Monument record 8630/1/7 - WWII dispersed site 10 (WAAF Site 2), Silverstone Airfield

A WWII dispersed living site for the WAAF workers based at Silverstone Airfield. Modern aerial photography and lidar imagery suggests that two buildings survive and the concrete bases for the remaining buildings are still in place. The camp was mapped as part of Historic England’s North Buckinghamshire Aerial Investigation and Mapping project.

{1} SP66544259. One semi-derelict hut with rubble from demolished structures nearby. Linked to main road to the east by a concrete track. Part of the 'Site 10 (WAAF site 2)' as identified by Gibson (1982) Appendix 1, p.272.

{3} Aerial photography suggests two buildings may survive

{5-10} A Second World War Royal Air Force accommodation camp is visible on historic aerial photographs and was mapped as part of Historic England’s North Buckinghamshire Aerial Investigation and Mapping project. Located immediately adjacent Litchlake Farm and centred at SP 66539 42614, Site 10 (W.A.A.F. Site 2) was one of 10 satellite RAF camps for military personnel serving at adjacent RAF Silverstone, an operational wartime military airfield. Aerial photographs taken in spring 1942 show the airfield under construction at that time and the camp had yet to be created. By 1943 the airfield was operational. Site 10 was one of two camps that provided accommodation and mess services for Silverstone airfield’s members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and comprised a sentry box that guarded an access road leading to five barrack buildings, a sergeants mess and quarters, ablution and latrine blocks, a fuel store, and a M&E plinth (a mechanical and electrical junction/transformer box). By 1963 the only buildings that remain upstanding are the sergeants’ quarters and the airwomen’s ablution and latrine blocks, though the concrete base platforms for the other camp buildings remain visible. Aerial photographs taken in 2019 suggests that the Site 10 (W.A.A.F. Site 2) camp has remain unchanged since that time.

<1> CADMAN G.E., 1997, Oral Report to SMR, (unchecked) (Oral Report). SNN51453.

<2> Gibson M.L., 1982, Aviation In Northamptonshire: An Illustrated History, p.272 (unchecked) (Book). SNN100276.

<3> Vertical Aerial Photograph, APGB 25cm latest; Accessed 25/11/2024 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN112695.

<4> Environment Agency, LIDAR Composite DTM - 1m, Accessed 25/11/2024 (Digital Plots). SNN111710.

<5> RAF, 1945, RAF Silverstone Record Site Plan All Sites 1/2500 scale No. 1757/45, June 1945 (Plan). SNN116527.

<6> Royal Air Force, 1940s, RAF Vertical Aerial Photographs, RAF-HLA-544 RV 6103 20-MAY-1942 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN105266.

<7> Vertical Aerial Photograph, US-7PH-GP-LOC201 PORT 13053 06-MAR-1944 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN112695.

<8> Vertical Aerial Photograph, MAL-63617 V 117991 12-OCT-1963 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN112695.

<9> Vertical Aerial Photograph, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery 14-SEP-2019 SP6642 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN112695.

<10> Environment Agency, LIDAR Composite DTM - 1m, LIDAR SP64SE Environment Agency National LIDAR Programme DTM 1 Metre dated 2019 SP6642 (Digital Plots). SNN111710.

Record last edited

Nov 26 2024 10:39AM