Bawtry Hall
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Royal Air Force Bawtry or more simply RAF Bawtry is a former
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
station located at Bawtry Hall in
Bawtry Bawtry is a market town and civil parish in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It lies south-east of Doncaster, west of Gainsborough and north-west of Retford, on the border with Nottinghamshire and close to Lincolnshire. ...
,
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...
, England and was No. 1 Group RAF
Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...
headquarters and administration unit during and following the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Since the RAF vacated in 1986, the hall has been used by a variety of private enterprises.


History

Bawtry Hall itself is a large redbrick house in two storeys with attics which was erected around 1785 by Pemberton Milnes, a prosperous wool-merchant from
Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...
,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
. It descended in the Milnes family for several generations before being sold to Major George Peake, a well-known amateur pilot, in 1905. It is a Grade II* listed building. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the RAF took it over and it became an RAF command centre in July 1941. RAF Bawtry did not have its own airfield but instead took advantage of RAF Bircotes, which was located nearby. Here the station based a number of communications aircraft. Bawtry Hall served the Royal Air Force from 1941–1984; first as HQ for No. 1 Group, Bomber Command during and after the Second World War, then as HQ No. 1 Group as part of Strike Command up to and including the later stages of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. The famous bombing of the airfield at
Port Stanley Stanley (also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a population o ...
by Vulcan bombers from
RAF Waddington Royal Air Force Waddington , commonly known as RAF Waddington, and informally known by its nickname 'Waddo' is a Royal Air Force station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, in England. The station is th ...
during the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
was co-ordinated from the operations room at Bawtry Hall. RAF Bawtry became the centre of the RAF Meteorological Service for many years and ceased military operations in 1986. It was purchased by the Action Partners Corporation in the late 1980s. No. 1 Group Bomber Command units based at RAF Bawtry comprised as follows: – +data from: During the
Miners' Strike The following is a list of miners' strikes. Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also *List of strikes *History of coal mining in the United States References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miners' strikes Miners' labor disputes, ...
in the mid-1980s, police officers were based at RAF Bawtry to provide a central Operations and co-ordination point on the
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...
/
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
border.


Present

The
Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...
2008 Squadron is still located at the former site on Park Road in Bawtry, in a new building that replaced the former ones. It was sold by Defence Estates in the mid 1980s to a Roger Byron-Collins company who owned Bawtry Hall for 3 years together with the nearby technical and domestic site at
RAF Hemswell Royal Air Force Hemswell, or RAF Hemswell, is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Located close to the village of Hemswell in Lincolnshire, England the disestablished airfield is now in f ...
and the post war married quarters sites at
RAF Finningley Royal Air Force Finningley or more simply RAF Finningley is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station at Finningley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The station straddled the historic county bo ...
and
RAF Scampton Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton (formerly ) is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located adjacent to the A15 road (England), A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-wes ...
. Later the building was bought by Action Partners Corporation, a Christian organisation, and has been used as teaching and conference centre for the past 24 years. The trustees had taken the decision to close the hall on 31 December 2013 and a buyer was being actively sought. The hall was sold in 2014 for £1.6 million to Bawtry Hall properties who would be moving various video gaming enterprises into the building.


See also

*
List of former Royal Air Force stations This list of former RAF stations includes most of the stations, airfields and administrative headquarters previously used by the Royal Air Force. They are listed under any former county or country name which was appropriate for the duration of ...
*
Grade II* listed buildings in South Yorkshire There are over 20,000 Grade II* listed buildings in England. This list includes those in South Yorkshire. Barnsley Doncaster Rotherham ...
* Listed buildings in Bawtry


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bawtry Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire Aviation in Doncaster Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Bawtry Grade II* listed buildings in South Yorkshire