Monument record 0951000000 - Halton Camp

Summary

Twentieth century Royal Flying Corps and then RAF Camp in use from before the First World War onwards.

Protected Status/Designation

  • SHINE: Halton Hall medieval to post medieval manor and designed park earthworks

Map

Type and Period (1)

  • MILITARY BASE (Modern to 21st Century - 1913 AD to 2007 AD)

Description

Halton has been associated with military flying since 1912 when 3 aeroplanes and an airship made use of the ground of Halton House then owned by Alfred Rothschild. On 10 September 1917 the Halton School of Technical Training was established to train men and boys in aircraft fitting and rigging. After the First World War the school was renamed and in 1920 became No 1 School of Technical Training (Boys) Halton. An RAF hospital was established in 1919 and a larger hospital was opened in 1927 with the opening ceremony performed by HRH Princess Mary after whom the hospital was named. In 1940 a burns unit was established and by the middle of the war Princess Mary's Hospital held over 700 equipped beds. Here in 1957 the first artificial kidney unit in Britain was set up. Alongside the camp is a grass airfield and was the last landing ground for countless old aircraft brought here for technicians to be trained upon (B1).
As part of the forces involved in the 1913 army manoeuvres, 3 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps deployed to Halton to support the operations of the Household Division. They set up a temporary airfield on what was later to become the Maitland Parade Square, which was at the time pasture. Alfred Rothschild offered his estate as a training ground in 1914. 20,000 troops descended on Halton and lived in tents as they trained for the Western front. The weather forced the military authorities to erect more durable buildings and in 1916 the Royal Flying Corps moved into a semi-established camp. Old Worksops was built in 1917, using German PoW labour, and the current airfield was established. Alfred Rothschild died in 1918. The Royal Flying Corps had been established as the Royal Air Force and it needed permanent bases. They had already invested a considerable amount in the workshops and accommodation they had built at Halton and so eventually bought the whole property to house the new No 1 School of Technical Training. A major building programme produced barrack blocks, messes and an education block to replace the wartime huts. The narrow gauge railway link to Wendover, which had been used to transport timber from the estate in support of the war effort, was replaced with a standard gauge branch line bringing in coal and building materials. Plans were laid for a permanent hospital, to replace the temporary wartime structure, and a headquarters formation moved into Halton House itself. Princess Mary's RAF Hospital was opened in 1927 with its younger partner, the institute of Pathology and Tropical Medicine, providing an excellent specialist and general service. Its closure in 1995 was a major blow to the local community as well as the RAF. After the Cold War there was a brief fear of closure and technical training was moved to RAF Cosford but Halton is now for non-technical ground training (B2).
The earliest record of the use of Halton by military aircraft dates to 1912, when three aeroplanes and an airship taking part in military manoeuvres in the area used Halton Park as a base. The first hangars on the site were two reused sea-plane hangars augmented by tented Bessoneau hangars (B3).

Sources (8)

  • <1>SBC22307 Bibliographic reference: Michael J F Bowyer. 1983. Action Stations: 6. Military airfields of the Cotswolds and the Cental Midlands. No. 6.
  • <2>SBC22821 Digital archive: RAF Cultural and organizational heritage.
  • <3>SBC22266 Unpublished document: Wessex Archaeology. 2005. RAF Halton: Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment. p32.
  • <4>SBC19351 Bibliographic reference: DoE. 1985. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.
  • <5>SBC23872 Bibliographic reference: Andrew E Adam. 1983. Beechwoods and Bayonets: The Book of Halton.
  • <6>SBC24694 Bibliographic reference: Catrina Appleby, Wayne Cocroft & John Schofield (Eds). 2015. The Home Front in Britain 1914-18: an Archaeological Handbook. p119.
  • <7>SBC25359 Digital archive: UK Pillbox Study Group. 2020. UK Pillbox Study Group - Database of Modern Defence Sites.
  • <8>SBC26255 Digital archive: Historic England. 2023. National Heritage List for England: Listing Entry.

Location

Grid reference Centred SP 87670 10010 (2154m by 3682m)
Civil Parish WENDOVER, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire
Civil Parish ASTON CLINTON, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire
Civil Parish HALTON, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (47)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Mar 7 2024 6:07PM

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