RAF Middleton St George

RAF Middleton St. George was a Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command station during World War II. It was located in County Durham, five miles east of Darlington, England. The station's motto was Shield and Deter.[1]

RAF Goosepool
RAF Middleton St. George
Middleton St. George, County Durham, England
A crew of No. 78 Squadron RAF watch as engine adjustments are made to an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber, Z6743, before they take off for a raid from Middleton St George.
RAF Middleton St. George
Location in County Durham
Coordinates54°30′33″N 001°25′46″W
TypeMilitary
Site information
OwnerAir Ministry
OperatorRoyal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
ConditionClosed
Site history
Faterepurposed to Teesside International Airport
Airfield information
Runways
Direction Length and surface
05/23 7516 ft
2291m
 Concrete
01/19 3300ft
1006m
 Concrete
10/28 4200ft
1280m
 Concrete
RAF. Middleton St. George August 1960

History

Second World War

Like many similar airfields; RAF Middleton St George was commissioned in 1938 in anticipation of WWII and opened in 1941 under the auspices of Bomber Command. Contrary to popular belief the airfield was never called RAF Goosepool, Goosepool being the name of the farm which made way for the airfield, with the name sticking amongst the local population.

In 1943 it was allocated to No. 6 Group, Royal Canadian Air Force. A sub-station was located at RAF Croft, Yorkshire.[2] Squadrons based here include: 76 Squadron, which flew Handley Page Halifaxes, 78 Squadron, which flew Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys, 419 Squadron RCAF, which flew Vickers Wellingtons, Halifaxes, and Avro Lancasters, 420 Squadron RCAF, which flew Wellingtons, and 428 Squadron RCAF, which flew Wellingtons, Halifaxes, and Lancasters.[3] [4]

Andrew Mynarski, a member of 419 Squadron RCAF at Middleton St. George, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. It was bestowed for his actions on 13 June 1944, in a raid on Cambrai, France, in support of the Normandy landings. A statue of Mynarski was dedicated in 2005 outside the former Officers' Mess.

A memorial garden for all aircrew at Middleton St. George is also located near the Mess.[5]

Post war

After the war, the aerodrome served various squadrons and units including No. 13 Operational Training Unit (OTU), No. 2 Air Navigation School, No. 4 Flying Training School, and squadrons that used Gloster Meteors, Hawker Hunters, Gloster Javelins and English Electric Lightnings.[6] In 1947, the airfield became a satellite station of RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire.[7]

In 1962 Flying Officer Jean Oakes became the first woman to fly at over 1,000 mph. The London Times of 14 September 1962 reported that from RAF Middleton St George, she took over the controls from Flight Lieutenant John Smith and flew up and down the north east coast at about 1.6 mach.

The RAF left the station in 1964, but the aerodrome was reopened in 1966 as a civil airport.[8] The airfield was named Teesside International Airport in the 1960s (was renamed Durham Tees Valley Airport in 2004 but has now reverted back its original name).[9]

From 1968 to 1979, some of the former station buildings housed Middleton St George College of Education, a teacher training college.[10]

The officers' mess at the base was converted into the St George Hotel, complete with the RAF Middleton St George museum. The hotel was mothballed in late 2018, the museum is to be relocated in the future.[11][12]

Units and aircraft
UnitDatesAircraftVariantNotes
No. 33 Squadron RAF1958–1962Gloster JavelinFAW.7 and FAW.9 from 1960Twin-engined jet fighter/interceptor.[13]
No. 76 Squadron RAF1941–1942Handley Page HalifaxMks.I and IIFour-engined piston heavy bomber.[14]
No. 78 Squadron RAF1941Armstrong Whitworth WhitleyMk.VTwin-engined medium bomber.[14]
1942Handley Page HalifaxMk.IIFour-engined piston heavy bomber.[14]
No. 92 Squadron RAF1957
1958-1960		Hawker HunterF.6Single-engined jet fighter/fighter-bomber.[15]
No. 264 Squadron RAF1957Gloster MeteorNF.14Twin-engined jet night-fighter.[16]
No. 419 Squadron RCAF1942–1944Handley Page HalifaxMk.IIFour-engined piston heavy bomber.[17]
1944–1945Avro LancasterMk.XFour-engined piston heavy bomber.[17]
No. 420 Squadron RCAF1942–1943Vickers WellingtonMks.III and later X before move to North AfricaTwin-engined medium bomber.[17]
No. 428 Squadron RCAF1943–1944Handley Page HalifaxMks.V and IIFour-engined piston heavy bomber.[17]
1944–1945Avro LancasterMk.XFour-engined piston heavy bomber.[17]

References

Citations
  1. Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 212. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
  2. Halpenny 1982, p. 54.
  3. Delve 2006, p. 197.
  4. "Stations-M". www.rafweb.org. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  5. Middleton St George Memorial Association: http://www.middleton-st-george-memorial-association.org/ ; The Wartime Memories Project: "RAF Middleton St. George During the Second World War." https://wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/airfields/airfield.php?pid=1804
  6. Halpenny 1982, pp. 149–150.
  7. Coupland, Peter (1997). Straight and True. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. p. 61. ISBN 0-85052-569-1.
  8. Halpenny 1982, pp. 150–151.
  9. Lloyd, Chris (24 January 2015). "Getting airborne at Middleton St George 50 years ago". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  10. Reunion website
  11. "A Brief History of Middleton St George from 1800" (PDF). Middleton-st-george.org. p. 11. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  12. Teesside Live Website | [url=https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/everything-must-go-entire-contents-15542008
  13. Jefford 1988, p. 36.
  14. Jefford 1988, p. 48.
  15. Jefford 1988, p. 52.
  16. Jefford 1988, p. 80.
  17. Jefford 1988, p. 91.
  18. Wilson, Keith (2015). RAF in camera 1950s. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-4738-2795-0.
  19. "Middleton St. George (Durham Tees Valley) - Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK". www.abct.org.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2017.

Bibliography
  • Delve, Ken (2006). The Military Airfields of Britain, Northern England: Co. Durham, Cumbria, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Merseyside, Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Yorkshire. Marlborough: Crowood Press. ISBN 1-86126-809-2.
  • Halley, James J. (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
  • Halpenny, Brue Barrymore (1982). Action Stations 4; Military Airfields of Yorkshire. Cambridge: Patrick Stephens ltd. ISBN 0-85059-532-0.
  • Jefford, C G (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
  • Moyes, Philip J.R. (1976). Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
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