After speaking to a friend several years ago i can remember him saying that every airfield has a dump and told me about a couple around Woodhall spa area.
I explored one and found many things from cutlery and plates to merlin gaskets plus various day to day items.
I also explored Raf Binbrooks dump which still brings up many a interesting item including a Lighting jet wing which is still there.
Has anyone heard of these places as stuff had to be disposed off or buried somewhere.
Most airfields had them, found bits of Liberator and Lancaster at St Eval, and Shackleton at St Mawgan, and that was without looking too hard.
Generally it is domestic waste you find, like mess plates old vehicles etc.
When,(I Think) 6th Airborne left RAF Netheravon after the war they had too much surplus. They took it to a place called Saddlers Pit, Everleigh on Salisbury Plane and dumped motorcycles, nuts, bolts, tools, etc. We were still using washers from the dump in 1980 in our garage at Netheravon. The motor bikes went to the local bus company that beet my father to the best hall. I believe Jeeps were being sold off cheep in the area by some of the soldiers.
SU 190 514 is the exact spot of Sadlers pit and has now been completely filled in, but I don't think there would be anything to find now. Some of the smaller ones were just slit trenches dug in hedgerows at random. You could spend the rest of your life out there with a metal detector searching for them. At RAF Smeatharpe /Upottery the Americans cut spanners in half and smashed everything up when they left. And you thought we had vandals. The orders were to leave nothing useful, why I have no idea. The airborne were over their equipment entitlement.
At the Red Lion pub at Chisenbury for many years the owner kept his chickens in a part of a glider body.
I was involved in digging the airfield dump at Stansted, and If I remember the year it was 1981. All sorts of material from battle damaged Marauders came to light from that site, it comprised of a very long trench with the earth 'clamped' over the top, just as you store potatoes. Small trees were growing out of the top of these earth berms. The site of it is now under the dual carriageway of the A120.
When we were building the Hunsdon memorial, an old chap pointed out where all the cutlery from the airmans, Sergeants and Officers mess's were dumped. We know roughly where it is and will investigate it one day
I am sure there is more to be found, the only problem being is that it will be the developer who finds it. RAF Warmwell has had a new housing development built on the rear of the old camp and the site office is (supposed) to be on its dump. Well I cannot imagine a developer wanting an archaeological dig on his site if he can help
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Thornaby had a dump not far from a public footpath which ran into Stainsby Woods. When I was a lad I was interested in electronics and a lot of radio / radar / electrical equipment used to turn up here. In all I probably collected fifty or so small items which today would have sold on Ebay for probably £10 - 25 each. A missed opportunity as I disposed of them decades ago.
Plan A is always more effective when the problem you are working on understands that Plan B will involve the use of dynamite
A friend of mine walked his dog down near Stainsby Beck behind the old airfield and often found pieces of 'aeronautical junk' which he recovered for me . Unfortunately it often included small arms ammunition obviously dumped in there when the airfield closed or by airmen working in the bomb dump which also bordered the beck which ran along the eastern side of the airfield . In the 1970's a huge cache of ammo was found while contractors were building 'Thornaby Newtown' and the area was closed off for days while it was disposed of . I have also been told that a Meteor or possibly Vampire wing was used to block a hole in the boundary fence !
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