RAF Locking was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

station near the village of Locking and about 3 miles from

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmix ...

North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary district in Somerset, South West England. Whilst its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the ...

, England.

No 5 School of Technical Training

RAF Locking was opened as a training unit in 1939 as No.5 School of Technical Training. Its role was to train new entrants in the trades of aircraft mechanics, airframes, carpentry, fabric working and parachute packing. Training was also provided for marine craft personnel. Within three years 30,682 personnel had been trained. By the end of WW2 the station had developed into a huge settlement comprising hutted accommodation, classrooms and offices, workshops and hangars. Aircraft used for training included

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) ...

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...

Hawker Hunters The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Ro ...

and a

Handley Page Victor The Handley Page Victor is a British jet-powered strategic bomber developed and produced by Handley Page during the Cold War. It was the third and final '' V bomber'' to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the other two being the Avr ...

. Thousands of personnel were trained in support of the war effort. Training was gradually reduced in line with the numbers in the forces and No.5 School of Technical Training closed in 1950.

Boy Entrant Training

In May 1947 the first recruits to the Boy Entrant scheme arrived at RAF Locking. They were to graduate in November 1948. The scheme offered general education and technical training to boys aged 15 to 17 and a half whose education was not up to

School Certificate The School Certificate was a qualification issued by the Board of Studies, New South Wales, typically at the end of Year 10. The successful completion of the School Certificate was a requirement for completion of the Higher School Certificate. T ...

level. Recruits needed nomination by an approved organisation such as their local education authority or the

Boy Scouts Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was fo ...

. They were also required to undertake aptitude and intelligence tests. The scheme was run down after 5 entries. Subsequent entries were partially or totally completed at RAF Cosford. After the tenth entry, the scheme was discontinued.

No 1 Radio School

Ten days after the closure of No 5 School of Technical Training, RAF Locking was transferred to No 27 Group, Training Command, to become the home of No 1 Radio School responsible for the training of

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

and

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

trades. The Radio School had first existed at

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trai ...

where it developed from the School of

Wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

Operators. During its time at RAF Locking it supported training of Apprentices, Adult trainees of all UK forces and overseas students. It was not until 1990 that the station gradually closed down and No 1 Radio School transferred to RAF Cosford to become part of the Defence School of Communications and Information Systems.

21st century

The base was bought by the South West of England Regional Development Agency and the agency English Partnerships from the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

in 2002. The agencies and

North Somerset Council North Somerset Council is the local authority of North Somerset, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including C ...

intend to attract high-tech companies to the site. In October 2006,

Oxford Instruments Oxford Instruments plc is a United Kingdom manufacturing and research company that designs and manufactures tools and systems for industry and research. The company is headquartered in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England, with sites in the United Ki ...

Plasma Technology became one of the first such companies to announce its move there. Proposals are under consideration for an employment and residential development for the site that could deliver of employment space and up to 1,800 new homes. In July 2011,

Council gave planning permission for the £50 million LeisureDome, which was to contain a

indoor ski slope Indoor skiing is done in a climate-controlled environment with artificially produced snow. This enables skiing and snowboarding to take place regardless of outdoor temperatures. Facilities for both alpine skiing and nordic skiing are availabl ...

, a

climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, usually used for indoor climbing, but sometimes located outdoors. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used i ...

, a

vertical wind tunnel A vertical wind tunnel (VWT) is a wind tunnel that moves air up in a vertical column. Unlike standard wind tunnels, which have test sections that are oriented horizontally, as experienced in level flight, a vertical orientation enables gravi ...

for indoor

skydiving Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachut ...

, indoor surfing, a

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

track, a health and fitness club, and a number of shops and restaurants. Construction was planned to finish in early 2013, and no mention of the LeisureDome proposals appear on the information provided by

St. Modwen Properties St. Modwen Properties limited is a British-based property investment and development business specialising in the regeneration and remediation of brownfield land and urban environments. It is headquartered in Birmingham and has a network of four ...

, the developers about their plans for Locking Parklands as the site is now known. In 2011, a housing development known as Parklands Village was proposed and eventually went ahead.

Historical monument

Dedication of the RAFLAA Monument was held at 14.00hrs on Wednesday, 18 July 2018, at Locking Parklands. There were some 70 attendees including: 25 RAFLAA members and wives; the Mayor of Weston-Super-Mare; Chairman of Locking Parish Council; St Modwen Southwest Regional Director; St Modwen Senior Development Manager; Representative from Homes England; Branch Secretary of W-s-M RAFA; Squadron Leader John Clark (Retd.) ex-Flight Commander, RAF Locking. The monument itself is situated across the road from the new community facility, otherwise known as the Radio Wing, also paying homage to the site’s history. The structure was designed by former apprentices Richard Atkinson, Tony Horry and Peter Crowe, UniqueTiles Ltd and features the apprentice wheel – a brass propeller worn by young RAF recruits. RAW Monument

References

Bibliography

* Tillbrook, Squadron Leader Ray. ''Over & Out''. Rushden, Northamptonshire, UK: Forces & Corporate Publishing Ltd., 1998. . {{refend Buildings and structures in North Somerset Locking