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RAF Waltham (Grimsby)
Airfield code: GY Google Earth Co-ordinates: 53°30'5.6"N / 0°4'24.7"W Runways: 06/24 = 4200 ft x 150 ft; 12/30 = 3300 ft x 150 ft; 18/36 = 6000 ft x 150 ft RAF Waltham (Grimsby) started life as a private flying club started by enthusiasts in the Grimsby area during the early 1930s was based on meadowland three miles from the town in the parish of Waltham. The Lincolnshire Aero Club had a clubhouse and two wooden hangars but a larger, more substantial hangar was built in 1937. In 1938, Waltham aerodrome was selected for establishing one of the Elementary and Reserve Flying Training Schools set up by the Air Ministry and run under civilian contracts to provide instruction for would-be RAF pilots. A variety of training aircraft types were used by the school during 14 months of activity but the principal type was the Tiger Moth. Apart from an occasional visitor, the airfield was devoid of flying tenants from September 1939 and late the following year was temporarily closed, the site having been surveyed and found suitable for development. Work began in the winter of 1940-41 to extend the flying field into the parish of Holton-le-Clay, taking in part of the A16 Louth to Grimsby road on the northeast side. Pan hard standings, 36 in number, were built off the encircling perimeter track. Two T2 and one B1 hangar were eventually provided. Initially opened as a satellite for RAF Binbrook in November 1941, the new station was officially named RAF Grimsby although the local name Waltham persisted among locals and servicemen on the station. This may have led to some confusion elsewhere as there already was a White Waltham airfield near Maidenhead. No.142 Squadron's Wellingtons arrived from Binbrook in November 1941 and carried out bombing operations from Grimsby until December 1942. With an urgent need for more night bombers to support the Torch invasion, No.142 Squadron was split, half going to North Africa and the remainder moving to RAF Kirmington where it was used as the basis to form another squadron in the New Year. With the break-up of No.142 Squadron, No.1 Group used Grimsby to add a new Lancaster unit to its strength and No.100 Squadron (reformed in mid-December), commenced operations on the night of March 8/9, 1943. From early 1942, Gee, Walker & Slater Ltd were involved in extending runways 18-36 to 2000 yards and 12-30 to 1400 yards across the A16. During this work some 19 hard standings were lost and replaced with loops. Additional domestic sites gave a maximum of accommodation for 2203 males and 254 females. In November 1943, No.100 Squadron's C, Flight became No.550 Squadron but by mid-January its growth brought a move to RAF North Killingholme. No.100, however, made Grimsby its home until April 2nd, 1945 when, owing to deterioration of the runways, a move was made to RAF Elsham Wolds. This marked the end of Bomber Command flying units at the station. Operations from RAF Grimsby cost 164 bombers missing in action or crashing in the UK, 48 being Wellingtons and 116 Lancaster's. In the immediate post-war years the hangars were used by No.35 MU for storage and the flying field reverted to agricultural use. In later years improvements to the A16, with a bypass for Holton-le-Clay, reclaimed part of the eastern side where a memorial to the men of No.100 Squadron can be seen. At the end of the 1990s, many airfield buildings still survive for commercial use, including the B1 and a T2 hangar. Many of the airfield buildings still survive and are currently in use by a Haulage firm and mechanics. Most of the runways have been ripped up and much of it was used to build the road that leads up to the Humber Bridge. Out of the 30+ dispersals built only one remains to this day. It is still quite possible to see the outlines of some from the air however the vast majority have gone. Notable surviving buildings include the Control Tower, Crew Locker and Dryer Rooms, the Pre-War, B1 and T2 hangars, however much of the station is in a state of disrepair and is also victim to fly-tipping. Old unused farm equipment also litters the station along with various weeds and rubble, and phantoms are also said to dwell there including the body of a headless airman. A Golf Course, Golf Driving Range and a Go-Karting track have been built on the station and a coal merchants stands on what was once the Fuel Dump. The Bomb Dump has totally disappeared and various buildings in the village of Waltham such as accommodation huts no longer exist. The only remaining building in the village is the W.A.A.F. canteen and Kitchen which currently house the Museum of Rural Life and RAF Grimsby Exhibition at the Waltham Windmill. Aircraft & Squadron's
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