GC3A2YY RAF Tranwell (Traditional Cache) in North East England, United Kingdom created by duncanhoyle

This cache has been archived.

duncanhoyle: Other caches now nearby to take people to the site

GC3A2YY ▼

A cache by duncanhoyle Message this owner

Hidden : 1/1/2012

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

RAF Station Morpeth was operational from April 1942 until July 1945 and for most of that time was the home of No 4 Air Gunnery School at which some 4,000 young men were trained to join the squadrons of Bomber Coastal Commands. Nowadays known as Tranwell Airfield, it was typical of many wartime aerodromes with its facilities widely dispersed in surrounding fields to avoid enemy air attack.

In 1941 three runways were constructed on Cockhill Moor together with three large hangars (one abutting the Saltwick Road, another backing on to the Ponteland road and the third at the North end of the airfield near the present communications mast) and 17 smaller ‘blister’ hangars. One of these hangars still exists and is used for agricultural storage. Aircraft dispersal bays were spread around the perimeter and also extended into the woodland West of that road.
The rest of the camp was distributed around the surrounding countryside. Seven domestic sites provided accommodation for servicemen of all ranks. These sites, scattered over an area a mile square, ranged in size from five to 15 barrack huts with associated ablution huts and air raid shelters. The existing water tower stands at the Northern boundary of this site which comprised officers’, sergeants’ and airmen’s messes, the NAAFI, an education hut and a gymnasium. There were also essential services such as the camp post office, barber and cobbler and four Nissen huts to accommodate airwomen. The remainder of the WAAF officers and airwomen were segregated on two sites close to the Whalton Road. There they had their own messes and NAAFI, a single sex medical section and the hairdresser’s hut.
The woods East of the Saltwick road housed the Technical Site comprising the main workshops and stores, armoury, parachute section and ammunition bunkers. These were to be in constant use: when gunnery training was at its height in 1943 more than 325,000 rounds of machine gun ammunition were expended in a single month. The standard course lasted six weeks, starting with ground instruction and culminating with about 15 training flights. The usual flightpath took the aircraft over the coast at Blyth, out to sea for gunnery practice and back inland over the Aln estuary. Three or four students were carried on each flight, usually with an instructor.
The volume of training at Morpeth can be judged by the fact that in August 1943, 240 men were under training and that 2,000 air gunners had already passed through the unit bound for the Operation Conversion Units where they crewed-up before joining front line squadrons.
On the 29/3/1943 two Blackburn Botha training planes collided over the base. Of the 10 dead, five came from The Netherlands and, apparently, their graves can be found in the Morpeth Churchyard. Many Polish airmen are also buried there.
Much of this information has been taken from an article in the Morpeth Herald.

The site is now used for agriculture and a car boot sale takes place there on some Sundays. Please note that the cache site may be visible to car-booters so don't draw too much attention.

There is parking available in a small gateway to the western end of the public footpath but please note that when the car boots are taking place the gate is open and you'll have to park inside (for free, but make sure you don't get locked in!) There are other possible parking spots a little further south along the road. There should be a puzzle cache appearing nearby within the next couple of weeks...

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Haqre n gerr, fheebhaqrq ol oevpxf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)