RAF St Eval
The Norman church at St Eval.
|
As Britain moved closer to war with Germany in 1938, work started on the construction of a new Expansion Scheme airfield for use by No. 15 Group Coastal Command (transferred to No. 19 Group in February 1941) at St Eval on the north coast of Cornwall. The village that bore its name was swept away but thankfully the Norman church survived to act as a beacon to many an airmen. The site was situated just inland of the 300-foot cliffs that front the Atlantic Ocean, making it an ideal position to take part in the Battle of the Atlantic, a campaign that had the true potential to starve Britain into submission.
|
In addition, St Eval's location also subjected it to the high winds, squalls and bad weather that often prevail from the west. On the plus side, a summer's day on Cornwall's coast can be idyllic, so it wasn't all bad for the personnel based there.
The airfield opened on 2 October 1939 and was provided with four C-Type and several Bessoneaux hangars. There were four grass runways, north-south 1,050 yards, north-east-south-west 1,200 yards, east-west 1,000 yards and south-east-north-west 1,080 yards, surrounded by a 70-foot perimeter track. Other buildings initially were of a temporary nature until brick buildings were built. Later in 1940, three concrete runways were laid, the main at 1,200 yards with the secondaries at 1,000 yards. With more aircraft using the airfield, fuel storage capacity was increased to 144,000 gallons.
On the day of opening, the Avro Ansons of No. 217 Squadron arrived and began the role of convoy protection and anti-submarine patrols. From here on, a multitude of squadrons flew from the airfield during the Second World War and on into the Cold War, too many to describe within a website page. However, a listing of those that operated from this iconic site can be found by following this link: Squadrons and Units That Flew From RAF Eval
|
St Eval often attracted the attention of the Luftwaffe, with raids beginning during the Battle of Britain on 12 July 1940 and further attacks on the 21, 22, 23 and 26 August, resulting in damage to hangars and aircraft. To try to divert and confuse the German bombers, a Q Decoy site was built at Trelow Down, with two others located at Tregonetha Down and Colan. A particularly savage raid took place on 25 January 1941, with a direct hit on a shelter by a 250kg bomb killing twenty-one service personnel, thirteen of whom are buried in the churchyard.
|
Today, the graves are meticulously looked after by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell VC. Author's collection.
|
While many brave aircrews flew from St Eval, one sortie was of particular note. Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell and his crew, operating with No. 22 Squadron of Coastal Command and flying Bristol Beaufort I N1016 OA-X, took off on 6 April to attack the German battleship Gneisenau in Brest Harbour. When the rest of his squadron failed to locate the ship, Campbell attacked alone in the face of withering anti-aircraft fire. Releasing his torpedo at a height of 50 feet and at 500 yards, the weapon hit the vessel below the waterline, but as he climbed away, the Beaufort was struck by flak and crashed into the harbour, killing all on board. The ship was badly damaged and spent the next eight months under repair.
|
For his valour, Campbell was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. The citation for the award reads as follows: By pressing home his attack at close quarters in the face of withering fire, on a course fraught with extreme peril, Flying Officer Campbell displayed valour of the highest order.
One crew that arrived at St Eval to fly Whitleys during October 1942 were to go on to participate in an operation the following year that would go down in RAF history as one of its finest. Posted from No. 19 Operational Training Unit (OTU), Kinloss, Flight Sergeant K. W. Brown RCAF (pilot), Sergeants H. J. Hewstone (wireless op), D. P. Heal (navigator), S. Oancia RCAF (bomb aimer) and G. S. McDonald RCAF (rear gunner), instead of going to a Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU) to complete their training, traveled to Cornwall for a stint flying in the search for U-boats. From the available evidence, this would have been with No. 10 OTU, who were based at St Eval at the time, when Bomber Command were lending assistance to Coastal in the Battle of the Atlantic.
After this, the crew went to No. 1654 HCU, Wigsley, where two further crew members joined them, Sergeants H. J. Feneron (flight engineer) and D. Buntaine (mid-upper gunner). The crew were then posted to No. 44 Squadron Waddington in February 1943, where they completed six operations (Brown initially completing an additional Op as Second Dickey) before being transferred to No. 617 Squadron on 29 March of the same year. On 16/17 May 1943, Brown and his crew (with Sergeant D. Allatson replacing Buntaine due to illness as Front Gunner) were rostered to fly Lancaster Type 464 Provisioning ED918 AJ-F, in Wave Three Mobile Reserve, for participation in Operation Chastise. During the sortie, Brown and his crew were ordered to attack the Sorpe Dam, their Upkeep bomb causing the crumbling of the Dam's crown, but with no breach occurring, Brown and crew then returned safely to Scampton, although their Lancaster was hit by flak on the return journey.
After the war ended, flying continued from the airfield, mostly in the maritime reconnaissance role with Consolidated Liberators, Avro Lancasters and Shackletons. With the introduction of the Mk. 3 variant of the final one of the trio, it was considered that the aircraft was too heavy to operate from St Eval, and the station closed on 6 March 1959 after the Shackletons of No. 206 Squadron had left the preceding year. The Air Training Corps continued to use the site for gliding until 1964, but after this, two of the perimeter tracks became public roads. After this, flying ceased, with the RAF setting up a communication centre with the construction of tall aerials, which remain to this day.
The Lady Chapel Memorial Window.
|
Over the years, the airfield has lost most of its buildings, including the hangars whose presence is now shown by the remains of concrete bases. The remnants of bomb stores can be found to the south of the site. However, St Eval's church remains a silent sentinel of the wartime activity and still overlooks the former airfield. On 1 October 1989, the East window of the Lady Chapel was dedicated to the memory of all those who served at St Eval from 1939 to 1945 and Coastal Command.
|
|
|
|
The design of the window is a response to Psalm 130, and its theme, 'Out of the deep have I cried to Thee, O Lord', is appropriate to the Coastal Command Memorial (de Profundis Clamavi). The church also contains a Book of Remembrance and a set of wall-mounted squadron plaques representing the units that served at the airfield. |
The Book of Remembrance.
|
West Wall - showing squadron badges and the last station ensign.
|
Squadron badges - North Wall.
|
Together with the stained glass window in the Lady Chapel, a memorial has been erected by the church gates, inscribed as shown in the image. A visit to the church today is a most rewarding experience, and it is a place one can go for quiet reflection and remembrance for all the men and women who served at St Eval and those who did not return. Click on images to enlarge.
RAF St Eval Memorial, showing the squadrons that flew from the airfield in the two images to the right.
|
|
|
Flight Lieutenant Stephen Hicks grave.
|
While St Eval's churchyard is the final resting place of many of the personnel who served there during and after the war, there is another grave that is set apart from the others, belonging to Flight Lieutenant Stephen Hicks.
Stephen was a navigator with No. 15 Squadron and lost his life on 14 February 1991, when Iraqi surface-to-air missiles hit Panavia Tornado GR.1 ZD717/CD while attacking Al Taqaddum Air Base during Operation Desert Storm. This was his fifteenth operation. He ejected along with his pilot, Flight Lieutenant R. Clark, who survived. |
Stephen wanted to be buried in Cornwall within sight of the sea, and on 27 March 1991 he was laid to rest with full military honours, his wife ensuring he got his wish.
|
No. 15 Squadron wished to create an appropriate memorial to Stephen and to commemorate its activity in the Gulf War.
It was suggested that the medieval rood screen dado rails within the church be renovated which in due course was undertaken by John and Elizabeth Cynddylan of St Ives. In addition a Delabole slate tablet was commissioned which is now to be seen attached to the North Wall. |
The remains of one of the C-Type hangar door runners.