West Essex Aviation & Other
Interesting Stories
The
following
files
(Pdf
format)
show
the
history
of
many
Essex
airfields
which
include
aircraft
manufacturing
and
incidents including crashes along with assorted stories. Click on the files view.
●
A Civilian Diary 1916
●
Air Incidents and Crashes in West Essex 1911-2001
●
Aircraft Manufacture In West Essex
●
Charles Chabot - Aviator, Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force and Pioneer.
●
DuBois Sisters 1935
●
Special People In The Great War
●
The Canadian Policeman
●
West Essex Aviation Crashes and Mishaps Between The Wars 1919 - 1938
●
West Essex Aviation Crashes and Mishaps WW2
●
West Essex Aviation, Airfields and Landing Grounds
●
The first footage from BBC archives of London from the air.
North Weald Airfield Museum
Memorial & Debt of Honour
Royal Air Force
North Weald
1916-1964
Debt of Honour
For your tomorrow we gave our today
The Personnel
Aircrews
from
at
least
seven
nations
have
been
stationed
at
North
Weald
and,
at
one
time
or
another,
the
local
hostelries
have
echoed
to
the
accents
of
Americans,
Canadians,
New
Zealanders,
Czechs,
Norwegians
and
Poles.
Altogether,
267
men,
women
and
civilians
lost
their
lives
while
serving
at
the
Station
in
peace
and
war
and
in
the
Debt
of
Honour
no
distinction
has
been
drawn
between
death
in
the
face
of
the
enemy
or
in
an
accident
on
or
around
the
airfield.
All
served
.
.
.
and
all
paid
the
supreme
sacrifice.
See
those
remembered
below.
In
June
1952,
HRH
The
Crown
Princess
of
Norway,
Princess
Astrid,
unveiled
a
granite
obelisk
beside
the
main
gate,
on
behalf
of
the
two
Norwegian
squadrons
which
were
based
at
the
airfield
during
the
Second
World
War,
dedicated
‘in
gratitude
to
the
Royal
Air
Force,
to
the
RAF
Station
North
Weald, and to the people of the district’.
However,
there
has
been
no
memorial
specifically
commemorating
the
service
of
the
hundreds
of
aircrew
and
thousands
of
airmen
and
women
who
served
at
North
Weald
of whom so many lost their lives in the Allied cause.
Over
the
years,
several
proposals
were
put
forward
to
rectify
the
omission
but
not
until
February
2000
was
the
present
memorial
conceived.
It
has
been
specifically
designed
to
be
complementary
—
and
to
enhance
—
the
original
from
Norway.
The
North
Weald
Airfield
Memorial
was
dedicated
on
Sunday,
September
3,
2000
—
the
60th
anniversary
of
the
heaviest
raid
on
the
airfield.
The
memorial
incorporates
a
bronze
cabinet
housing
the
Debt
of
Honour
and
visitors
are
encouraged
to
take
a
copy
as
a
reminder
of
the
debt
we
owe
to
those
who
entered the main gate . . . never to return.
Also
present
with
Princess
Astrid
of
Norway
is
Wing
Commander
A.
C.
Deere,
Station
Commander
of
RAF
North
Weald
at
that
time.(1952)
Princess
Astrid
of
Norway
unveiling
the
memorial
stone
outside
Ad
Astra
House in 1952.
North Weald Airfield Museum
