{{Short description|Royal Air Force base in Yorkshire, England}} {{use British English|date=March 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Infobox military installation | name = RAF Bridlington | ensign=Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg | ensign_size=90px | location = [[Bridlington]], [[East Riding of Yorkshire]] | country = England | image = The Southcliffe Hotel, Bridlington.jpg | caption = The Southcliffe Hotel, Bridlington. This was the HQ before the Second World War. | coordinates = {{Coord|54.0796|-0.1965|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline, title}} | gridref = TA183664 | pushpin_map = East Riding of Yorkshire | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = Location within the East Riding of Yorkshire | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_image = | pushpin_label = | pushpin_label_position = left | pushpin_mark = | pushpin_marksize = | ownership = [[Air Ministry]]<br>[[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] | operator = {{air force|United Kingdom}} | controlledby = [[Royal Air Force Marine Branch]] (ASR and MCU)<br>[[No. 54 Group RAF]] | used = 1929–{{End date|1978}} }} '''Royal Air Force Bridlington''', or more simply '''RAF Bridlington''',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jacobs |first1=Peter |title=The RAF in 100 objects |date=2017 |publisher=History Press |location=Stroud |isbn=978-0-7509-6536-1 |page=68}}</ref> was a [[Royal Air Force]] station located in [[Bridlington]], [[East Riding of Yorkshire]], England, between 1929 and 1978. Several units operated at Bridlington, Air Gunnery Schools, Initial Training Wings, and an Air Sea Rescue launch unit, but the longest occupier, was No. 1104 Marine Craft Unit (MCU). The station consisted of various buildings across the town that were requisitioned for RAF use before and during the [[Second World War]]. Outside of this time, the RAF presence was mostly in the harbour area and as it was such a small unit, No. 1104 MCU was looked after (''parented'' in Air Force parlance) by other RAF Stations nearby.

It is known that under his official Air Force title of Aircraftsman Second Class T. E. Shaw, the archaeologist, (former) army officer, diplomat, and writer, [[T. E. Lawrence]] worked at RAF Bridlington during the 1930s.

==History== ===Pre-war=== During the [[First World War]], a [[Royal Naval Air Service]] seaplane was stationed temporarily in Bridlington Harbour. However, during the same conflict, a re-fuelling station was set up adjacent to the south landing of the {{Lbs|Flamborough}} lifeboat station; this was sometimes referred to as RAF Bridlington (also RNAS Bridlington) and so some confusion arose between the two.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bridlington (Seaplane) – Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK |url=https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/bridlington-seaplane/ |website=www.abct.org.uk |accessdate=4 March 2019}}</ref> Seaplanes were regularly seen over Bridlington and Bridlington Bay on the lookout for enemy shipping. At some point during the First World War, Bridlington was suggested as a seaplane base, but this never came to pass.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wings over East Yorkshire |url=http://www.bridaugustinians.org.uk/wings-over-east-yorkshire |website=bridaugustinians.org.uk |accessdate=4 March 2019}}</ref>

An RAF site was opened on the harbourside at Bridlington in 1929; its remit was to supply dummy craft to be moored in the sea off the Yorkshire Coast for bombing and target practice. These were usually situated at the bombing range at [[RAF Catfoss]] (later moved to the range at [[RAF Cowden]]),<ref name="BFP">{{cite news |title=RAF plea |url=https://www.bridlingtonfreepress.co.uk/news/your-say/raf-plea-1-1708204 |accessdate=4 March 2019 |work=Bridlington Free Press |date=21 June 2006}}</ref> which was located off the coastline near to RAF Catfoss and [[RAF Lissett]] (it was originally titled [[Skipsea]] bombing range).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Halpenny |first1=Bruce Barrymore |title=Action stations 4: Military Airfields of Yorkshire |date=1982 |publisher=Patrick Stephens |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-85059-532-0 |page=40 |edition=2}}</ref> Initially the site was staffed by personnel from [[RAF Felixstowe]]. It later came under the command of RAF Catfoss and then when Catfoss closed, [[RAF Leconfield]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Foster |first1=Mary |title=RAF Leconfield : a pictorial history 1937–2015 |date=2016 |publisher=Mary Foster |isbn=978-1-78222-474-7 |page=84}}</ref> Outside of the Second World War, the Commanding Officer (CO) of the unit was either a [[pilot officer]] or [[flight lieutenant]] rank;<ref>{{cite web |title=Papers of Air Cdre F J Manning, CB, CBE (1912-1988) |url=https://www.kingscollections.org/media/arc_cat/pdf/box-lists-lhcma/LHCMA_Manning-List.pdf |website=kingscollections.org |accessdate=14 March 2019 |page=1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=MANNING, Air Cdre Frederick John (1912–1988) – Archives Hub |url=https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/be05706f-e518-3080-833c-97ede3b9e9da |website=archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk |accessdate=14 March 2019}}</ref> Regular stations or units in the RAF have higher ranks than this for their CO.<ref>{{cite news |title=Royal Air Force's size and structure |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/en/articles/art20130702112133719 |accessdate=14 March 2019 |work=BBC Academy |date=1 February 2013}}</ref>

The Marine Craft Unit at Bridlington also had an add-on function of patrolling the area to keep merchant fishing vessels clear of the bombing range.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Wreck of HMS Falmouth |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/hms-falmouth-broadsheetpdf/ |website=historicengland.org |accessdate=4 March 2019 |page=2 }}</ref> It also developed special craft for use elsewhere in the [[RAF Marine Branch|Marine Branch]] of the Royal Air Force. The RAF unit had some sheds on the promenade in Bridlington known as ''Gummers Wharf''.<ref name="Sigma Leisure">{{cite book |last1=Peach |first1=Howard |title=Curious tales of old East Yorkshire |date=2001 |publisher=Sigma Leisure |location=Wilmslow |isbn=1-85058-749-3 |page=24}}</ref> This is where the last report written by Shaw/Lawrence was dated in February 1935. [[File:Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club, Bridlington.jpg|thumb|left|Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club, Bridlington. This was the Ozone Hotel and was where Lawrence was billeted in the 1930s<ref>{{cite web |title=Bridlington Guide East Yorkshire town walk UK |url=http://www.ba-education.com/for/travel/guide/bridlington.html#gummerslanding |website=www.ba-education.com |accessdate=12 March 2019}}</ref>{{sfn|Ellis|2016|p=36}}]] Shaw (Lawrence) had arrived in the early 1930s as part of his RAF service and his drive to develop better boats for the Marine Branch.<ref>{{cite news |title=Last ditch bid to save Lawrence of Arabia's dagger and robes |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/last-ditch-bid-to-save-lawrence-of-arabia-s-dagger-and-robes-1-7711312 |accessdate=14 March 2019 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=2 February 2016}}</ref> Shaw had witnessed a seaplane crashing into the sea off [[RAF Mount Batten]] and was greatly affected by the rescue of the airmen; most tellingly, how the boats were not able to reach the downed aircrew in time.{{sfn|Ellis|2016|pp=26–27}} Aircraftman Second Class Shaw had been sent to first RAF Mount Batten, (then to Bridlington) ostensibly to keep him "out of the limelight" after a period when he was serving in India and stories started to surface in the press that he was there because of the civil war in [[Afghanistan]]. Shaw was not an engineer, but his methodical problem solving and intellectual capacity allowed him to become quite proficient in the boat design programme within the Marine Branch at Bridlington.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fosh |first1=J. Stephen |title=Sailors in Light Blue |journal=Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society |date=2007 |issue=40 |pages=27–29 |publisher=RAFHS |location=London |issn=1361-4231}}</ref> In his first visit, Shaw was billeted in the Bay View Hotel, and during the second period at Bridlington, he was billeted in the Ozone Hotel. The landlady of the Bay View Hotel later recalled that he slept with a curved dagger next to his bed.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chrystal|first1=Paul|title=The Place Names of Yorkshire; Cities, Towns, Villages, Rivers and Dales, some Pubs too, in Praise of Yorkshire Ales|date=2017|publisher=Stenlake|location=Catrine|isbn=9781840337532|page=20|edition=1}}</ref>

During the second part of the 1930s, the base was the home of a merchant ship named ''Kernoozer'', which was a {{convert|500|tonne|adj=on}} vessel employed to maintain targets at the Skipsea/Cowden bombing range.<ref name="BFP"/> Ten 200-class boats were worked on during the 1930s, with steel armour-plating being applied to them after they had been delivered to Bridlington on the railway. Five were stored in the RAF sheds next to Gummers Wharf and the other five were located in various sheds about the harbour.{{sfn|Ellis|2016|p=27}} ''Kernoozer'' was laid up at the start of the [[Second World War]], but the wartime work pressures meant that she was needed again at Bridlington. However, whilst sailing north from [[Grimsby]] she encountered a gale and was beached by the sea at Skipsea where she broke up.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Leech |first1=John |title=Details of Kernoozer |url=https://www.bridlingtonfreepress.co.uk/news/your-say/details-of-kernoozer-1-1714280/amp |accessdate=12 March 2019 |work=Bridlington Free Press |date=11 April 2007}}</ref>

===Second World War=== During the Second World War, because of the upsurge in aircraft flying across the [[North Sea]] on bombing raids over Europe, the MCU at Bridlington took on the additional role of Air Sea Rescue (ASR), something for which the unit was not originally intended for, but was one of the main functionalities of the Marine Branch.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Severne |first1=John |title=Silvered Wings: The Memoirs of Air Vice-Marshal Sir John Severne KCVO OBE AFC DL |date=2007 |publisher=Pen & Sword |location=Barnsley |isbn=978-1-84415-531-6 |pages=168–174 |chapter=16: Mount Batten}}</ref> Known as station 21,<ref>{{cite web |title=21 Air-Sea Rescue Marine Craft Unit (ASRMCU) Bridlington (UK)|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7160329 |website=discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk |accessdate=4 March 2019}}</ref> the ASR operated between 1940 and 1946<ref>{{cite web |title=Stations-B |url=https://www.rafweb.org/Stations/Stations-B.htm |website=www.rafweb.org |accessdate=4 March 2019}}</ref> with the marine craft on site searching for aircrew who had ditched in the North Sea. During one month in 1941, the launch HSL 102 (High Speed Launch) rescued 38 men who had been lost at sea.<ref>{{cite news |title=History of rescue boat |url=https://www.bridlingtonfreepress.co.uk/news/your-say/history-of-rescue-boat-1-1711607 |accessdate=4 March 2019 |work=Bridlington Free Press |date=7 March 2007}}</ref> Often there would be times when the ASR boat could not go out to search for downed aircrew, and the [[RNLI]] lifeboat based at {{Lbs|Bridlington}}, would perform the searches instead.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Walkington |first1=Fred |title=The Bridlington lifeboat : [the first 200 years, 1805–2005] |date=2005 |publisher=Phillimore |location=Chichester |isbn=1-86077-335-4 |page=78}}</ref> Boats selected for the ASR role were fitted with machine guns in case of aerial attack whilst in the North Sea.<ref>{{cite web |title=Name ST 1500 {{!}} National Historic Ships |url=https://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/register/1223/st-1500 |website=www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk |accessdate=12 March 2019}}</ref>

The base was also used for initial recruit training between 1941 and 1944 as No. 14 and No. 20 Initial Training Wing (ITW), which were part of No. 54 Group RAF.<ref>{{cite web |title=20 Initial Training Wing, Bridlington and Usworth; part of 54 group (ITW UK). With... |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7161009 |website=discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk |accessdate=10 March 2019}}</ref> The station headquarters was a requisitioned hotel (the Brentwood Hotel, replacing an earlier HQ at Southcliffe Hotel) with recruits and serving airman billeted locally in houses and hotel rooms.<ref>{{cite web |title=RAF Bridlington [concept] · IBCC Digital Archive |url=https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/5646 |website=ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk |accessdate=12 March 2019}}</ref> Besides recruit training, RAF Bridlington was a loose collection of basic RAF schools. Other training at Bridlington included sea-ditching drills (by jumping off the pier in the harbour), morse code training and an Elementary Air Gunnery School.<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC – WW2 People's War – Recollections of My Military Service – Part 1 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/45/a7391045.shtml |website=www.bbc.co.uk |accessdate=10 March 2019 |date=29 November 2005}}</ref> Air Gunnery courses at Bridlington typically lasted for six weeks.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jefford |first1=Jeff |title=The Air Gunner |journal=Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society |date=2013 |issue=55 |page=111 |publisher=RAFHS |location=London |issn=1361-4231}}</ref> Logistics schools were also opened in the town, especially after [[RAF Cranwell]] became overcrowded.{{sfn|Stone|2016|p=153}} As with the other training schools, it was divided up between several buildings and the headquarters was in the Alexandra Hotel in the town.{{sfn|Stone|2016|pages=153–154}}

Nearby [[Sewerby Hall]] was also requisitioned as an RAF hospital which was used by sick personnel from RAF Bridlington, RAF Carnaby, RAF Catfoss and RAF Lissett.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sewerby Hall's history as RAF sickness bay |url=https://www.bridlingtonfreepress.co.uk/news/your-say/sewerby-hall-s-history-as-raf-sickness-bay-1-1715862/amp |accessdate=10 March 2019 |work=bridlingtonfreepress.co.uk |date=8 November 2007}}</ref> In 1943, Nos 18 and 19 ITW were merged to form No. 70 ITW at Bridlington.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jefford |first1=Jeff |title=The Wireless Operator in WW II{{sic}} |journal=Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society |date=2011 |issue=50 |page=111 |publisher=RAFHS |location=London |issn=1361-4231}}</ref> During the Second World War, the loose collection of schools and units were known collectively as RAF Bridlington.<ref>{{cite web |title=Notebook Regarding Training with ETS Course 314 at RAF Bridlington, July 1941 – November 1941 |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1030012881 |website=iwm.org.uk |accessdate=14 March 2019}}</ref> However, RAF Carnaby, an emergency airfield to the south-west of Bridlington was also known locally as RAF Bridlington, which caused some confusion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Forgotten airfields |url=https://www.forgottenairfields.com/airfield-carnaby-1015.html |website=www.forgottenairfields.com |accessdate=12 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Carnaby (Bridlington) – Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK |url=https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/carnaby-bridlington/ |website=www.abct.org.uk |accessdate=14 March 2019}}</ref>

===Post-war=== After the Second World War, RAF Bridlington was scaled back and only the Marine Craft Unit continued to exist. The MCU was one of 15 located throughout the United Kingdom, with another five located around the world near to flying RAF stations.{{sfn|Sutherland| Canwell|2010|p=226}} Command and control was reverted to RAF Catfoss and RAF Bridlington ceased as a functioning unit; all elements at Bridlington were ''parented'' by other stations. Whilst the ASR function officially ceased in 1946, the craft at Bridlington often assisted the RNLI with searches for those missing at sea post-war, with at least one rescue documented although in that particular case, the casualty had died, despite the efforts of the RAF Crew in trying to revive her.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bridlington Lifeboat Tragedy 1952 – The Flamborough Lifeboats Website |url=http://sprobson.f2s.com/t1952.html |website=sprobson.f2s.com |accessdate=4 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Flamborough Tragedy 19th August 1952 |url=http://www.tarncourt.co.uk/flamborough/Flamborough%20Tragedy%2019th%20August%201952%20%28Revised%2001.08.12%29%20%281%29.htm |website=www.tarncourt.co.uk |accessdate=4 March 2019}}</ref> The Search and Rescue function of the MCU was still listed on the [[Royal National Lifeboat Institution|Royal National Lifeboat Institution's]] list of active search and rescue units in 1957 and in 1966.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Map showing air stations engaged in search and rescue work |journal=The Lifeboat |date=September 1957 |volume=34|issue=381 |page=479 |publisher=RNLI |location=Poole|issn=0024-3086}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Ministry of Defence Search and Rescue Stations|journal=The Lifeboat |date=December 1966|volume=39|issue=418 |page=224 |publisher=RNLI |location=Poole|issn=0024-3086}}</ref> [[File:Lawrence Complex at Bridlington.jpg|thumb|Lawrence Complex on the seafront at Bridlington]] In 1969, a tragedy befell ''[[Pinnace No. 1386 sinking|1386 Pinnace]]'', one of the MCU's boats which was based at 1104 MCU Bridlington. She had been on an exercise with helicopters off the coast of [[Dundee]] and was making her way down the coast back to base. She stopped off at [[Amble, Northumberland|Amble]] and whilst attempting to enter the harbour in rough seas, she was capsized. Three of the crew were drowned, the rest were rescued by the RNLI, [[Royal Navy]] divers and local fishermen.{{sfn|Sutherland|Canwell|2010|pp=155–156}}

By 1972, Bridlington was one of only five MCU bases left in the employ of the Royal Air Force; the other four were [[RAF Alness|Alness]], Falmouth, [[RAF Holyhead|Holyhead]] and [[RAF Mount Batten|Mount Batten]].{{sfn|Sutherland|Canwell|2010|p=155}} The sheds at Bridlington harbour were last used by the RAF in 1978.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sumner |first1=Ian |last2=Sumner |first2=Margaret |title=Bridlington |date=1995 |publisher=Alan Sutton |location=Stroud |isbn=0-7509-0762-2 |page=88}}</ref> The site they were located on was razed in 1993 and a new building, called the ''Lawrence Complex'' was built on the same site.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bridlington Guide East Yorkshire town walk UK |url=http://www.ba-education.com/for/travel/guide/bridlington.html |website=www.ba-education.com |accessdate=4 March 2019}}</ref> The RAF finally vacated Bridlington in December 1980,<ref name="BFP2">{{cite news |title=Marine Craft Unit bids farewell |work=The Bridlington Free Press |date=11 December 1980 |page=2|issn=0963-455X}}</ref> while the RAF Marine Branch itself was disbanded six years later in 1986.{{sfn|Sutherland|Canwell|2010|p=162}}

One of the fast seaplane tender launches that was located in Bridlington between 1932 and 1942 (No. ST 206), is now on display in the [[RAF Museum]] at [[Hendon]] in [[Greater London]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Detail page {{!}} Research {{!}} Collections {{!}} RAF Museum |url=https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/seaplane-tender-206/ |website=www.rafmuseum.org.uk |accessdate=14 March 2019}}</ref>

==Units== {|class="wikitable" ! Unit ! Dates ! Notes ! Ref |- |No. 1 Elementary Air Gunners School (EAGS) |April 1943 – April 1944 |Moved to [[RAF Bridgnorth]] in 1944 |<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jefford |first1=Jeff |title=The Air Gunner |journal=Journal of the Royal Air Force Historical Society |date=2013 |issue=55 |page=119 |publisher=RAFHS |location=London |issn=1361-4231}}</ref> |- |No. 20 Initial Training Wing (ITW) |?–November 1943 |Responsible for wireless operator and air gunnery training. Moved to [[RAF Usworth]] |<ref>{{cite web |title=Usworth Aerodrome (Sunderland) – History |url=http://www.neam.co.uk/usworth.html |website=www.neam.co.uk |accessdate=10 March 2019}}</ref> |- |No. 21 Air Sea Rescue (ASR) unit |1942–1946 |Officially operating between 1942 and 1946, but the MCU was using {{convert|40|ft|adj=on}} boats from Bridlington in an ASR role as early as February 1941 |{{sfn|Sutherland|Canwell|2010|p=41}} |- |No. 70 Initial Training Wing (ITW) |1943–1944 |Responsible for Wireless Operator (Air) training |<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jefford |first1=C.&nbsp;G. |title=Observers and navigators : and other non-pilot aircrew in the RFC, RNAS and RAF |date=2014 |publisher=Grub Street |location=London |isbn=978-1-909808-02-7 |page=231 |edition=2}}</ref> |- |No. 1104 Marine Craft Unit (MCU) |1929–1980 |Longest serving RAF unit at Bridlington |<ref name="BFP2"/><ref>{{cite web |title=No 1104 Marine Craft Unit, RAF Bridlington |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11507909 |website=discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk |accessdate=14 March 2019}}</ref> |- |RAF CTC (Civilian Technical Corps) |1941–1943 | |{{sfn|Stone|2016|p=126}} |- |RAF ETS (Equipment Training School) |1941–1944 | |{{sfn|Stone|2016|p=153}} |}

==Notable people== *[[Johnny Johnson (RAF officer)|Johnny Johnson]] (the last [[Operation Chastise|Dambuster]]) – attended RAF Bridlington in Winter 1942 for Elementary Air Gunnery Training before being posted to [[RAF Morpeth]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=George Leonard |last2=Johnson |first2=Morgan |title=The last British Dambuster : one man's extraordinary life and the raids that changed history |date=2015 |publisher=Random House |location=London |isbn=9780091957759 |page=92 |edition=1 |chapter=4. Night Fighter and a Fiasco in Florida}}</ref> *[[T E Lawrence]] - part of the MCU in 1932 and again between 1934 and early 1935.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chrystal |first1=Paul |title=Lifeboat stations of North East England through time : from Sunderland to the Humber |date=2012 |publisher=Amberley |location=Stroud |isbn=978-1-4456-1376-5 |page=74}}</ref><ref name="Sigma Leisure"/>

==References== {{reflist}}

===Sources=== *{{cite book|last=Ellis|first=Linda|title=Lawrence of Arabia in Bridlington|year=2016|publisher=Lodge Books|isbn=978-1-326-83109-7}} *{{cite report|last=Stone|first=Trevor|title=Royal Air Force Logistics During the Second World War: Transformation, Sustainment and Flexibility|year=2016|url=https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/21724/T%20Stone%20-%20PhD%20Thesis.pdf?sequence=1|website=ore.exeter.ac.uk|accessdate=14 March 2019}} *{{cite book|last1=Sutherland|first1=Jonathan|last2=Canwell|first2=Diane|title=The RAF Air Sea Rescue Service 1918–1986|year=2010|publisher=Pen & Sword|location=Barnsley|isbn=978-184884-303-5}}

==External links== *[https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/11621 Image from 1943 of a course on an ITW at RAF Bridlington] {{Royal Air Force}} {{RAF stations in Yorkshire}} {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridlington, RAF}} [[Category:Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in the East Riding of Yorkshire]] [[Category:Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire]] [[Category:Bridlington]] [[Category:Military installations established in 1929]] [[Category:Military installations closed in 1980]]