RAF Grafton Underwood

This blog post is part of the Blast From The Past series; a selection of older blog posts, previously made private, now republished. Find out more here.


I recently went on a little adventure for you... I had always known of a connection between the local village of Grafton Underwood and a World War Two airbase, in fact I had even heard stories from family members about the airbase. I thought it sounded interesting so started to find out more, it turns out that the small Northamptonshire village was one of the homes to the American Airforce in World War II, specifically the Eighth Air Force.

The ariel plans of RAF Grafton Underwood

RAF Grafton Underwood was opened in 1941 for use by the Royal Air Force Bomber Command, by the end of 1942, the airbase had already proved it's worth and was extended to become of a Class A airfield standard, to cope with newer larger aircraft. Shortly after being taken over by United States Army Air Force - Eighth Air Force, now designated as USAAF Station 106 Grafton Underwood. In its time as a war-time airbase RAF Grafton Underwood played host to 15th Bombardment Squadron (light), 97th Bombardment Group (heavy), 305th Bombardment Group (heavy), 96th Bombardment Group (heavy) & 384th Bombardment Group (heavy). The original main aim of the airbase was to be a satellite airfield to the bigger RAF Polebrook, assisting with dropping of bombs on Oil supplies and Industry mainly around the Meresburg area of Germany. However RAF Grafton Underwood went above and beyond the original plans, performing their air assault across Nazi ruled Germany, France, Belgium & Norway.

The base used the surrounding natural woodland as its camouflage, with all the barracks, offices, mess halls, hospital, chapel and even a cinema being dug into the darkness of the woodland, now known as Grafton Park. One afternoon I set off on a walk from my home to Grafton Park, I had often passed the woodland blissfully unaware of its dark secret. I found the woodland honestly quite haunting, the paths through the woodland were the original tracks from the airbase, it was honestly strange to think these paths were the same concrete roads walked down by British & American personnel, I kept thinking about if the trees could talk what stories they could tell. Every now and again out of the darkness of the woodland canopy the remains of a building would appear, I found this actually quite scary, I was by myself and the woodland was quiet, a shadow of the hustle and bustle that it must have been.

The forest claiming back the airbase

The main airbase and runways are now owned by the Boughton Estate and are also shadow of their former self, dug up after the war the land is a stretch of agricultural fields, however several frying pan and at least one double-loop hardstand remain on the north side of the airfield on private farmland. Many random patches of concrete track and hardstanding also remain alongside Brigstock Road, however often access is limited or not permitted.

A mushroom pillbox

Inside the bomb technician building

Derelict building, use unknown.

Signage inside the station headquarters

(all above photos sourced from www.derelictplaces.co.uk - tocsin_bang)

Although many of the missions undertaken by the personnel at RAF Grafton Underwood were successful, like every other airbase involved in the assault against Adolf Hitler's regime they suffered casualties. During my research I managed to find so many files reporting entire planes & crew as missing. I even found reports of fatal accidents at the airbase, on one winters night a group of USAAF planes returning from a successful mission mis-judged the length of the runway, causing deaths to the crews and many others on the ground. Another discovery I made is Major Paul Tibbets, he flew in the first B-17 mission from Grafton Underwood in August 1942 and towards the end of the war would go on to pilot the world famous superfortress bomber the Enola Gay, dropping the first ever atomic bomb in warfare, code named 'Little Boy' on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb caused unprecedented destruction in the city, Japanese records published in 1945 state the the bomb killed 66,000 people and injured a further 69,000.

Brigadier General Paul W.Tibbets, Jr.

In the 1990's a memorial was erected at the end of one of the runways to ensure the public would forever be aware of the bravery of those who fought and won the war from Grafton Underwood. The memorial sits at the side of what is now a country lane linking the villages of Grafton Underwood and Geddington via Boughton House.

The United States American Air Force - 8th Air Force War Memorial, RAF Grafton Underwood

St James the Apostle Church in the heart of the village is a small quintessentially British rural church from the outside, on the inside however is one of the most moving displays of homage to the United States of America I have ever seen. The Stars & Stripes of the American flag hang from the ceiling of the church, an entire stained glass window created to remember all those based in Grafton Underwood during the war was gifted to the church by the 384th Bomb Group of the United States 8th Air Force, the prayer cushions are knitted in decorative patterns, depicting the logos of the Royal Air Force, United States Army Air Force and many other military bodies, there are plaques on the wall dating from the end of the war to the present day recognising donations from the bomb groups based in Grafton Underwood for restoration work in the church and finally the visitors book is crammed full of comments and signatures from people from all over the world, each a praise to the village, the tiny church & the work undertaken here between 1941 and 1959.

'The window is dedicated before God in remembrance of those who gave their lives for freedom during World War II, while serving at Station 106 Grafton Underwood 1942 - 1945'

The prayer cushions, in all their military glory.

After the war, once the American Army Air Force had packed up and moved on, the Air Ministry took control of the base, using it as a site to store and repair war machinery, employing up to 200 civilian drivers and mechanics. On the 1st Feburary 1959, with growing peace across Europe and changes in military programmes the base however was declared surplus to requirements by the British Government and shut down, forever. 

The first & last bombs dropped by the United States Army Air Force - 8th Air Force were from RAF Grafton Underwood, a truly symbolic fact about a tiny, quiet, unrecognised piece of Northamptonshire Countryside.

MJT

Useful Links
384th Bomb Group
St James the Apostle Church
Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust

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Twitter - @TylerMattyJames
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*This blogpost was originally published on 14/09/2013, reformatted and republished on 26/02/2016

Richard III (Leicester or York?)

This blog post is part of the Blast From The Past series; a selection of older blog posts, previously made private, now republished. Find out more here.


Today's post could be described as more of an appeal... For those of you that don't know, former King and divine ruler of England Richard III's body was recently found under a car park in Leicester City Centre. If you have been watching the BBC's The White Queen, an adaptation of the historical events revolving around Elizabeth Woodville and the War of the Roses, you will know who Richard III is. He was the third son of the York line and his ruling of the country has often been under scrutiny throughout history, as can be seen in the Shakespeare play Richard III.

Richard III as depicted in the National Portrait Gallery

Richard was born in 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle, in our very own Northamptonshire! His death came in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth Field, Leicestershire. His body was quickly transported to the city of Leicester to be buried in the church of the Greyfriars, which has since been lost to redevelopment and it's exact location remained unsure for decades. The royal skeleton discovery was announced in February and has been a great success for the University of Leicester & Leicester City Council, who drew together to unravel the mystery of the exact location of the church and the burial site of the last king to die in battle. Richard III finally ended the battle for leadership between the two families of York and Lancaster, his successor Henry Tudor is the start of a stable line to the throne and even today Queen Elizabeth II's ancestry can be traced back to Henry.

Aneurin Barnard who plays Richard III in the BBC's The White Queen

Since the discovery of Richard's body plans were put in place for his re-interment in Leicester Cathedral, with an entire section of the cathedral being re-developed to honour the monarch. The £1million redevelopment plans include new floors, lighting and stained glass windows, creating a truly contemplative space. These plans co-inside with bigger Leicester Cathedral plans to redesign themselves and re-tell the story of Christ and Richard III to an ever-changing city. This is a great opportunity for Leicester and I feel this really will do justice to the king and his reign. However, the city of York and Richard's present day ancestors have put in a bid for the king's re-interment in York, the city of which they say Richard would've chose to be buried in. The battle for the rights for re-interment has been taken to the courts with results hopefully expected soon.

I personally would love to see King Richard III buried in Leicester, where it was decided he would be buried all those many years ago, after his death on the battlefield. I have signed a petition against the house of York in favour of Leicester as I feel that Leicester is a great representation of modern Britain, it's diversity is something to be proud of! Yes, Leicester does lack the level of historical importance that York has, but this opportunity gives the up-and-coming city an option to have a historical influence on the country for many years to come.

The plans include Richard's tomb resting on a marble white rose, the symbol of the York dynasty.

You too can sign the official HM Government petition against York -HERE- It takes no time at all and is a worthy cause. Let's hope this modern day War of the Roses doesn't drag out too long and we will all see Richard III's re-internment in Leicester, in May as planned.


MJT

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*This blogpost was originally published on 03/09/2013, reformatted and republished on 26/02/2016

The Badger Cull... Continued.

This blog post is part of the Blast From The Past series; a selection of older blog posts, previously made private, now republished. Find out more here.


Badger Bother Booms!
Today I thought I'd return to the topic of the badger cull. I have been receiving many 'hate tweets' about my pro-badger cull opinions over the past couple of days, they have all stemmed from a tweet I received from Lee Ryan, a member of boy band Blue. In all honesty, Lee was actually very nice about the entire situation and definitely was showing some sympathy towards my personal views. It was the uproar which followed from other people that has surprised me, I think we can all safely say that the majority of the British people are against the cull. The problem is that the majority of the British people are not aware of all the problems and the reasons behind the cull, all they see is a group of farmers running around the countryside shooting aimlessly into badger sets.

@LeeRyanMusic

One of my biggest annoyances is the number of rats, deer, fish & many endless other animals which are culled daily, nobody seems to have an issue with this? You don't find people stood outside pest control offices, wearing rat masks and holding candles? That's because these animals are culled to stop the spread of disease, for population control and to stop their high population density damaging other animals or the environment around them. So what makes badgers different, I honestly believe the main reason is their appeal. The British Badger is a statement symbol of the Great British countryside, the badger can be found in the logo for the Wildlife Trusts and the badger appears in children's literature, such as Beatrix Potter's world famous book The Tale of Mr. Tod. The British people love badgers and so do I.

Tommy Brock, Beatrix Potter's famous badger

I am trying not to let myself become almost brainwashed by this almost badger propaganda and try to view the situation from both sides, in my previous blog post about the badger cull I made just 5 points explaining why I am for the cull. Nobody wants a cull but unfortunately these cute little woodland dwellers, don't wear waistcoats and skip through the woods with Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle Duck. They do carry Bovine TB and they do spread the disease across the countryside infecting cattle herds and damaging the livelihoods of many farmers/land owners, contributing to agricultural poverty.

Below is a small selection of tweets I have received over the past few hours...

Blood test every single British Badger?

They're not killing every single badger!?

I'd rather listen to scientific facts...

The more tweets I receive accusing me of being a murderer and asking me to listen to and believe the views of a member of a 90's boy band, over all I can see going on around me and all I have been told by farmers, professionals and other interested parties, the stronger my feeling for the cull becomes. The cull was inevitable and just remember '...once in your life you need a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman and a preacher but every day, three times a day, you need a farmer.'


MJT

Useful Links
Previous Badger Cull blog post

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*This blog post was originally published on 02/09/2013, reformatted and then republished on 26/02/2016

The Badger Cull

This blog post is part of the Blast From The Past series; a selection of older blog posts, previously made private, now republished. Find out more here.


Badger Bother

Today I thought I'd be very topical and discuss the badger cull currently being undertaken in parts of Southern England. The cull is an effort to reduce the effects and spread of Bovine TB on cattle. I'd like to make it clear from the start that as I stand at the moment I am completely FOR the cull (unless I manage to convince myself otherwise whilst writing this post).

The Great British Badger

I'd like to start where my knowledge of the cull starts in September 2012, the start of term. One of the first topics of discussion I ever had at university was about the badger cull, which was probably not the best thing to discuss whilst trying to make friends, as the people in the class were agricultural students who are usually 100% for the cull and countryside management students who vary from glorified farmers to tree hugging hippies who are completely against! I was immediately taken-back by some people's passion and often stubbornness in seeing the other side of the argument, and when we were asked to prepare a presentation on a related topic to our course, to present to the rest of the class I chose the impending badger cull, which I will link to below.

Brian May who has been leading the campaign against the cull

I did a lot of research and spoke to a lot of people around university when compiling my presentation and this is when I decided I was for the cull. There are many reasons as to why I am for the cull, some are not even related to the bovine TB epidemic and I have drawn up 5 main points, let me explain them to you below.

1) The Cull is a carefully managed, science led study. You'd be wrong in thinking it is a load of farmers going around shooting wildly into badger sets. The people undertaking the cull have had months of training and it is all being overseen by a group of scientists and an independent panel. This is not the government allowing a free-for-all on shooting badgers as many people seem to think.

2) Peoples livelihoods are genuinely being destroyed by Bovine TB. When a farmers cattle is infected it costs on average £30,000 to deal with the infection, £10,000 of this falls to the farmer to pay out of his own pocket. A farmer could loose his prize bull to TB, this would also leave him to have to find a new bull which isn't a cheap prospect either. Even if the cull only reduces the infection rate by 1%, that could save a farmer a lot of money, stress and worry.

3) The TB outbreak has cost the taxpayer £500 million over the past 10 years and it is still rising, the next 10 years are expected to cost a further £1 Billion, if nothing is done to try and stop the disease.

4) Those against the cull often ask for tighter bio-security and cattle movement controls to prevent the cattle-to-cattle spread of the disease. The UK already has some of the tightest bio-security measures on their farms, this ensures that all British cattle is cared for and is 100% safe for consumption, however this comes at a cost and means that often British farmers are competed out of the market by international imports, where costs aren't so high. To add more security measures to British farms could remove British meat producers from the market entirely, in the long run damaging the economy.

5) The badger population in the UK is at an all time high, since their protection in the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. Some see that their population density especially in areas of the south west where TB is rife, as being too high, many think that a cull is needed to control the number of badgers before their excessive populations damage the British countrysides fragile ecosystem. A cull could be needed within the next 50 years as a pest/population control anyway.

26,000 cattle were slaughtered in 2011 as a result of TB

I appreciate that this is a very sensitive issue and I'd love to hear your opinions on the cull, for or against. I also think that the environment in which I choose to spend my time and the people I spend my time with influence me heavily on my decision, not intentionally. I however can see the pain and problems Bovine TB has caused first hand, the people and their livelihoods who have been effected, so maybe we are just using badgers as a scapegoat, even if there is only a tiny little glimmer that culling the badgers would have a positive effect, I say go for it.

MJT

Useful Links
The opinion of The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
The Badger Trust
London Against The Badger Cull
The BBCs Q&A on The Cull

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Twitter- @TylerMattyJames
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*This blog post was originally published on 27/08/2013, reformatted and then republished on 26/02/2016