RAF Tockwith
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Royal Air Force Marston Moor or more simply RAF Marston Moor 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 Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...
located near
Tockwith Tockwith is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, near the town of Wetherby and the city of York. There has been a village on the site since at least 1086 when ''Tocvi'' was mentioned in the ''Domesday Book''. To ...
,
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...
, England. It was operational 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 ...
and was originally called RAF Tockwith, but confusion with
RAF Topcliffe Royal Air Force Topcliffe or RAF Topcliffe is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station in North Yorkshire, England. It was established as a RAF Bomber Command station in 1940. The British Army took over a large part of the s ...
led to the name change. RAF Marston Moor was opened on 11 November 1941, the airfield and
RAF Church Fenton Royal Air Force Church Fenton or more simply RAF Church Fenton is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located south-east of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England and north-west of Selby, North Yorkshire, ne ...
were the closest airfields to
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...
and would act as a defence should
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
be attacked. As it happens Leeds was seldom bombed. In 1943, Group Captain
Leonard Cheshire Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, (7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992) was a British Royal Air Force pilot, officer and philanthropist. Cheshire fought in the Second World War. Among the decorations Cheshire received as a pilot w ...
was made the station commander. He requested to be transferred to the command of
617 Squadron Number 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron commonly known as The Dambusters for its actions during Operation Chastise against German dams during the World War II, Second World War, originally based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire ...
in November 1943, a vacancy created by the loss of George Holden in July of that year. The move required him to voluntarily step down in rank from group captain to wing commander, which he did. Marston Moor was also in control of
RAF Rufforth Royal Air Force Rufforth or RAF Rufforth is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located near Rufforth in North Yorkshire, England. It was used by only one operational squadron on long-range bombing missions ...
and
RAF Riccall RAF Riccall is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, satellite station located north east of Selby, North Yorkshire and south west of Elvington, City of York, Elvington, North Yorkshire, England. History The airfie ...
.


Based units

Work on the site was given authority in September 1940, and the base was opened in November 1941. Living accommodation (the billets) was some distance from the operational areas of the base, so bicycles had to be issued to service personnel. The base was located to the west of the village of Tockwith (after which it was originally supposed to be named), south of the
River Nidd The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. It rises in Nidderdale at Nidd Head Spring on the slopes of Great Whernside. In its first few miles it has been dammed three times, creating Angram Rese ...
, and north of the B1224 road. The intent had been for an operational bomber squadron to move in, but instead, the site was allocated to training. 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 airfield was used by the 165 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU) to convert pilots from the Whitley and
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
medium bombers to piloting the four-engined
Handley Page Halifax The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its or ...
bomber. In January 1942 the unit was split into the 1652 Heavy Conversion Unit and the 1665 Heavy Conversion Unit. 1652 HCU continued in operation at Marston Moor till June 1945, while 1665 HCU moved to
RAF Saltby Royal Air Force Saltby or more simply RAF Saltby is a former Royal Air Force station located near Saltby, Leicestershire, England. It is now home to Buckminster Gliding Club. The following units were here at some point: * No. 14 OTU, No. 14 Op ...
, where it trained crews in the Halifaxes and the
Short Stirling The Short Stirling was a British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It has the distinction of being the first four-engined bomber to be introduced into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the war (the earlier Handley ...
. It later moved to
RAF Linton-on-Ouse Royal Air Force Linton-on-Ouse or more simply RAF Linton-on-Ouse is a former Royal Air Force station at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, England, north-west of York. It had satellite stations at RAF Topcliffe and Dishforth Airfield (Brit ...
. Following the war the field was used as the home base for No. 268 Maintenance Unit RAF from 1945 to 1949. Although designated a training base, sometimes the aircraft from No. 1652 HCU had to partake in operations, which occurred during 1942. Three aircraft were lost on operations, though casualty rates were higher on the base due to a large number of accidents during training. Whilst training took place on the base, it was part of No. 4 Group, and it took on the responsibility for the nearby airfields at
Acaster Malbis Acaster Malbis () is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York, England. It is located on the River Ouse, almost south of York. Nearby are the villages of Copmanthorpe to the north-west, Bishopthorpe 2 miles to ...
, Riccall and Rufforth. In November 1944, all four bases moved under No. 7 Group (training) and then at the war's end, when the HCU was disbanded in October 1945, Marston Moor became part of Transport Command.


Notable personnel

*
Albert Bonass Albert Edward Bonass (29 May 1911 – 9 October 1945) was an English footballer who scored 58 goals from 186 appearances in the Football League playing as an outside left for Darlington, York City, Hartlepools United and Chesterfield. B ...
– Bonass, who was a professional footballer before the war, was a wireless operator in a Short Stirling which crashed into the post office in the village of Tockwith in October 1945. Bonass, along with the other crew members (six in all), and one civilian, died. *
Leonard Cheshire Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, (7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992) was a British Royal Air Force pilot, officer and philanthropist. Cheshire fought in the Second World War. Among the decorations Cheshire received as a pilot w ...
– Cheshire had been posted to Marston Moor as a group captain, but he wanted to be back on operations, so took a demotion to wing commander to be the officer commanding No. 617 Squadron * Margaret Wyndham Gore – in 1943, Gore was the first female pilot to attend Marston Moor for conversion training on the Handley-Page Halifax


Current use

The airfield is now known as Tockwith Airfield. The runways are used for
driver's education Driver's education, also known as driver's ed, driving education, driver training, or driving lessons, is a formal class or program that prepares a new driver to obtain a learner's permit or driver's license. The formal class program may also p ...
courses. Some of the buildings about the old airfield were incorporated into a business park. The village of Tockwith has expanded onto the airfield with the eastern side and main section of one runway now dissolved by housing. Some sources indicate civilian aviation use in the late 20th century, and probably beyond.


References


Sources

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External links


The Wartime Memories Project - RAF Marston Moor, Tockwith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marston Moor Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire