Former RAF Wratting Common

 Second World War 1939-1945, closed / former military

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The bomber airfield built to Class A standard located on the Cambridgeshire side of the boundary with Suffolk in the parishes of West Wickham and Little Thurlow, three miles north-west of Haverhill, was officially named West Wickham. Built in 1942-43, the three intersecting concrete runways were 1331 at 2,000 yards and 02-20 and 07-25 both at 1,400 yards long. All 36 hardstandings were loop types. A T2 and a B1 hangar were erected at the main technical site between runway heads 13 and 07, and another three T2s for gliders on the north side of the airfield between 13 and 20. The technical site was on Western Woods Farm and the ten dispersed domestic and mess sites, catering for 2,507 males and 486 females, were in fields towards Weston Green. Bomb stores were to the east at Skipper's Hall Farm.

The first operational unit arriving, No. 90 Squadron, came from Ridgewell where a US Eighth Air Force B-17 unit was expected. West Wickham was far from complete at this time - late May 1943 - but had sufficient facilities to enable No. 90's Stirlings to return to Bomber Command's campaign four nights after arrival. In August that year notice was received that on the 2lst of the month the official name of the station would change from West Wickham to Wratting Common. Only one other such change for an operational bomber station is known, and that due to the possibility of confusion with another airfield of the same name. In West Wickham's case there was no other airfield with the same or similar name although a possibility is confusion with High Wycombe (Bomber Command HQ), it being common practice in vocal communication to omit the `West' or `High'.

In October 1943, No. 90 Squadron was moved to Tuddenham when No. 3 Group decided to concentrate Stirling conversion units in the Stradishall clutch, No. 31 Base, of which Wratting Common was a satellite or sub-base. No. 1651 Heavy Conversion Unit was moved in from Waterbeach in November and remained for a year. By this date few Stirling squadrons remained in No. 3 Group and No. 1651 HCU was shifted to Woolfox Lodge where crews were trained for transport squadrons.

No. 31 Base was destined to hold operational squadrons once more and the Lancasters of No. 195 Squadron arrived from Witchford where it had been re-formed from `C' Flight of No. 115 a few weeks earlier. No. 195 grew to three full flights with 30 Lancasters, remaining at Wratting Common to see out the war. In 79 raids from the station its losses were 9 Lancasters. The squadron ceased to exist on August 14, 1945 and following its disbandment no further flying units were based at the station. During the war bomber losses in operations flown from Wratting Common totalled 43 of which 34 were Stirlings.

The surplus of wartime-built airfields that then existed found the reduced Bomber Command force moving back to the more comfortable, pre-war establishments with their permanent buildings. Wratting Common was soon reclaimed for agriculture with much of the concrete taken for hard core. The hangars survived as did many of the larger Nissen huts, serving as cover for commercial enterprises. Most of the site is part of Thurlow Estates owned by the Vesty family.