Harborough District Council Local List of Non-Designated Heritage Assets

Comment

Representation ID: 8277

Received: 03/08/2021

Respondent: The Gliding Centre

I would like to nominate Husbands Bosworth Airfield as a non-designated heritage asset to be included on the Local List.
Husbands Bosworth Airfield
Address: Husbands Bosworth Airfield
Sibbertoft Road
Leicestershire
LE17 6JJ
Parish: Husbands Bosworth
Date of Construction: The airfield was constructed in 1942/43 by George
Wimpey Ltd
Original Purpose:
The airfield was named RAF Husbands Bosworth, originally built as a satellite
airfield to RAF Market Harborough. It came under 92 Group RAF and was
home to No 14 Operational Training Unit, later re-badged as No 85 OTU.
Flying commenced in 1943 training mainly on Vickers Wellington aircraft.
The airfield was decommissioned in 1946 and post war the buildings were
used by the National Assistance Board to house Polish displaced persons and
other refugees.
Part of the site is used today as a private airfield by The Gliding Centre,
hosting National and International gliding competitions. Other areas reverted
to farm land.
Reasons for Nomination:
The airfield is a remnant of the war time infrastructure, with contemporary
records and photographs held on site. There is a Role of Honour in the club
house to the flight crew who lost their lives while operating from the airfield.
There are buildings on adjacent land dating from the RAF use, notably 2
Nissan huts to the North of the airfield and the remains of the control tower
and other buildings on the South side of the Sibbertoft Road. Other
fragments include the signal square and parts of concrete runways and
aprons.
RAF Husbands Bosworth is one of 14 Leicestershire RAF stations active during
World War 2 and has links to other contemporary sites in the county, notably
RAF Market Harborough and designated pill box ref WIT/001 in the local
region. It is also recorded by the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust, and
Leicester University have included the Roll of Honour on the site as part of
their Poppy Pilgrimage commemorating those who lost their lives in wartime