RAF Daws Hill was a Royal Air Force station on the outskirts of High Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire, England. The base is situated on Daws Hill Lane, the road between Flackwell Heath and Marlow Hill, High Wycombe, off the A404 road and adjacent to the M40 motorway.

An important part of US defence in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, the station was occupied by the United States Navy. It was home to a peace camp in 1982–1984.

Following a review of Ministry of Defence properties in the south-east of England, the station closed in 2007 and the site was sold to a property developer in 2011.^[1]

  History

  Establishment

American military forces were first stationed at High Wycombe in 1942, shortly after the United States' formal entrance into World War II. So urgent was the action that Wycombe Abbey School, situated on the land that would become the station, was given three weeks to find new facilities; failure in this effort led to the school's closing, until the independent girl's school was returned by the US in 1945.

In 1952, the station, formerly known as Daws Hill House, welcomed US forces again. The following years of the Cold War saw fluctuation in the base's importance.

Approximately 800 personnel were stationed there when, in 1969, their numbers were reduced, so that, in the early 1970s, only a small group remained for upkeep of facilities.

Then, in 1975, activity escalated, revitalising the station's importance to the American military in Europe. Its nuclear bunker, with 23,000 square feet (2,100 square meters) of space, housed high-tech equipment for the direction of nuclear bombers and guided missiles.

Use of the station was reduced with the end of the Cold War; by 1992, US Defense personnel at RAF Daws Hill numbered fewer than 350.

In 2002, the UK Ministry of Defence proposed to close RAF Daws Hill some years in the future, turning the 50 acres (20 ha) of land over to other public and private use and relocating American Naval personnel and activities to other locations near London, particularly RAF Uxbridge.^[2] The plan apparently fizzled, however, when the US Navy voiced its preference to remain. High Wycombe, desiring to build at least 400 new houses by 2011 for its growing population, considered the land ideal for up to 600 houses; but nearby residents also rejected the proposal because of the changes that it would entail, including increased traffic on relatively quiet roads.

The station was home, between 1971 and 2007, to the London Central Elementary High School, part of the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, with pupils in grades K–12. Also at Daws Hill are 70 housing units for American personnel and their families. Other facilities include warehouses and those for vehicle maintenance, as well as support buildings for persons who lived and worked at the base, such as a bank, a post office, a bowling alley, sports grounds and buildings, a small exchange, an automobile refueling station, and a social club. ^[2]

  Closure and redevelopment

Since the US Navy's departure from the greater London area, the need for facilities at RAF Daws Hill have greatly diminished and the station is now being vacated. London Central High School graduated its last class in 2007 and is now closed.^[3][4] Station facilities including the shops, workshops and gas station closed in August 2007.^[5] The station itself closed as an operational site that year.^[1]

In June 2011, the site was placed up for sale by the Ministry of Defence.^[6] Taylor Wimpey subsequently bought the site, planning to build a housing estate of around 500 homes. Some personnel and their families remained on the site, occupying the housing while alternative accommodation was found. The Ministry of Defence continued to rent the 67 bungalows from Taylor Wimpey until September 2011.^[7] Local residents formed the Daws Hill Residents' Association in light of the proposals for redeveloping the site, following concerns over the impact it could have on the area.^[8] In March 2012, the Ministry of Defence sought permission from Wycombe District Council for the demolition of the station's Cold War bunker by the summer. Following demolition, it is planned that the land will be returned to the neighbouring Wycombe Abbey School, from which it was originally requisitioned.^[9]

  See also

United States Air Force portal

• List of former Royal Air Force stations
• Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom

  References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

  External links

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• RAF Daws Hill Public Consultation Website
• Map of RAF Daws Hill
• Daws Hill Residents' Association

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