Paddy

Another walk led to the ‘discovery’ of a truly amazing and historic remnant of our recent past.

In a beautiful part of Bedfordshire farmland is the remains of Gibraltar Farm. This is the name given to a WWII secret airfield from which SOE (Special Operations Executive) agents and supplies for the French, Norwegian and Dutch resistance flew from.

The only remaining artefacts to be seen are the concrete taxi-way, the main, single runway and The ‘Barn’. Gibraltar Farm Barn was constructed to look like a barn, not an airfield building to avoid detection, although I have not been able to find anything that describes what other buildings there were or how the runway was disguised. Whatever they did, it was never located by German raiders sent to locate and destroy it.

The Barn is now an open, in the physical sense as the airfield and Barn are private property, memorial for the veterans and families of men and women that served there. Inside the barn are many poignant memorials left to commemorate the people and events that were started by flights from here.

The Barn




Part of the Taxi way


The main single runway capable of operating Lysanders, the classic ‘spy’ aircraft of WWII up to Stirling bombers


Some of the memorials within the Barn dedicated to RAF air crew and the Agents








This last picture above shows a special memorial dedicated to Violette Szabo, GC (George Cross). Violette Szabo was one of many amazingly brave women agents who operated from airfields like Gibraltar Farm risking, and sadly giving, their lives to assist in the operations of the resistance movements across Nazi occupied Europe. This remarkable woman’s story was made famous by the 1958 British film ‘Carve her name with Pride’ Sadly, Violette flew her last mission from here and, eventually captured and brutally tortured, she was executed by the Germans three months before the end of the war in Europe. Throughout her ordeal, she never passed on any information to her interrogators. This truly beautiful women died at 23 years of age having seen, done and endured in her short life what we cannot possibly imagine in our modern lives.


Around the front of the Barn, trees have been planted in memory of people who operated from this base








This is a very special place and all credit has to go to the landowners, The Erroll Estate from whom permission to visit the site should be sought. It is intended that this be a private Memorial for Veterans and families. A public Memorial is in nearby St Peters Church Tempsford.

It never ceases to amaze me how little pockets of history like this can be found, in this case almost by accident and although part of me wants to see these sites get the publicity and recognition they deserve for helping to form the Nation we live in now, as we left the silent Barn and airfield, heading into gloomy skies, it felt so right that this quiet, secret place should remain as it is as a fitting reminder as to what it’s operational purpose was.

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steve263

The virtually undiscovered history in this small land is amazing sometimes. Another great find Paddy

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