# RAF Windrush > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/RAF_Windrush > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/RAF_Windrush.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Windrush > Source revision: 1352558204 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Royal Air Force Windrush**, or more simply **RAF Windrush**, is a former [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) [satellite station](/source/Royal_Air_Force_station) near [Windrush](/source/Windrush,_Gloucestershire), Gloucestershire, England. It was opened in 1940 and closed on 12 July 1945.[1] Initially it was a Relief Landing Ground for [RAF Chipping Norton](/source/RAF_Chipping_Norton), later coming under the control of [RAF Little Rissington](/source/RAF_Little_Rissington).[2] ## History The airfield consisted of two [Sommerfeld tracking](/source/Sommerfeld_tracking) runways, a concrete perimeter track, 1 T1 building and 8 Blister Hangars amongst many others. Most of this infrastructure was added in 1942.[3] Some of the original buildings remain in situ though the site has been returned to agricultural use. The Watch Tower was restored in the 1990s. The airfield is partly in the ownership of the [National Trust](/source/National_Trust).[4] The following units were here at some point:[5] - [No. 6 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF](/source/No._6_(Pilots)_Advanced_Flying_Unit_RAF) - [No. 6 Service Flying Training School RAF](/source/No._6_Service_Flying_Training_School_RAF) - [No. 15 Service Flying Training School RAF](/source/No._15_Service_Flying_Training_School_RAF) ## Memorial A memorial at the church in Windrush village describes Sgt Pilot Bruce Hancock RAFVR who died on 18 August 1940 when downing a German [Heinkel](/source/Heinkel) bomber by ramming it with his unarmed training [Avro Anson](/source/Avro_Anson) aircraft.[6] ## Postwar Following closure in 1945 the airfield history has not been fully recorded but the then landowner Lord Sherborne purchased the airfield in 1969 back from the [MOD](/source/Ministry_of_Defence_(United_Kingdom)) and over time either demolished many of the hundred or so RAF buildings, or else established conifer plantations around them seeking to hide them from view. Many bomb shelters, ancillary buildings and concrete access tracks remain in these plantations. The Midland Parachuting Club was granted a lease of a strip of grass for use as a runway from 1992 until 1997 and used the Watch Tower as their base for Parachuting during that period.[7] ## Current ownership The western portion of the airfield came under the ownership of the [National Trust](/source/National_Trust) in March 1987 as part of the bequest of the [Lodge Park and Sherborne Estate](/source/Lodge_Park_and_Sherborne_Estate) by the 7th [Baron Sherborne](/source/Baron_Sherborne). It is currently part of a let agricultural holding on the estate. Apart from two public [bridleways](/source/Bridleway) there is currently no public access to the site. The National Trust Estate Office is in the nearby village of [Sherborne, Gloucestershire](/source/Sherborne,_Gloucestershire). ## See also - [List of former Royal Air Force stations](/source/List_of_former_Royal_Air_Force_stations) ## References ### Citations 1. ["Windrush"](http://www.controltowers.co.uk/W-Z/Windrush.htm). Control Towers. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20191116085957/http://www.controltowers.co.uk/W-Z/Windrush.htm) 16 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 July 2020. 1. Phillips, Jenni & Lillywhite, Maisie (6 May 2020). ["The lost airfields of Gloucestershire and the remarkable role they played in WW2"](https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/history/lost-airfields-gloucestershire-remarkable-role-4105002). *Gloucestershire Live*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200528151751/https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/history/lost-airfields-gloucestershire-remarkable-role-4105002) 28 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 July 2020. 1. ["RAF Windrush"](https://www.airshowspresent.com/raf-windrush.html). Aircraft, Airfields and Airshows. Retrieved 5 July 2020. 1. ["National Trust HBSMR and Windush"](https://archaeologynationaltrustsw.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/national-trust-hbsmr-and-windush/). *Archaeology National Trust SW*. National Trust. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20161007122726/https://archaeologynationaltrustsw.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/national-trust-hbsmr-and-windush/) 7 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 July 2020. 1. ["Windrush"](https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/windrush/). [Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust](/source/Airfields_of_Britain_Conservation_Trust). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200626023324/https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/windrush/) 26 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 June 2020. 1. ["Memorial to Sgt Pilot Bruce Hancock"](http://thecotswoldgateway.co.uk/villages_windrush.htm). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090919044024/http://www.thecotswoldgateway.co.uk/villages_windrush.htm) 19 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 June 2009. 1. ["Monument No. 1431860"](https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1431860). *Pastscape*. Historic England. Retrieved 5 July 2020. ## External links - [Wartime Memories description](http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/airfields/windrush.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20081011040753/http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/airfields/windrush.html) 11 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine - [Gallery of pictures](https://web.archive.org/web/20090730023608/http://www.pixture.co.uk/Airfields/Pages/Windrush.htm) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [RAF Windrush](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Windrush) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Windrush?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.