydrographic Dept. until his early death in 1969.
|
Sgt. William Thomas McKenzie (d.23rd July 1943) Sergeant William McKenzie was the son of Alexander and Emma McKenzie, of Bray. He was aged 29 when he died and is buried in the Powerscourt (St. Patrick) Church of Ireland Churchyard, Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. He was accidentally killed by walking in the dark into the moving blades of one of the propellers of a Vickers Wellington Bomber at Silloth, Cumbria, England. The plane had just returned from a night training exercise.
|
Gilbert Benjamim Brown My father was an airframe fitter, a charge hand at RAF Silloth in Cumbria, he was housed in 53 King Street, Aspatria at the time he married my Mum Marjorie Rule at Terling, Essex on 12th April 1941. I have this photograph which I believe was his fellow fitters at Silloth. My father is on the top row far right.
|
Recomended Reading.Available at discounted prices.
|
|
|
