Major Cambridgeshire airfields Oakington and Bourn to be honoured with the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust's latest memorials
As a result of long planning and co-operation between the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust (ABCT) - the world’s first national airfield charity - and various more local associated elements, and following very successful similar unveilings across Cambridgeshire in more recent times, two further memorials will be unveiled during Friday and Saturday 28-29 March 2025 to commemorate Oakington and Bourn Airfields.
Oakington, now home to the growing community of Northstowe, opened in July 1940 as a substantially built RAF bomber airfield. Various units and aircraft types resided here during World War Two, though Oakington is perhaps best remembered in a wartime capacity as having long being home to No 7 Squadron and its initial use of Short Stirling heavy bombers, which had not long entered RAF service. In peacetime, Oakington initially transferred to Transport Command control before Flying Training Command took over in 1950 for use by mainly No 5 Flying Training School. This unit originally conducted fighter pilot instruction until switching to multi-engined aircraft training in the early 1960s. After a busy career, Oakington closed in March 1975 and since then has seen a mixture of British Army and immigration reception centre use. In more recent years, the airfield has witnessed massive redevelopment to create the new town of Northstowe. This community is being developed in three phases – the second and third of which are being delivered by Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency, as master developer. Located less than 30 minutes from Cambridge city centre, Northstowe is already home to an independent population of over 1,500 households and features schools, sports facilities, and plenty of green space. Despite such changes, Oakington still remains recognised as a famous and distinguished British airfield.
Nearby Bourn was originally Oakington’s satellite airfield, being earmarked for development shortly into wartime and gradually opened during 1941. Until the end of World War Two several RAF Bomber Command squadrons served here with distinction, operating a mixture of Short Stirlings, Vickers Wellingtons, Avro Lancasters and de Havilland Mosquitoes; other duties here included meteorological reconnaissance, similar to Oakington. The first few years after the world conflict proved to a degree an uncertain time for Bourn but it eventually became a significant civil airfield, notably being used by the Rural Flying Corps until general aviation activity finally ceased in 2020. As with not only its parent airfield but other airfields in the general Cambridge area, Bourn is currently undergoing massive transformation for a combination of housing and industry. The 30 acre site now called Bourn Quarter www.bournquarter.com, which was occupied by hangars used for combat aircraft repair and servicing and subsequently for the manufacture of vehicle chassis assemblies, has been redeveloped into a modern business park now providing accommodation for leading edge businesses including some engaged in the progression of defence technology. This redevelopment has been carried out by Aitchison Developments and Savills Investment Management. However, as with Oakington, Bourn continues to be greatly acknowledged for all its numerous airfield achievements.
Both memorials are of the main full-sized standardised design already widely utilised by ABCT https://www.abct.org.uk/airfield-markers/marker-programme/. The charity’s objective in this regard is to eventually commemorate each known major airfield in the United Kingdom with one of two forms of standardised granite memorial. Well over 200 have already been unveiled - following huge national public demand for them - to clearly major effect, with hundreds more being planned.
Oakington Airfield
https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/oakington/
Friday 28 March 2025, 10.30 am, north-west of Cambridge, at Northstowe east of Longstanton, at junction of Rampton Road and Mud Lane, close to Northstowe House and former airfield Station Headquarters
Postcode (nearest) CB24 3EN, What3Words: estimate.blanking.hides
Bourn Airfield
https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/bourn/
Saturday 29 March 2025, 12 noon, east side of airfield at Bourn Quarter Development (located in the centre landscape strip between Units 11 and 12), at end of Wellington Way, off A428 between Cambridge and Cambourne and adjacent to the Childerley Gate roundabout
Postcode (nearest) CB23 7FW, What3Words: amphibian.sisters.captures
Also see ABCT's extremely popular 3,500 pages website https://www.abct.org.uk and associated social media pages for further details.
N.B. Members of the public are welcome to attend - it would be appreciated if anyone wishing to attend one and/or both events could let ABCT know in advance, in order to further organise each memorial unveiling.