Monument record 7109/5 - Dispersed site, Husbands Bosworth Airfield (Administration site)

Dispersed site associated with the WWII airfield. Two WWII buildings remain: the crew briefing room and the operations block.

{1} An Air Ministry plan in the report shows a dispersed Admin site to the south-east of the airfield.

{2} Admin sites typically included a picket post, operations block, station headquarters, blast shelters.

{3} Heritage assessment was undertaken of the remaining buildings on the site. The administration site lay a short distance to the northeast of the sick quarters, in a ‘P’-shaped enclosure. A concrete access track enclosed a complex of five buildings, at the centre of which stood the operations block, which the station record plan indicates was built in accordance with AM drawing 228/43. The record plan notes that this structure was of permanent brick and concrete construction, with temporary
brick elements (presumably the interrogation room building and the plant and boiler room annexe). Adjacent to this stood building 102, the crew briefing room, which was built in temporary brick in accordance with Air Ministry specifications.

The standing structures comprise two buildings (Building 101: operations block and Building 102: crew briefing room) located within a ‘P’-shaped enclosure defined by a narrow concrete perimeter track that leads off a southwest – northeast aligned made farm track. Demolished buildings included an interrogation block, station offices, latrines and post office.

{4} Historic building recording of two outbuildings at Airfield Farm, Sulby, Northamptonshire was unndertaken in 2019. Identified through earlier heritage assessment as the station Operations Block and adjacent Crew Briefing Room, both structures were constructed to Air Ministry specification 228/43 and were recorded to Historic England Level 3 and Level 2 respectively. The recording confirmed the contemporaneity of the two buildings and demonstrated that they had been little altered since decommissioning and disposal in the 1950s, aside from later post-war modifications including the removal of plant rooms and the insertion of new openings. Detailed survey evidence significantly enhanced understanding of the internal layout and functioning of a type 228/43 Operations Block, particularly the telecommunications and air-conditioning infrastructure, revealing the importance of rapid internal communication and environmental control within Bomber Command operational planning.

<1> Wolframm-Murray, Y, 2019, Archaeological observation, investigation, recording, analysis and publication of works at 9-11 High Street, Rothwell, Northamptonshire, December 2019, p.9 (Report). SNN112271.

<2> Francis, P, Flagg, R, and Crisp, G, Nine Thousand Miles of Concrete: A Review of Second World War temporary airfields in England
A review of Second World War
temporary airfields in England (Report). SNN112274.

<3> Matthews, C, 2018, Heritage Assessment of outbuildings at Home Farm, Sulby, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN112275.

<4> Guy Thompson, 2019, HISTORIC BUILDING RECORDING OF FORMER WORLD WAR TWO RAF HUSBANDS, BOSWORTH OPERATIONS BLOCK AND CREW BRIEFING ROOM, AIRFIELD FARM, SULBY, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE NN6 6EZ (Report). SNN117056.

Record last edited

Apr 22 2026 9:20AM