Royal Air Force Harrogate or RAF Harrogate, sometimes known as Ministry of Defence (MoD) Harrogate, was the name for two distinct
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
establishments within the town of
Harrogate
Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...
,
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
, England. The main site was at St George's in the south-west of the town and was home to a medical training establishment (MTE), supply branch and
Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...
(WAAF) training centre. The site was demolished in 1994. The term RAF Harrogate was also applied to the requisition of several hotels in Harrogate town centre which acted as a No. 7 Personnel Reception Centre during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. This should not be confused with
RAF Menwith Hill
Royal Air Force Menwith Hill is a Royal Air Force station near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which provides communications and intelligence support services to the United Kingdom and the United States. The site contains an extensive sate ...
, a current RAF base near Harrogate.
History
The Air Ministry Unit was situated on St George's Road in Harrogate and consisted of non-flying training, a medical training establishment (MTE) and also functioned as a logistics base. During the Second World War, the unit's main role was to carry out recruit training for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and also provide a headquarters (and clerical site) for No. 7 Personnel Reception Centre (No. 7 PRC) which processed mostly aircrew returning from overseas during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
(especially after training courses). Other reception centres were also being activated at this time (Brighton, Heaton Park, Bournemouth and many others) with some being solely for
Dominion
The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire.
"Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...
or
RAAF
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
crews, which left No.7 PRC as a processing centre only for Royal Air Force crews.
Many of the staff rotating through No. 7 PRC were billeted in the hotels in the centre of Harrogate. The hotels were requisitioned by the
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
in anticipation of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
being bombed in the early days of the Second World War. This cluster of Hotels were also commonly referred to as RAF Harrogate by the aircrew and local people. One of the largest contingents was over 700 aircrew billeted at The Queen Hotel in Harrogate, which was handed back in 1946 (the Crown Hotel in Harrogate was not de-requisitioned for war purposes until 1958).
WAAF recruit training would be held at RAF Harrogate between May 1940 and August 1941. It was named just WAAF Depot until January 1941 when it was renamed No. 1 WAAF Depot. WAAF recruits were also billeted in hotels in the town and were drilled outside the hotels rather than back at the headquarters site. Recruit training intakes officially ended in May 1941, and training was transferred to
RAF Bridgnorth
RAF Bridgnorth was a Royal Air Force Station, created after the outbreak of World War II on 6 November 1939, at Stanmore, to the east of Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England. However, as RAF Stanmore Park already existed in Middlesex, it was named R ...
in
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
, but training there did not come on stream officially until September of the same year.
After the Second World War, No.7 PRC Moved to
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire.
Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the admi ...
in
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
in December 1945. The medical training establishment continued to 1946 and the rest of the site continued as part of the supply chain under various names (RAF Harrogate, MoD Harrogate, Support Manangement Group) but was most often referred to as MoD Harrogate
with a name change to RAF Harrogate in 1992 when its responsibility was being wound down and staff and processes were being transferred to
RAF Wyton
Royal Air Force Wyton or more simply RAF Wyton is a Royal Air Force station near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is decommissioned and is now home to the Joint Forces Intelligence Group.
History Flying station
Wyton has be ...
in Cambridgeshire. At the time of its closure, RAF Harrogate had over 1,200 civilian staff and over 300 military staff working at the site.
The responsibilities of RAF Harrogate were transferred to the new
Support Command at
RAF Brampton
RAF Brampton was a non-flying Royal Air Force installation near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England. Formerly the home of RAF Support Command, it also became the home of several elements of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), which itself was ...
on 1 April 1994.
Notable people
The list below contains details of those well-known people who were posted to, or dealt with by RAF Harrogate.
*
Sir Michael Beetham - longest serving
Chief of the Air Staff of the RAF, attended No. 7 PRC in 1943 after flying training in
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
*
John Haynes - creator of the Haynes Manuals diagrammatic books. Haynes was posted to RAF Harrogate as a supply officer after serving at
RAF Aden, where he had undertaken his first strip down and photographic process.
*
Air-Vice Marshal Johnnie Johnson - was in command at MoD/RAF Harrogate in the 1960s
*
Noor Inayat Khan
Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan, GC (1 January 1914 – 13 September 1944), also known as Nora Inayat-Khan and Nora Baker, was a British resistance agent in France in World War II who served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The purpose of S ...
- went through her WAAF training at RAF Harrogate before being posted to Balloon Command
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrogate, RAF
Royal Air Force stations in Yorkshire
Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom
Military history of North Yorkshire
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...