Bird Flu discovered on WWII Airfield

[M5Clive]

Following on from the thought provoking thread about saving Upottery airfield in Devon in the Event Photo & Logbook section, I thought it was worth mentioning about the old airfield at Halesworth which has seen such a recent media frenzy.

 

Bernard Matthews turkey farm where the Bird Flu has recently been discovered near Lowestoft is in-fact one of the most intact WWII USAAF airfields remaining in Suffolk.

 

Being only 8 miles from the coast, Halesworth airfield's construction was started in 1942 and finished by the summer of 1943. From July 1943 it was home to the 56th Fighter Group, led by Col Hub Zemke, who later went-on to become one of the top Fighter Aces in the United States Fighter Command flying P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustangs. Francis Gabreski, the top scoring Fighter Ace of the USAAF also flew with the 56th Fighter Group. In April 1944 the 56th FG relocated to Boxted, near Colchester and the 489th Bomb Group moved in fresh from the USA flying B-24 Liberators.

 

By November 1944 however, this unit had been taken off operations and it was replaced in January 1945 by the 5th Emergency Rescue Squardon, flying P-47's, PBY Catalina Flying Boats and specially equipped life-boat carrying B-17 Flying Fortresses. By August 1945 the airfield was under the control of the Admiralty with two Fleet Air Arm squadrons of Mosquito T.3's and Airspeed Oxfords, finally closing for flying by February 1946.

 

All of the large turkey sheds are buillt upon the three original intersecting runways, the longest being 2000 yeards, that made-up this Class A Standard airfield, originally intended as a Bomber Station. These sheds were put-up in 1963 by the Le-Gry Brothers and the site was sold to Bernard Matthews in 1976. It is only really as a result of the turkey farm that such a large amount of WWII concrete still exists on this airfield, probably more than at any other inactive wartime airfield in Suffolk - although I wouldn't fancy trying to land an aircraft there, weaving between all those turkey sheds on the runway ;-)

 

I flew over the old airfield at Halesworth (Holton) in 2003 in the back seat of Maurice Hammond's P-51 Mustang and you can easily identify the three runways and perimeter tracks from above. Fortunately, although they have a good museum at the site of the airfield, I had never intended to take the Operation Bolero convoy to this airfield, quite simply because we can't do them all in the space of three days.

 

If the situation continues to get the publicity that it currently is, keep an eye out on the TV when they show the aerial shots of the farm - You will easily be able to see its USAAF lineage and imagine the formations of Liberator's climbing out on raids to Germany.

 

By way of a coincidence, the man who first set Bernard Matthews up in business all those years ago, is still alive although well into his mid 80's and is a customer of mine, whom I have occasion to see every six months. He must be one of the wealthiest individuals in Suffolk, whom our company has dealt with for almost 25 years, yet no matter how much the bill, their is always concern over its high amount :-o

 

For some people, old habits just die hard and clearly no-one ever got rich by giving it away!

 

I wonder if I could interest him in buying Uppotery :-o :-o

 

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[Jack]

Thanks for the heads up Clive, does he have any other 'industrial units' on airfields?

[Mark]

Very interesting Clive another bit of history.

[M5Clive]

Coincidentally enough, he used to farm much of the land which was once occupied by the Heavy Bomber airfield at Mendlesham, 34th Bombardment Group, adjacent to the main A140 Norwich to Ipswich road, but I believe he sold this land in the late 1970's.

 

He now has a house in mid-Suffolk and a large mansion near the coast at Southwold. A quick humourous story about the house by the coast that I must just tell ........

 

A few years back we were doing some major re-plumbing work on the central heating system spanning several days. It was in a spell of cold weather when the wind was coming in straight off the coast for an extended period of time - bloody chilly.

 

On the first days work, one of our men was offered a cup fo tea by the old lady of the house, in her late 90's, (sadly no longer with us) which he gladly accepted.

 

The next day, the house-keeper seeing the same chap working outside in the cold, opened the window and offered to make him a cup of tea, which again he accepted. At the same time the old lady hobbled into the kitchen and enquired to the house keeper what she was up to. "I'm making the plumbing chap outisde a cup of tea," she explained. The old lady's reply still makes me laugh to this day, because she was genuinely so deadly serious. She replied in near disbelief...................

 

"But I made him one yesterday :-o"

 

Now thats how the rich hang on to there money!

 

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