RAF Chedworth

Published: June 11, 2021 - Last updated 17 July 2024 - Please note: This blog was first published more than a year ago.
Brian C Gibbs

Last month, we drove past the now almost unrecognisable site of RAF Chedworth. The paved runways are all but invisible now as the airfield has been reclaimed by nature and of course agricultural use. However, there are still some of the wartime buildings still visible which I photographed and no doubt there are still an assortment of shelters and other building remains to be found deep in the woods, in fact, it is rumoured that there are about 20 air raid shelters and other buildings now hidden in the woods.

Airfield History

RAF Chedworth opened 79 years ago in April 1942 after being built during the winter of 1941/2 and at its peak, 600 men and 60 women were working there. The airfield had just 2 runways, 03/21 was the longer of the runways at 3,840 feet and the other runway 11/29 was still a respectable 3,564 feet. Both, easily long enough to accommodate most operational aircraft of the period. Also constructed were two blister hangars, a control tower, flight office, armoury and stores. Sadly the control tower was demolished completely in the 1980s.

Chedworth was used by the RAF and later the USAAF. Initially there were Spitfires from 52 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at Aston Down using Chedworth until early 1943 when twin engine Airspeed Oxfords from Numbers 3 and 6 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Units were using the airfield.

Later, there were DH Mosquito fighters and Miles Martinet target towing aircraft. There were quite an assortment of aircraft using Chedworth at one point, Bristol Beaufighters, NA Mustangs and Hawker Typhoon fighter bombers to name a few. The USAAF were also at Chedworth for a brief spell in 1944, they flew Stinson L-5 Sentinels and the Piper L-4 Cub light aircraft for communication flights.

Flying training at Chedworth ceased on 29 May 1945 and in the December of that year, the Admiralty used the site for storage. In 1946 Chedworth finally went out of use apart from being used in the 1960's by the RAF for emergency landing practice by the Central Flying School (CFS) based at Little Rissington.

Wartime photographs of Chedworth are hard to find but there is at least one, this 1946 Aerial photograph of Chedworth airfield looking north, the control tower and airfield code are to the top left of the runway intersection. This 7th June 1946 aerial photograph was taken by No. 540 Squadron, sortie number RAF/106G/UK/1558. English Heritage (RAF Photography). Looking closely you can see the runways and perimeter track is now covered with hundreds of stored vehicles and equipment from the Royal Navy storage Depot-with not one aeroplane in sight!

In modern times, RAF Chedworth was used by a civilian gliding club in the late 60s and the occasional learner driver were to be seen practicing their skills on what was left of the runways but sadly precious little remains apart from several original buildings which are sadly in very poor condition. The woods visible at the top of this modern day Google Earth image are also home to many disused military buildings and shelters gradually being reclaimed by nature as the years pass.

Chedworth as it is today

The current state of the RAF buildings in Withington woods that I have photographed, show what little remains of the buildings belonging to this wartime airfield that are still visible today and seeing them again has triggered my memories when myself and a few friends used to fly our model aeroplanes from Chedworth Airfield in the mid 70s.

Model flying

I have always had an interest in model flying and we used to fly radio control gliders off the slope by the pylons on the top of Cleeve Hill. This was of course dependant on wind direction and speed, both pretty critical. My friend Cliff and I decided to venture into using powered models so we had to also invest in engines, which is all well and good but flying a glider is one thing, slow and sedate with just two controls was pretty easy. The skill was in keeping it airborne by finding lift and not a lot else but powered flight added two other factors, much more speed so reactions had to be rather instant and at least one extra control, sometimes four altogether.

The models were constructed, engines tested but Cleeve Common was not the place to operate these but another friend, Ken who was an avid aero modeller told us about Chedworth Airfield which sounded ideal. So, at the next opportunity, Cliff, Ken and myself went in my car for the maiden flight of both mine and Cliff's new radio control power models.

The fateful decision!

Bearing in mind neither Cliff nor I had any power flying experience we both got our models fuelled up, engines tested and awaiting the time when our pride and joys would take to the air. Ken didn't have a model on that day, he came along as a spectator, it was just me and Cliff. The airfield was thankfully deserted, just us three and after waiting around for several minutes, neither wanted to be first... we were after all complete rookies for this sort of flying, so after the usual "after you" and the "no, after you" had been exchanged a dozen times!....I elected to be the first.

Engine started, controls checked, model on the runway pointing into wind with Cliff holding the tail. Full throttle applied, a quick nod to Cliff and it was released. It accelerated faster than I thought it would go and within about 15 feet, it fairly leapt into the air. I eased in some down elevator and commenced a turn to the left finding the controls were hyper sensitive but somehow it was completing a half circle of the airfield at a height of about fifty feet. The problem was, it was all happening too quickly, this was my first powered flight after all.

It went downwind towards the wood behind us and at this point it all started to go very wrong. The model was quite a way behind us quite high over the wood and in my haste to get it back, I put in a jab of down elevator but it was too much and I over compensated which resulted in a roller-coaster stall. In a bit of blind panic I said to Ken. "I'm in trouble here, take over quick" and handed him the transmitter. It was then that Ken resisted and announced that he couldn't fly!

By now the stall was uncontrollable and the model went out of sight below the tree line so I cut the throttle and knew I had crashed.

Lost contact

We took a bearing of the last sighting and we all went off to find it. Withington Woods for those not acquainted can be quite dense and we spent a good hour searching to no avail and with the light fading we had to call it a day - for now - the model was lost.

With heavy heart, I packed up the gear I still possessed and we left to drive back home to Cheltenham. On the way back, Ken apologised for not being able to help... it was my fault I guess in wrongly assuming he was a competent flyer but this was only because he seemed so knowledgeable with his tales of model flying. Turned out he was always a spectator and intended to learn to fly but hadn't got around to it!

I decided that at first light, I would return back to the woods to do a more intensive search in the better light. Thankfully, I had some holiday leave due so I took the day off work and so did Cliff which was a bonus. My ex-wife's younger brother Stephen, who was about 13 and still at school begged me to take him which eventually I did on the condition his parents agreed that he could take the one day off school.

The search begins

We arrived at Chedworth, early at about 9am that morning, parked the car and set out our strategy. We knew the point of the last sighting and as it was seconds before the crash, it was feasible that it would lie somewhere to the left of that point.

These woods are quite steep in places and the undergrowth was like you would never believe brambles, small bushes, fallen trees and grass like I have never seen, in places it was almost shoulder high. This was going to be bigger job than I thought. The three of us were spaced out about 75 feet apart and whoever sighted it first, if we ever did, would hail the others. We armed ourselves with long sticks and made a start, machetes would have been more useful.

It was hot and sultry... was this Withington woods? or were we in the Amazon!... it was very hard going as we also had to keep looking up in case it was lodged in a tree.

After 20 minutes, I heard Cliff give a shout. Thank goodness I thought as we made our way towards him, with legs, scratched and stung from the nettles and almost falling over a fallen branch, I arrived breathless and expectant to where Cliff was standing. "Where is it?" I asked, "We heard you give a yell".

"Oh, that" he replied in quite a matter of fact manner. ?I almost stepped on a pheasant that flew up in front of me and really made me jump?so I shouted at it!

I will not write what my reply was but we resumed the search.

Model found!

It was just ten minutes later Stephen yelled out "I've found it". As you can imagine, this was music to my ears and we made our way over to him fully expecting to see more parts of the model on the ground than there was in the original kit!

What I saw I couldn't believe... the model was sitting in a clearing, upright on its wheels about ten feet from the wall that separated the wood from the road. All it had was a couple of large "dings" in the leading edge of one wing. Clearly this had clipped a branch as it came down. Elated, I carried the model back to the car and we couldn't believe our luck. It was a good fifty feet away from where we thought it would be, obviously it came down in the small clearing missing the tall trees and glided to a reasonable landing completely unaided.

A lesson learnt

After this, I never flew again until I joined the Prestbury Park model flying club in Cheltenham where I was taught to fly correctly and went on to get my BMFA 'A' Certificate which is what I should have done in the first place.

There is a second part to this story to relate... Ken also learnt to fly months later and I popped up to Chedworth to watch him, now a competent pilot like myself he was flying his model at about 50 feet above the airfield. This was of course some time after my incident but he also had a mishap in that his engine cut out and his model landed somewhere in the middle of the waist high farmer's crop of Rape. The airfield is quite an expanse and the crops were fully grown. Ken's model was all yellow and so was the crop! We looked and looked but to no avail, it was proving to be impossible. A chap we knew, Colin, was also up there flying and he had a great idea.

He would pop over to Staverton airport, book a 30 minute trial "lesson" for the next day and ask the pilot to fly over the airfield and circle the area where the model was lying. So, we all gave up the fruitless search and went home. Poor Ken was very dejected naturally and I fully appreciated his sadness, it is not pleasant to lose something you have spent so much time and money building.

Back to Chedworth

However, the next day, we were all at Chedworth at the arranged time and awaited the arrival of Colin on his "trial lesson". After twenty minutes or so, we spotted the aircraft, it was the flying club's little Blue and White two-seater Bolkow Junior. As it arrived, it flew lower and lower and I could clearly see Colin sat next to the pilot . Even the registration letters stuck in my memory G-ATSX... it was flying so low!

Then it started to turn in very tight circles just about twenty feet above the model which Colin said stood out easily from their vantage point. Ken walked directly towards the circling aircraft and within seconds retrieved his model. Jubilation all around and with a waggle of the wings, the aircraft flew back to Staverton airport.

Short finals

There was a funny ending to all this, when Colin arrived back at Chedworth about an hour later, Ken reimbursed him the cost of the trial lesson which was only about £10 but cheap compared to the potential loss of £250 worth of model and engine. Colin said it was quite an experience, he had flown before but not so low and while they circled, he heard a horn in the cockpit that kept sounding continuously.

He asked the pilot when they landed why the horn kept sounding all the time they were over the Chedworth airfield. "Oh that" said the pilot "It's the stall warning device" Colin said it was a good job he didn't tell him that until it was all over!

Chedworth Airfield is well worth a visit to anyone with an interest in the aviation history of Gloucestershire, the location is 8nm SE of Cheltenham, 2nm NW of Chedworth village or if you have a SatNav then GL54 4NX should get you there.

Brian Gibbs