RAF Stanton Harcourt

RAF Stanton Harcourt Stanton Harcourt was the satellite base for RAF Abingdon, and the first planes lifted off on 3rd September 1940 with 10 Operational Training Unit, mostly flying medium bomber Whitleys (training for night missions) & Halifaxes.

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RAF Stanton Harcourt runway looking east

Stanton was - and still is - a vast base. It stretches from the village of Stanton Harcourt itself across to the site of the modern Dix Pit.The runways have nearly all disappeared - grubbed up for gravel extraction - what’s left of No.1 runway still stands to the west of Dix Pit.

Strange to think that where West Oxfordshire residents now dump their broken TVs was where bombers once clawed their way skywards, night after night, to pound Germany and occupied France.

But, from the path, with a bit of imagination, you can still imagine the base as home to more than 700 personnel. From original maps, it’s possible to work out that the site of the Control Tower is now under landfill at the north of the site. The bomb dump and firing range are buried in woods near Dix Pit and are only partly visible. The landowner’s efforts to keep out the vandals have had some sad effects. One of the blast shelters, just next to the main path into the base, used to be edged with what looked like original, WWII, whitewashed stones. I’d always imagined some poor Erk on punishment duty, carefully brushwhitewashing each one. Even seventy years later the whitewash was faded but still there. Must have taken three coats at least. Now, to make room for the barbed wire fencing that runs directly past the old blast shelter, they’ve been grubbed up and dumped. It seems poor thanks. Hanson had a depot for gravel extraction at the site, and much of the rest of the base has been given over to landfill and light industry. It’s almost impossible to get any idea of how the place used to be laid out. But, apart from the exceptional preservation of the Tech Site near the village, Stanton is remarkable for two reasons: - Halifaxes from 35 & 76 Squadron mounted the July 1941 attack on Scharnhorst from Stanton Harcourt and, - Winston Churchill flew to the Casablanca Conference on 13th January 1943 from Stanton Harcourt in Liberator AL504 (Operation 'Static'). When I first photographed Stanton Harcourt in 2008 it was easy to walk around the remains of the Tech site. There was little vandalism, easy access and most of the buildings were used for farm storage. It's much harder now. Vandalism has meant the landowner has fenced off most of the site off the footpath with barbed wire. 28 Armourer's Workshop, Stanton Harcourt Inside the Ops Block