New Landing Grounds

From Geocache

Merrow/Burwood Farm RLG

Burwood Farm on Merrow Downs proved to be a useful aviation facility for pilot training and touring air displays. During the 1930s a flying circus used the field as a base for local displays, with one recorded in the area in 1935. In the Second World War the RAF used the field as a relief landing ground to take overspill from Fairoaks airfield near Chobham 12 miles away.

The No. 18 Elementary Flying Training School based at Fairoaks operated De Havilland Tiger Moths from Merrow. A particular activity favoured here was the practising of forced landings. Between 1943 and 1944 the field was used as a temporary base for three RAF Taylorcraft Auster aircraft, light single-engined monoplanes used for artillery spotting. As there were no permanent facilities at Merrow any personnel based there for a time had to resort to tented accommodation.

A number of flying incidents related to the field were recorded during the war. In 1941 a Bristol Blenheim made a forced landing due to bad weather and on the following day the relief crew were brought in by light aircraft to recover the plane. Unfortunately the pilot of the relief aircraft, an Avro Anson, was unable to gain sufficient height when attempting take-off and crashed the aircraft into the outbuildings of a house on the perimeter of the field. Thankfully there were no casualties, although the plane was written off. The crew of the Blenheim having witnessed the accident reportedly decided against attempting to fly the bomber out and it was later dismantled and transported by road.
Merrow/Burwood Farm RLG

Re Hamsey Green

From Pobjoy (PPRUNE)

There had been a "Home Command" gliding site at Hamsey Green (small private airfield) near Selsdon, (also home of a certain Comper Swift),and this was one of the schools that amalgamated after the war to form 615 GS.

From WW2talk

‘C’ Flight 661Sqn RAF – Hamsey Green, WARLINGHAM

From Key (T21)

Hamsey Green airfield,near Warlingham now the Kingsmead Equestrian Centre was set up in 1933 by Richard Gardiner managing director of the Yardley Cosmetics Company. He was an avid air racer using various aircraft like the Comper Swift,Vega Gull and Mew Gull . Today the area is used by employees of Croydon Post Office.Aviation News for 22.8-4.9.86 had an interesting airfield history by Don Conway. The last users were No 162 ATC Gliding School from 1950-53 using Cadet 1 PD666, II VM646,Grunau VT923,T-21 WB987and BAC Primary NF746.

Just to add to Hamsey Green
From Sailplane and Gliding 1963

No 162 Elementary Gliding School at Hamsey Green in
Surrey was a small private airfield concealed from the 403
bus-route by a row of houses. The field is still there but the
area of the little hangar and outbuildings (one of which dispensed tea, sandwiches and ground-slide pudding) was a
riding school when last seen. Because of a slope up to the
middle, the Packard Straight-Eight winch was stationed there
in 1943 as its driver had an excellent view of what was happening to the glider, but the glider had to negotiate a snatchblock tied to a tree at the far end of the field. By 1944 a
straight winch-run and relay signalling had been substituted.
The Commanding Officer was L. E. Hatcher, possessor of
a severe squint and a Cambridge Sailplane. The former, the
result of a pre-war accident, caused some embarrassment on
parade when the Flight Sergeant at one end failed to answer
to, "SERGEANT" , apparently shouted to the other end of the
line. The latter wore camouflage paint and was rigged on
occasions for a little illicit soaring or for circuit practice for
selected instructors whose fishtailing antics on final
approaches struck awe into the pupils. (Editors note; was this
Cambridge BGA 263 or the Mk.IIA BGA 279?) In 1943 the
instructors had a BAC VI to fly (BGA 120 or 182?) and in
1944 a Tutor was acquired which lasted until August 6, when
Geoffrey Dorman, a well known Aviation Journalist, spun it in
and suffered a badly damaged thigh. At the back of the hangar
was a BAC VII for restoration i f Mr. Cross and Mr. Copeland
ever found the time. (Editors note; whatever happened to the
BAC I, BGA 101 "Columbus " which was reported here and
still around in 1953?)
Apart from Hatcher, my instructors were A. F. Copeland,
L. E. Moyse, Eric and Geoffrey Everington, Geoffrey Dorman
and Flying Officer S. Jones, then a senior officer to the
Customs and Excise Service, but formerly "Taffy" Jones, distinguished fighter pilot on the western front in Sopwith
Camels.
One more recollection is that of a lorry trip to Ottley
Motors to pick up three Cadet TX I 's. Only one was for
Hamsey Green and we took the othe r two to 161 EGS at
Burgess Hill.

With reference to Merrow RLG (actually more of an ELG) the information from bvs probably came from an article I wrote about Merrow which was then freely copied to a local Guildford web site weyriver.co.uk. However this has errors in it. Here is an updated version of my original:-
During the Second World War the RAF established a landing ground in a field one and a half miles to the east of Guildford on Merrow Downs. Part of Burwood Farm, the field was situated to the north of White Lane just under half a mile east of its junction with One Tree Hill Road and known as "40 Acre Field". It was not the site of airshows staged in the vicinity in 1933 and 1935 which were held in a field belonging to Harrow Hill Farm to the east of the A25 road at Newlands Corner.
RAF Merrow (if it ever had that title) was one of a number of satellite airfields/landing grounds used by No.18.Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) situated at Fairoaks aerodrome near Chobham. This school was opened on the 2nd October 1937 by General Aircraft Ltd, and was taken over by the RAF in September 1939.
To relieve pressure at Fairoaks, No.18.EFTS used four other landing grounds. Two Relief Landing Grounds (RLG’s), at which aircraft were based, were located at Smith's Lawn, Windsor Great Park and in a field at Winkfield near Bracknell (May 1941 until July 1945). Two further landing grounds, were used to practice forced landings (Emergency Landing Grounds (ELG’s)) one at Bray near Maidenhead, and the one at Merrow Downs.
The landing ground at Merrow may also have been used to do “circuits and bumps” and may additionally been designated as a general ELG for any aircraft able to land within its limited boundaries. Aircraft coming into land normally approached from the south-east and took-off to the north-west.
At Merrow Downs there were no facilities except for a windsock on the highest point of the western field boundary. The field straddles the ridge of the North Downs with a gentle slope downwards from east to west. To the south and north the field slopes away more significantly.
No.18.EFTS used the RAF’s ubiquitous training aircraft the De Havilland DH82a Tiger Moth.
The use of the field appears to have been on an informal basis as there seems to be no documentary evidence of a lease or agreement. The first mention of Merrow ELG in No.18.EFTS’s "Operational Record Book" is on the 12th November 1943, when it says "Morrow (sic) force landing field has been washed out".
For a while in 1943 or 1944 the landing ground was also used as a base for a flight of about three RAF Taylorcraft Austers. They were parked in the north east corner of the field with at least three tents erected for personnel. It is likely that these aircraft left after D-Day to assist the British Army in France.
In January 1941 a Bristol Blenheim Mk I of R.A.F. No.2 School of Army Cooperation (SAC), Andover made a forced landing at Merrow Downs, possibly due to poor weather, and was left there while its crew returned to their airfield by other means. On the 17th January, an Avro Anson Mk I Serial No. N9553, of ‘C’ Flight No.2. S.A.C. brought back an aircrew so that the Blenheim could be flown out. Whilst attempting to take off again, the Anson "failed to become airborne... due to the smallness of the field, lack of wind and heavy surface (snow)...[and] struck windward hedge” and crashed at 12:40 into outbuildings of "Whiteways" a house south of White Lane. The aircraft was wrecked and written off but fortunately there were no injuries. The pilot, Flying Officer T A Stewart said that in addition to the above adverse conditions he "could not get throttle into emergency position, as it was wired up - this done by the makers". There was no disciplinary action against Stewart as he was found not entirely to blame.
After the Anson’s crash it is not known how the Blenheim was recovered. Possibly the aircraft was dismantled and taken away by road. The aerial photograph from c.1947 shows what seems to be a road access out of the field mid-way along the eastern boundary leading to the Drove Road and then out to Newlands Corner. Road access through the farm or along White Lane seems unlikely given the size of an aircraft transporter vehicle.
On the 11th December 1941, a Tiger Moth Mk II, T6466 of No.18.EFTS force landed in the woods at Newlands Corner due to engine failure in flight. This seems to have been due to an over rich fuel mixture setting which the pilot, Flying Officer E R Dutt, could possibly have cleared had he been at a greater height. The aircraft was categorised as repairable and there doesn't appear to have been any injury. On the “Aircraft Accident Card” the aircraft "Duty" is shown as "Duel" but there is no mention of a pupil pilot and no reference to any disciplinary action.
Just over a year later, on the 22nd March 1943 at 15:00 hours, another No.18.EFTS Tiger Moth Mk II, T7260, crashed on the landing ground. The “Aircraft Accident Card” locates the crash as at "Merrow, F./L. Field" (Force Landing Field). The pupil pilot, Australian Sgt.Bernard.M.Pritchard RAAF, misjudged the landing and undershot the field and "struck bushes on airfield boundary and overturned". At the time, Pritchard and his instructor Flying Officer E.Cornish had been airborne for 20 minutes and were involved in flying a "Training Oval". There were no injuries but the aircraft was written off and only suitable for component recovery, while the engine was repairable. No.18.EFTS’s Commanding Officer stated that the instructor failed to take corrective action early enough and in consequence Cornish received a caution.
Pritchard, now a Warrant Officer, was later killed on 30th April 1944 during the Battle of Imphal in India. His No.60 Squadron Hurricane was hit during a ground attack on some Japanese gun emplacements but he successfully baled out. Unfortunately he landed near a patrol of British Gurkhas and when challenged by them made a run for it. As he did this he was shot and killed by them.

Peter wrote:

I managed to pull together my copies of Aeromilitaire and found some more names that I don't recall seeing before:

Buntingsdale SLG - Presumably related to Ternhill, entry date was 23 Feb 1941
Knowle LG - Is this the one near Solihull? Entry date was 24 Apr 1941
Lords Bridge LG - I think this may have been discussed but having used search for multiple purposes for the last couple of hours I have lost the will to carry on! Reference date was 29 Mar 1942
West Cairnbeg FLG - Was this around pre-Fordoun? Reference date is 11 Apr 1943.

The acronyms after the location name are as listed so I can't be sure if they are accurate. Also I assume FLG is Forced Landing Ground. Is this different from ELG? The airfields, or more accurately just fields, associated with the larger pre-war bombing ranges were only to be used for forced landings and in some cases doubled as drogue dropping areas. These would sometimes be planted or under the plough so I wonder if a FLG was similar.

Do any of these feature in any lists of WW2 airfields? My bible on this would be my 1972-4 copies of the MAS guide but can I find it??

Lords Bridge is listed in Action Stations 1 (1979) and a smaller entry occurs in Action Stations Revisited 1 (2000).
Buntingsdale could have been related to nearby Buntingsdale Hall, which was the HQ of 22 Group c.1943.
Cairnbeg is listed in Scotland Scanned (1979) and the entry reads "LG for PFLs by 8 FTS/2 FIS Montrose with Masters and Oxfords". I have the NGR as NO 697758.

Hope that helps.

Richard wrote:

Peter wrote:

Lords Bridge LG - I think this may have been discussed but having used search for multiple purposes for the last couple of hours I have lost the will to carry on! Reference date was 29 Mar 1942

Lords Bridge is listed in Action Stations 1 (1979) and a smaller entry occurs in Action Stations Revisited 1 (2000)..

AS1 states that a large field was requisitioned just north of 95MU as a landing ground.
Its in Sturtivant et al as an RLG for 22 EFTS at Cambridge from 1942 to 1945. I've had a look at GE 1945 which shows 95MU in great detail, but no signs of anything aviation around. I've also been through the ORB for 95 MU in the past and never spotted anything relating to an adjacent RLG

I have to say that the Air Ministry did some crazy things in their time but having novice pilots doing their thing just a few hundred yards from a site containing probably 10,000 toms of bombs and ammunition;, plus trains arriving loaded with tankers eventually containing 500 tons of mustard gas didn't seem too clever.. Also at Comberton across the road was Marsh Close which received 24,000+ Mustard Gas bombs from October 1941 to June 1942. These were the Light-cased 65lb weapons which were fragile (81 MU Bowes Moor noticed sheep's horns could puncture the container). You wouldn't want a Tiger Moth landing among those. Post WWII Comberton was described as having extremely serious ground contamination.