Observation post – Burgh by Sands

Memories of two conflicts are to be found on the salt marshes near to a small village called Burgh by Sands in North Cumbria.

King Edward I is remembered in the monument most people associate with this area however a few hundred meters to the north is a monument to more recent conflict, World War II.

The concrete bunker with it’s roof covered with soil and grass was an observation post for a firing range used by the RAF based at RAF Crosby-on-Eden.

This range stretched from Glasson in the west, through Drumburgh, and over to Burgh-by-Sands in the east

No 9 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit, were based at the airport now known as Carlisle Airport.

The airfield to the north east of Carlisle was, during WWII, the home to a number of training units and from late 1944 transport command, who flew Dakota aircraft.

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Can you add to the history of this building, where you stationed at it? Let us know via the comments box below or get intouch via the contact us tab above.

More information about No 9 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit,
based at Crosby-on-Eden in Cumbria

Dover War Memorial Project – Former trainees at the unit

Details about the former RAF Crosby on Eden site

• No 59 Operational Training Unit (20 Feb 1941 – 10 Aug 1942)
  
• No 1383 (Transport) Conversion Unit (1 Aug 1945 – 6 Aug 1946)
  
• Sub-site, No 14 Maintenance Unit (1 Apr 1952 – xxx xxxx)
  

Control Towers Website:-

• 03/41 to 08/42, 59 OTU training day fighter pilots on Hurricanes, moved to Milfield.
• 08/42 to 08/44, 9 OTU, 17 Group Coastal Command, training long-range fighter crews. Beaufort and Beaufighter Conversion Sqns also air firing and night flying Sqns.
• 08/44 to 05/46, 109 OTU, Transport Command with Dakotas. Renamed 1383 TCU 01/08/45.
• /1946 to /1947, British European Airways flights to Ronaldsway and Belfast.
• Purchased by Carlisle Council 1960 and reopened as Carlisle airport.

Royal Air Force (Volunteer Reserve) (RAF(VR)) Officers 1939-1945

• Leonard Hugh Bone – 9 Operational Training Unit RAF, Crosby on Eden (on Beaufighters) More details

214 (Federated Malay States) Squadron Royal Air Force

• Stationed at Crosby on Eden – Sgt Gerhard ‘Harry’ Heilig

All about one of the Dakota aircraft that passed through the air training unit

• Dakota G-AMHJ – KG651

The relation between the Douglas C47 Dakota and the Belgian military aviation can be traced back to october 1944 when a group of Belgian pilots were detached to the Royal Air Force training squadrons based at Welford and Crosby-on-Eden for flight training.

Lowther Castle

Situated just outside of Penrith in North Cumbria is the now derelict castle at Lowther.

The 120 acre, Grade II listed site contains the remnants of at least three significant buildings and much of its 17th century gardens remains intact, although very overgrown and neglected.

The grounds were once opened to visitors in 1938 but after being used to test a secret tank weapon during the Second World War, the area has become a relic of its former glory.

The Castle and its Gardens have been closed for 70 years and now stand inaccessible and buried in vegetation.

The Trustees of the Lowther Castle and Gardens Trust plan to transform the imposing remains of the Gothic Castle, its massive stables and over 20 hidden gardens into a destination that will return some of the grandeur and pride to the fallen Cumbrian gem.

The history of the site, its occupants and the notable names that have worked at Lowther is minutely recorded in an archive of over 2,700 steel trunks.

The Castle ruin will be stabilised but it will not be re-built. The ruin will tell the story of the houses that have occupied the site, the surrounding landscape and the stories of the people who have lived and worked at Lowther.

The record of the 130 acre gardens is extensive. The layout dates from the 17th Century but the present gardens are Edwardian and all lie buried under spruce and sycamore planted in the 1960’s.

There are over 20 different gardens at Lowther including a Japanese Garden, a Scented Garden, and an Iris Garden. Some gardens will be restored but visitors will also be able to see the remains of the Edwardian structures, lying derelict, covered in moss and lichen.

An Energy Centre will power the 130 acre site using woodchip fuel derived from the management woodlands on the Lowther Estate. The Energy Centre will house a viewing gallery and education space.

The £15m project will be carbon neutral and will be implemented over four years. The first phase is planned to open to visitors in Summer 2009.

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More information