RAF Upwood

RAF Upwood
This report is made up of photographs taken on many visits between March 2007 & May 2009.

This was one of the very first places I ever visited as an ‘Urban Explorer’. Wandering around this massive site, alone, hooked me permanently into this obsession.


The current host unit for RAF Upwood is the 423rd Air Base Group, headquartered at nearby RAF Alconbury. There is a ‘live’ part to the site and a derelict part. The live part is the home of the 423rd Medical Squadron. The squadron operates a medical complex which houses out-patient and dental care facilities for active-duty, dependents of active duty, Department of Defence civilians, and retired military personnel stationed in the Tri-base area.












The derelict part however was decommissioned by the Ministry of Defence in 1994. Most of the base was vacated and the land and buildings sold off to a local farmer. Ten years later in 2004, Turbine Motor Works purchased a large amount of property on the former base including the four C-type hangars, and have converted the property into a state-of-the-art jet engine overhaul facility.


So the derelict portion of the site is wedged directly between two well patrolled areas…


The site is huge. When it was a working base, it would have had the functionality of a small town. Standing in the parade area feels like standing in an abandoned town square.


World War I:
The Royal Flying Corps requisitioned 160 acres (0.65 km2) of farmland near the village of Upwood in 1917. In September of that year the station opened as Bury (Ramsey). This initial name referred to its location near the near village of Bury and the larger market town of Ramsey. Initially there were no permanent flying units assigned to the station. Instead, No. 75 Squadron flying BE.2 aircraft out of Elmswell, Suffolk used the station as a night-landing ground and satellite field.

Upon opening, there were no permanent buildings at the airfield. By the summer of 1918 a number of huts and five hangars were in place. It was during this time that the field was renamed Upwood.

After the end of World War I in November 1918, the squadrons were no longer needed and were disbanded in May and June 1919. The airfield itself was returned to the local community and the buildings cleared. This ended the first round of activity at RAF Upwood.


Gas Decontamination Centre:
Two Gas Decontamination centres were built at Upwood; one for males, one for females.
3ft thick blast walls:


Note the loud hailer to bark instructions at the contaminated troops:


Chute to dispose of contaminated clothing:




I step inside, alone...

I wedge the heavy steel door open behind me with my tripod to stop it closing behind me, entombing me.

It’s underground, and there are no windows. It’s pitch black. There’s still a faint smell of bleach in the air.

My torchlight just about picks out a row of showers and the hooks where the un-contaminated clothing would have hung. The deafening silence is broken by a massive crash. I gasp and spin around to face the door to find a sheet of corrugated iron has blown off the roof.




The Sergeants Mess:


Between the wars Upwood was to be reactivated and expanded. The new base was designed to accommodate two medium bomber squadrons with room for a third. By 1936, construction had begun in earnest with two of five C-type hangars started.







World War II:
Although the Upwood units were not taking a direct part in the war, they did see some action. On two occasions in 1940 and once in 1942 the base was attacked by Luftwaffe aircrafts. However, only one person was killed during these raids. On 1 February 1941 a spy, Josef Jakobs, was captured by farmers after he had parachuted into the area, breaking a leg in the process.

He was discovered to have maps of the RAF Upwood area, a code device, and almost 500 Pound Sterling in his possession. Jakobs was subsequently sent to the Tower of London where he was tried, found guilty and executed by firing squad.


USAF Use:
With the end of RAF use of the station in 1981, the United States Air Force was given control of Upwood by the Ministry of Defence.


USAF airmen from RAF Alconbury had been living in the Upwood housing area since the mid 1970s. Upwood soon became a satellite base of RAF Alconbury, providing housing and support services for personnel stationed there. In 1986, a multi-million dollar medical facility was opened to provide out-patient services to American military members in the area.






RAF Upwood was returned to British government control in September 1995 and with the number of airmen assigned to the area reduced, the need for housing became less and less. By 2005 the last USAF family moved out of the Upwood housing area and it was returned to the MOD.


The Officers’ Mess:
The officers’ mess would have been an opulent place in its heyday. Walking into the ballroom takes your breath away. Under its grandeur, the fact it is a military building is still apparent. Worryingly, a noose hangs from the ceiling, gently swaying in the breeze.










The Tanks:
It still amazes me that tourist flock to cities to see ‘the attractions’. They queue for hours with the rest of the people from the coach, before paying a fortune to be let in.

They’ll then be quickly shepherded round, before being led through the red velvet ropes to the gift shop. They then get back on the coach, content that they’ve seen a bit of ‘real history’.

If only they knew...

A couple of miles away, I’ve stepped over the red rope.


I’ve just climbed into a tank, a real one, and I’m trying to figure out how the cannon works. I haven’t paid either.


The Towers:
Spot The Explorer! Atop the Boiler room chimney:


Water Tower:


Before I leave I decide to climb the water tower to enjoy the spectacular views across the fens. First there’s a 75ft straight climb up a vertical ladder.


The view over the base across the fens is spectacular. I sit there for twenty minutes, the breeze in my hair, taking in the whole site.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the view.