I walked along an airfield runway yesterday once used by planes carrying our bravest wartime agents, including Violette Szabo, immortalised in the film Carve Her Name With Pride.
I was with the Cambridge Rambling Club and our route passed a barn in the middle of a field. I stepped inside (there is no door!) and was astonished to see an extraordinary memorial for our wartime heroes who flew from there during WW2, many never to return, and you can the pictures above in my slideshow.
I had no idea about the existence of this this extraordinary site known as Gibraltar Farm Barn, based at RAF Tempsford in Bedfordshire, and regarded as the most secret Royal Air Force in WW2. It was used by the SOE (Special Operations Executive) and it was from here that underground agents and their supplies were flown, and dropped into enemy occupied Europe. The station was home to “Special Duties” 138 and 161 Squadrons flying Whitley, Hudson, Halifax and Stirling bombers and also Lysanders. Over 80 aircraft were lost from Tempsford during the war, with many of their crews being killed.
The barn has been recently restored, and inside poppy wreaths and written tributes are displayed on ledges. It is a shame though that many of them have been left to gather dust, cobwebs and pigeon droppings, and that the writing is sometimes too faint to read, but in a way, all this adds to its sense of history and the secrets it holds from 1941-45. Some of the tributes have faded with the passage of time, and I feel there needs to be a more weather-proof way of saving these heroic memories.
Gibraltar Farm Barn was built deliberately to look like a normal farm barn to fool German air-reconnaisance was where agents were supplied with their equipment and their poison pills, in case of capture. Hitler knew of its existence and said, “find this viper’s nest and obliterate it”. Around the barn memorial trees have been planted by the Czech, Norwegian and Polish underground resistance and others planted in memory of individual aircrews who never came back.
As soon as the war was over, the true activities of this airfield began to leak out. But as much of what took place from Tempsford has been cloaked under the Offical Secrets Act, (and some still is), tales of many of the events have taken a long time to be released (The latest release under the 50 year secrecy rule was in July 1998). Some aspects remain Official Secrets to this day, so the full extent of the bravery of these agents and the pilots who flew them, will probably never be fully known.
A dedicated website has been made about the unique and special history of Tempsford Airfield. It includes details about some of its very brave agents, including a Frenchman codenamed Morlands, whose real name was Francois Mitterand, and who went on to become the President of France.
It is a private airfield and as such not open to the public. The website says that where possible, small groups of visitors may be allowed access but only by prior arrangement. I was not aware of this at the time when we stumbled across this barn, so please read their website for contact details if you wish to visit yourself.
*As I drove to meet my walking group, I listened to a podcast I very much wanted to hear recorded by the Cambridge-based Business Hub started by my friend Ian McKendrick, a social networking strategist, with veteran radio broadcaster Mark Peters. They broadcast a weekly Sunday morning radio show to inspire local businesses – soon to be extended throughout East Anglia, and hopefully the rest of the country by next year – and have had some terrific interviews. Because of my fascination with espionage, I wanted to catch up with a previous episode I missed about Bletchley Park, where the incredible work carried out by our codebreakers has been credited with bringing the war to an end two years earlier, saving millions of lives.. I was fascinated by the interview with Dr Susan Black who describes how she used Twitter to persuade Stephen Fry and other celebs to raise its profile and raise much needed funds. She is also a leading light for an organisation called BCS Women which supports women working in IT. You can also hear it by downloading the podcast here. I have a feeling Dr Black would make a great codebreaker herself….
Update, 3 December 2013: Prince Charles visits RAF Tempsford. Cambridge News report here.
Sounds fascinating. Have you read Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre?
MSM have been wringing wet with WW2 recently. Although the Battle of Britain was the feature in chrch on sunday. Your rambling club seems interesting and great fun, Ellee.
That sounds like a really interesting place to visit 🙂
Fascinating article Ellee and thanks for sharing that with us.
The interview we did with Dr Susan Black was such a gift, and it’s great to see her efforts being rewarded with the coverage and exposure they’re now getting at Bletchley Park.
There are literally hundreds of videos on YouTube demonstrating the equipment they have working there, as well as tours of the park, films of lectures and talks given by the veterans. I just love the way that social networking tools like these are allowing us to create community/citizen libraries of experiences that we can easily share, catalogue, document and protect our social heritage for future generations
Yes, it was very interesting. I wish we could have spent longer there.
WW, I must confess that Agent Zigzag is on my reading list, along with many others. One day…
Wow – I was amazed to read that François Mitterand operated out of Camp Gibraltar. That’s amazing!
Ed, totally amazing, isn’t it. I feel there is so much history there, and yet the barn doesn’t have a door, let alone any security.
I was with an American Special Operations reunion group called the Carpetbaggers (based at Harrington, Northamptonshire, during WWII) who visited Tempsford on 28 August 1993. They were there to honour the Carpetbagger, Captain James A. Estes, who was killed 3 November 1943 in France while flying as a student co-pilot with RAF 138th Squadron on a Special Operations mission. He was the first Carpetbagger casualty of WWII.
Corporal Robert Kennedy, Scots Guards, in full dress uniform was the bugler who rendered “Taps” and “Last Post” at the ceremony and planting of a memorial tree. So you can see that there also at least one American memorial as well as the Czech, Norwegian and Polish memorials mentioned in your blog.
Also in attendance were RAF Group Captains Ken Bachelor and Hugh Verity who flew Special Operations missions out of Tempsford. Clive Bassett was also in attendance with his WWII Jeep with appropriate American markings.
It was a wonderful reunion which I thoroughly enjoyed having helped recce the places the former Carpetbaggers visited during their stay and, of course, met many of them who had flown agents and supplies into enemy-occupied Europe.
Anne, thank you for your comment. I find what you said so interesting. I really think there is a book here, a gripping story waiting to be told.
Have just read your piece about stumbling across the barn at Tempsford and looked at the pictures. I cried. My darling mum was stationed here and although she gave away snippets of information about her role and that of the station she was always guarded, I now know why. She was on radio control/telecommunications from 41 to 43. He name was Emily Edna Hatton. Thank you for inspiring me to make a pilgrimage to see for myself where she was.
Suzanne
Suzanne, I was really moved by your comment. It’s what makes blogging so worthwhile. I particularly wanted to share those photos with people like you, and others who have special memories about that very special place. It is incredible there, and you will be so moved by the whole experience when you visit the barn at RAF Tempsford and see the dusty photos and testaments to the bravery of those who flew from there.
I visited Gibralter Farm recently and joined in the annual reunion which takes place each year in July. I met some wonderful people including war veterans. Tania Szabo (Violette’s daughter) was also there and I had the honour of speaking with her. I left some pictures of my mother to be put on the walls of the museum which is being set up by volunteers. I think my mum would have been so pleased and proud that I managed to make this very emotional journey. Thanks again for inspiring me to do this.
Hi Suzanne, thank you again for your comment. I’m so glad you went to the reunion, what an emotional moment it must have been for you. I wish I had known about it so I could have gone too. I would loved to have met you and others to hear the stories of your families, and to meet Tania Szabo too.
Elle, I loved your write up. It’s a very atmospheric spot isn’t it. I suspect that Suzanne went to the TVARA (Tempsford Veterans and Relatives Association) reunion. They do excellent Newsletters covering their events and fascinating historical information. You can read these (just click on the “Newsletters” tab) and other information at:
http://www.tempsford-squadrons.info/index.htm
And there’s:
http://www.tempsford.20m.com/
A Remembrance Service is held at the Barn itself on Remembrance Sunday and is open to the public. Unfortunately I can’t make it this year but I expect it will be held at the usual time of 12 noon (because the bugler will be at an 11am Service held locally). And various artefacts relating to the SOE can be viewed at nearby buildings.
Hi Rob, I really appreciate your comment and so wish I could join you and everyone at the barn this weekend. I find it very atmospheric too, and long to return.
This weekend I am away, but please do keep me informed of other occasions. I hope it goes well.