RAF Sawbridgeworth

Royal Air Force Sawbridgeworth or RAF Sawbridgeworth is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Harlow, Essex and east of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England.The airfield was used during the First World War. During the inter war period it was occasionally used for glider and civilian flying until 1937 when it became Mathams Wood Advanced Landing Ground (named after the nearby wooded area). In 1940 it was renamed RAF Sawbridgeworth after correspondence between the station Commanding Office Wing Commander AJW Geddes and the Air Ministry in London. It ceased active operations in 1944 and, after a number of ground-based units operated from the site, was finally relinquished by the RAF in May 1956.Station historyFirst World WarA large field west of Shingle Hall farm was used as an emergency Night Landing ground for No. 39 (Home Defence) Squadron which was based at North Weald in Essex and, although little used, was in operation from April 1916 until November 1918.Mid-warsA short-lived civilian gliding club operated from the Shingle Hall site in 1928, and the British Hospitals Air Pageant visited what then became known locally as the 'Spellbrook Flying Ground' on 17 May 1933 to give a flying display and passenger rides in their aircraft to the visiting public. Additionally, Army Co-operation squadrons of the RAF used another part of the site near to Mathams Wood, a wooded area to the north of Blounts Farm, as a landing ground for 'resident' field training exercises in 1937.

Tags: Landmark & Historical Place