Hello from East Yorkshire

Hello,
My name is Keith and I live in the East Riding of Yorkshire. I was brought up just north of York. My interest in old aerodromes began as a child, when my parents took me every year to see the new born lambs and piglets which were kept on land at what had been RAF East Moor. In my early and mid teens, I spent many happy hours roaming around the derelict remains at East Moor and Clifton/York/Rawcliffe, wondering what had gone on there during the war.

Later on, I was an active member of the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington, from its start in 1985 through to 1994. I was very involved in restoring the Watch Office there, amongst other things. During my time spent at the museum, I had the honour of meeting Sir “Gus” Walker, Leonard Cheshire, the ATA pilot Lettice Curtis and the SOE agent Yvonne Cormeau, along with many wartime RAF and RCAF personnel, many of whom are no longer with us. I also spent an afternoon with Courteney Cox and her sister, but that’s another story ! For some time during this period, I was a member of the Airfield Research Group and I remember one particular member being very helpful and encouraging. I think he was named Ray or Roy and he may have lived near Leicester and he was possibly the membership secretary at the time (after thirty years I'm afraid the details are a bit hazy).

In 1994, together with a small group of friends, we started the restoration of the Watch Tower at what had been RAF Melbourne. Family and life eventually got in the way and my involvement in the project dwindled, although nominally I am still a part of the project.

My background is in construction and I was a quantity surveyor for fifteen years until I had to take a change of direction due to health problems.

I am not an aircraft nut, although I particularly like, and am interested in, the Lancaster. I don’t like flying and have only flown three times, but not in the last twenty years ! The buildings (especially temporary wartime types) interest me as well as the civil engineering and communication installations. I am particularly interested in the Bomber Command Group Headquarters and was lucky to visit Bawtry Hall (No.1 Group) on a number of occasions after the MOD had vacated it, but prior to the conversion to its present day use. It was quite spine tingling to sit in Bawtry Hall watching the colour film Night Bombers, some of which was filmed in the room we were sat in !

Keith

Thanks for the welcome, Peter. Pocklington is not very far from me at all. Unfortunately there's very few wartime buildings remaining now and the Watch Office was demolished some years ago, but remained as a pile of bricks for some time. At least flying still takes place from there by the local glider club.

You'd be very hard pressed to find anything remaining from York/Rawcliffe/Clifton's past aviation history, as it's now one huge retail/housing/light industrial development. Some years ago, a friend and I came very close to being arrested for poaching at Clifton. We were actually looking for pieces of Halifax bomber on the dump close to where many were scrapped. Someone saw us from a passing car and reported us to the police. The policeman took some convincing as to what we were up to until we showed him that our bag contained small bits of aircraft rather than rabbits. He was then very interested and after asking us about the history let us on our way ! There are a few bits and pieces still hidden away but you have to know where to go looking.

So much has been lost in the last 30 years or so.

Keith

Hi there...greetings from County Durham

I spent time at York back in the early 1990s when i did my degree there - and yes I spent time wandering around some old airfields - Pocklington, Rufforth, Marston Moor...Clifton had gone by then I believe under the Clifton Moor experience - an out of town shopping center and a huge Tescos..

In recent years I have been concentrating on those airfields just to the North of there - Tholthorpe, Skipton, Croft, Scorton (Not much there either) and so on..I have never been to East Moor, how strange is that...can I admit that I haven't made it to Melbourne either, and didnt know that the tower had been restored - how remiss of me, maybe next year - is it visitable he asks hoping that the answer is yes...

welcome to the site

Chris