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RAF Upwood
In 1917, approximately 160 acres of land at Simmonds Farm was
requisitioned for use by the Royal Flying Corp and this
subsequently became a home defence first class night landing
ground for no. 75 squadron.
The airfield was named Upwood, having previously been known
as Bury (Ramsey) airfield, and henceforth it came under the
control of the 6th Brigade, midland area of the 47th home
defence wing. In July 1918, 191 night training squadron had
descended on Upwood from their base in Marham, Norfolk.
However, less than a year later, after the arrival of a
second unit from Newmarket Heath the site was cleared of
buildings and returned to agricultural use.
The second world war saw the return of aircraft to the area,
when, in 1944, 156 squadron moved to Upwood from Warboys with
their Lancaster Mk111s and Mk1s to continue their role as part
of the Path Finder Force (PFF) The squadron was fortunate
to return unscathed from two raids on Stuttgart in March 1944.
A flight to Berlin left one of the squadron missing, but they
returned without loss from Essen. A raid on Nuremberg,
however, was to result in the loss of four Lancaster's,
along with their crews.
Today part of the site is used by a gliding club.
Squadrons stationed at Upwood during World War Two
- 35 Squadron. Feb 1940 to Apr 1940
- No. 90 Squadron.
- No: 139 Squadron.
- 156 Squadron.
7th September 1939 No. 52 Squadron, RFC, was formed at Hounslow, Middlesex in 1916, serving as an army co-operation squadron on the Western Front. Disbanded in 1919, it re-formed at Abingdon from a nucleus provided by No 15 Squadron as a bomber squadron in January 1937. In November/December 1937 it was equipped with Fairey Battles and for special training purposes, Avro Ansons. In February 1939, the squadron became a group pool squadron tasked with training crews for the other units in its group. At the outbreak of war it was based at RAF Alconbury in Huntingdonshire, but four days later it moved to RAF Upwood.
7th September 1939
17th Sept 1939 On the move On 7th September 1939 No.63 Squadron moved to RAF Abingdon, but moved again to nearby RAF Benson ten days later where it served as an elementary flying training unit.
17th Sept 1939 On the move
18th Sep 1939 On the Move
19th Sep 1939 Reorganisation
21st Sep 1939 Training
28th Sep 1939 Aircraft Collected
1st Oct 1939 Training
2nd Oct 1939 Training
4th Oct 1939 Aircraft Move
5th Oct 1939 Training
11th Oct 1939 Aircraft Move
12th Oct 1939 Aircraft Move
13th Oct 1939 Aircraft Collected
13th Oct 1939 Exchange
16th October 1939 Training crash
16th Oct 1939 Incidents
17th Oct 1939 Aircraft Move
20th Oct 1939 Re-Equipping
22nd Oct 1939 Training
23rd Oct 1939 Training
27th Oct 1939 Poor Weather
28th Oct 1939 Posting
17th Nov 1939 Accident
18th Nov 1939 Training
19th Nov 1939 Training
20th Nov 1939 Training
21st Nov 1939 Poor Weather
22nd Nov 1939 Pilots
24th Nov 1939 Heavy Rain
25th Nov 1939 Very Wet
26th Nov 1939 Postings
28th Nov 1939 Postings
29th Nov 1939 Training Issues
December 1939 Re-equipped and relocated
3rd Dec 1939 Aircraft Lost
4th Dec 1939 Posting
6th Dec 1939 Postings
9th Dec 1939 Postings
16th Dec 1939 Forced Landing
23rd Dec 1939 Poor Weather
27th Dec 1939 Training
28th Dec 1939 Poor Conditions
31st Dec 1939 Training
1st Jan 1940 Illness
3rd Jan 1940 Training Aircraft
6th Jan 1940 Training
8th Jan 1940 Aircraft Transferred
10th Jan 1940 Training
11th Jan 1940 Training
12th Jan 1940 Training
13th Jan 1940 Posting
16th Jan 1940 Postings
20th Jan 1940 Training
22nd Jan 1940 Postings
27th Jan 1940 Training
28th Jan 1940 Heavy Snow
31st Jan 1940 Snow
12th Feb 1940 Snow
16th Feb 1940 Training
17th Feb 1940 Postings
18th February 1940 Killed on training flight
18th Feb 1940 Aircraft Lost
23rd Feb 1940 Unservicable
27th Feb 1940 Unservicable
28th Feb 1940 Soft Ground
4th Mar 1940 Training
5th Mar 1940 Training
9th Mar 1940 Training
12th Mar 1940 Accident
17th Mar 1940 Wet Weather
19th Mar 1940 Orders
20th Mar 1940 Postings
23rd March 1940 Training flight crash
23rd Mar 1940 Limited Flying
31st Mar 1940 Training
4th April 1940 Re-designated and disbanded
30th Jul 1941 Aircraft Lost
12th Aug 1941 Aircraft Lost
1st February 1944 New radar system
5th March 1944 Relocated
6th April 1944 Aircraft Lost
23rd April 1944 Pathfinder shot down
28th April 1944 New bombing strategy
4th May 1944 Crash
20th May 1944 Navigator killed
22nd May 1944 Two Lancasters destroyed
27th May 1944 Shot down
1st June 1944 Escape Line back to England
8th June 1944 Unidentified bodies buried
12th Jun 1944 Two 139 Squadron Mosquitos lost
24th June 1944 Mosquito shot down
24th June 1944 Attack on V1 launch site
28th June 1944 Forced landing
1st Jul 1944 139 Squadron Mosquito lost
8th July 1944 Forced landing
15th Jul 1944 156 Squadron Lancaster lost
26th July 1944 Two Mosquitos lost
27th July 1944 Lancaster crew rescued by Danish trawler
6th August 1944 Mosquitos lost
12th Aug 1944 139 Squadron Mosquito lost
13th August 1944 Lancaster lost over Luxembourg
9th September 1944 Killed in explosion
11th September 1944 Two Mosquitos lost
11th September 1944 Lancaster Lost at Gelsenkirchen
24th September 1944 Lost without trace
6th October 1944 DFM for Navigator who flew Lancaster home
20th October 1944 Mosquito shot down
30th October 1944 Shot down over Berlin
9th December 1944 Crash shortly after take-off
18th December 1944 Missing over France
30th December 1944 Shot down by flak
15th January 1945 Severe weather
29th January 1945 Shot down
4th February 1945 Two Pathfinders shot down
6th Mar 1945 139 Squadron Mosquito lost
21st March 1945 Navigator killed in crash landing
24th March 1945 Shot down
27th March 1945 Crash landing
28th March 1945 101 sorties
31st March 1945 Two Lancasters lost on mission to Hamburg
4th April 1945 Lost without trace
17th April 1945 Heavy bombers lost in mid-air collision
25th April 1945 Gun batteries bombed
1st May 1945 Relief missions
3rd May 1945 Last mission
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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Those known to have served at RAF Upwood during the Second World War 1939-1945. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please
Add a Name to this List
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Want to know more about RAF Upwood? There are:125 items tagged RAF Upwood available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Don Wilding I served in the RAF from 1943 until 1947, first as an electrician, then as a radar/mechanic/air in Bomber Command, then Transport Command. My main stations were at Tuddenham, Mildenhall, Upwood and Wymeswold. I was, at one time, with a Canadian squadron.
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Kenneth Gilmore Greasley RAF Upwood I am looking for any details relating to my great uncle's history while he was stationed at RAF Upwood towards the end of WWII. His name was Kenneth Gilmore Greasley.
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PO John Donald Range Cromarty 6(P) AFU (d.3rd Jan 1944) My first cousin once removed was Jack Cromarty of Liverpool. In 1939 his parents lived in Berwick Gardens, Little Sutton, Cheshire
He was a dental mechanic before he enlisted in 1941
He was a sergeant then flight sergeant then pilot officer
and received his commission in November 1943
Prior to arriving at 6 (P) APU on 16th of February 143 he was at various other training units. After training at 6 (P) AFU he went to 81 OTU on 13th of April 1943 and then onto 1656, then 12 and finally after training at Upwood to 156 squadron, one of the Pathfinders at Warboys. He was the pilot of Lancaster JB640 and died the night of 2nd/3rd of January 1944 when the plane was shot down on a mission to Berlin
The other crew members were:
- Sgt. Frederick Edwin Woolven.(Navigator) aged 23 years
- Sgt. Norman Henry Colebatch (Wireless Operator)
- F/Sgt Leonard Norman Lapthorne aged 21 years.
- F/Sgt Dennis Frederick Burtenshaw RAAF (Second Navigator/Bomb Aimer) aged 20 years.
- F/Sgt R.J.Collens Mid-upper Gunner aged 31 years.
- F/Sgt. Kenneth Sidney James Chapman. Rear Gunner aged 20 years.
They completed approx 16 missions all over Germany between joining 156 sqdn in Nov 1943 and the last flight.
It was discovered in 1976 that the plane had crashed into a lake in what was by then the Russian zone. The remains were handed over to the RAF in 1976. It has taken from then until approx 2011 for the MOD to identify where these remains were buried and then another three to find relatives of the lost airmen. On the 27th of April 2016 there was a rededication ceremony in Berlin for four of the crew of JB640 whose remains have been found. The headstones now changed to reflect they were crew members of JB640.
Alas as John had no wife, children or siblings there are no known photographs of him as an adult in the RAF. I have this one photo of him in my late mother's photo album.
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Sqdn.Ldr. J. D. Robins DFC 139 Squadron On the night of 7th of July 1944, Mosquito MM146 (XD-H), a B.XVI bomber, took off from RAF Upwood, one of the twelve machines from 139 Squadron detailed to bomb Berlin.
After being hit and damaged by flak, it was flown to Sweden, where it landed at Kalmar and the crew was interned for a while.
F/Lt J D Robins (pilot) RNZAF -and Sub/Lt (A) B M Vlielander- Hein (nav.) RNNAS were classified as evaders and likely returned via Sweden to the UK
I am unable to find the full name of F/L J D Robins nor his service number with the Royal New Zealand Air Force. He was later Gazetted a DFC, as a Squadron Leader.
Any information regarding J D Robins, DFC will most welcome. Adriano Silva Baumgartner
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