Many moons ago some wonderful chaps on the old AiX gave me loads of help in a research project on the Preston Capes bombing range. I promised that if I ever got some close up pictures of the surviving QS I would post them so, if any of you chaps are still out there ... enjoy!
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The following user(s) said Thank You: PETERTHEEATER, Ossington_2008
Many thanks for posting the photos. I still find it remarkable that these building survive. I checked on my notes on Preston Capes and the last entry was in fact your information about the farm nearby!
I found it odd that this range is one of those that doesn't seem to be mentioned in unit or station record books and so far not in any aircrew log books (a great source -sometimes).
No Amount Of Evidence Will Ever Persuade An Idiot (probably not Mark Twain)
Hello Peter! It's lovely to speak to you again! You and PNK were so incredibly kind and helpful to me
It is in pretty poor condition, but considering it's 80 odd years old, was thrown up in a hurry and has had absolutely no maintenance in all that time it is amazing that it's still standing. Being on the SMR gives it some protection, but sadly that doesn't seem to extend to maintenance.
It's very frustrating not having any official information about the range. All the old yokels know about it, some vaguely remember it in operation and I've been told a few stories (like the old boy who with a gang of mates all aged 8-12 tried to persuade a couple of Home Guard chaps, who were stationed at the gate blocking the road which crossed the range, to allow them through for a closer look!).
I don't remember if I posted this before, but below is a photo of what's left of Lodge Farm - the farmhouse which was abandoned when the range was built, was behind the rickety wooden shed on the left. It was damaged by stray practice bombs and eventually demolished in the 70's. The hill rising behind it is where the other tower was.
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I did look back at my old posts on the RAF Command forum and here and started to consider farms again. I think on the majority of ranges, farm house were generally avoided or on the very edges of the danger area (up to 1,000 yards from the target) but I am now looking back to see how many were inside the danger area and were removed post war. The only range that troubled me was Lavendon where there were farm buildings about 500 feet from the target. They too are no longer there.
The other was fences around ranges and I believe there were no fences added around danger areas but there were around the quadrants and the big direction arrows - probably to keep the kids out. All normally access routes into the danger areas would have danger boards set up to warn any walkers of the range and to look out for red flags. The local farmers whose land they were on should have been well aware of the range limits as they would have bee given a plan of the requisitioned areas and it is some of those plans that are the only record of the range layouts.
It suspect there are many plans out there waiting to be uncovered, assuming newer generations haven't put them in the recycling. I have even bought one off Ebay!
Now I will dig out the old OS maps for Preston Capes
No Amount Of Evidence Will Ever Persuade An Idiot (probably not Mark Twain)
I don't think the Preston Capes range was fenced - the road through it was a gated road and when it was first operational, the gates were manned by the local Dads Army though I don't know how long this was done for.
The fields were tenanted by a local farmer but mostly worked by the WarAg. My Uncles father in law was one of 3 WarAg men who worked on it - he said that they were given schedules of when it was safe and they often had to rush to get done in the allotted times.
I don't know if it happened at Preston Capes, but there were cases of aircraft bombing the wrong range and sometimes during a closed period. The ranges did operate to a schedule of sorts but most were busy seven days a week. However, it was often the case that farmers would agree to certain times when the range was closed to bring in crops or plant them.
One peculiar thing about the daily schedules is that on some ranges they were often dropped over the master quadrant by an aircraft from the local units using the range. Schedules would no doubt be adjusted on the day due to weather and aircrew availability.
If only the range log books had survived the war, all I have is a blank unused one.
No Amount Of Evidence Will Ever Persuade An Idiot (probably not Mark Twain)
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