The Airfield at Anthorn

Before the airfield was built, this handsome villa stood on the site. Known as Solway House it was home to the Donald family for many years.

The first runway to be constructed at Anthorn was completed in 1918. In his book on the Cumbrian Airfields, Martyn Chorlton suggests it was intended for training pilots in the use of torpedoes against submarines but there is no evidence that it was ever used for this purpose and it quickly fell into disuse.

In 1938, work began on a new RAF airfield at Silloth and the runway at Anthorn was renovated to act as an emergency landing strip for the new station.

Then, in late 1943, the Admiralty moved in. They took over the old airstrip and requisitioned a large area of land between Cardurnock and Anthorn. John Laing & Son also moved in and began construction of three tarmac runways and a wide range of ancillary buildings. The Royal Naval Air Station, Anthorn was born.

It opened on 7^th September, 1944. It was the base of No. 1 Aircraft Receipt and Despatch Unit (ARDU) which had the job of receiving aircraft fresh from manufacturers, modifying them to service standards and despatching them to operational squadrons. The personnel consisted of 74 officers, seven of whom were WRNS, and 950 'other ranks' which included a further 150 WRNS.

The station was now officially known as 'HMS Nuthatch'.

This work continued through the last two years of the war. In peacetime the role of the ARDU changed. Rather than flying the planes on to operational airfields the pilots were now often flying them to other destinations to be scrapped.

The beautiful chapel on the airfield

As well as the permanent personnel on the station, it acted as a temporary host to other squadrons. 772 Second Line Squadron was based there from May 1946 until February 1947 and First Line Squadron 813 operated from Anthorn between May and October in 1948.

The first edition of the 'Anthorn Post' was published in the spring of 1949. It was a magazine written for and by the men and women stationed there. Its pages provide a fascinating glimpse of life on the air station. The striking cover of the first issue was designed by AA3 Abrams for which he received a prize of ten shillings (50p).

Capt. Bowring

In this issue, the commanding officer, Captain F.G.S. Bowring, outlines the work then being carried out on the airfield where about 940 people were currently employed; this represented a fall from the peak of 1,200 at the end of the war. Around 300 aircraft were stored there, in varying states of readiness for service, these included Barracudas, Firebrands, Seafires and Seafuries. The main work carried out involved ferrying the planes to other airfields and test flights of the aircraft before dispatch for active service.

Captain Bowring also remarked on the success of the base's first open day which had taken place in July 1948 and had attracted between 3,000 and 4,000 visitors. He also confirmed that approval had been granted for the construction of a new Married Quarters Housing Estate and it was expected work on this would begin in the summer.

Life on the airbase wasn't all work. The 'Anthorn Post' reports on the many spare-time activities available. At Easter 1949, the Amateur Dramatics group were rehearsing an extract from Noel Coward's “Hay Fever” which they planned to enter in Royal Naval Drama Festival later in the year.

Every Saturday night there was two hours of Scottish Country Dancing and the magazine includes brief reports from the Gliding Club, the Anglers and the Shooting Club. There had been a handicrafts exhibition with sections for both embroidery and perspex constructions.

However, by far the most popular leisure activity was sport. The Cricket team was having a mixed season. They had beaten 12MU (Kirkbride), Garlands, Wigton and the Carlisle Teachers team, but had lost both their matches against Hadrian's Camp, and were also beaten by British Railways. The players were complaining about a shortage of kit, especially bats which were apparently in very short supply.

The Soccer club had also had mixed results but Anthorn's sporting super-stars were undoubtedly the Rugby team. In the 1947-8 Season they had played 18 matches, won 11 and lost 7. Points for 159, against 78.

Unfortunately, only two copies of the 'Anthorn Post' have come to light so far and few details are available on the last years of the airfield's life. The Married Quarters, promised by Captain Bowring were built and these houses still form a substantial part of the village homes. The last aircraft, a Gannet, took off from there in November 1957 and the site closed completely a few months later.

For a few years, local farmers used the land as extra grazing then, in 1962, NATO moved in and construction of a large communications centre began. It was officially handed over to the MOD in November 1964. Its array of masts became the most prominent landmark on this stretch of the Solway.

Today, the Very Low Frequency transmitter there is used for communications with submarines. A separate operation by the National Physical Laboratory operates two atomic clocks which generate the familiar Greenwich Time Signal.

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Sources:

Martyn Chorlton: Cumbria Airfields in the Second World War (Countryside Books, 2006)

Ken Delve: The Military Airfields of Britain, Northern England (Crowood, 2006)

The Anthorn Post, Easter and Summer 1949 (Carlisle Library, Local Studies Section)

Wikipedia.org/Anthorn Radio Station.