Temple Guiting

[REF]

I have found this note on the web:

RAF. 23 Grp. ELG

Where was this airfield? Was it used?

[PNK]

Haven't we covered this in another thread? ELG's perhaps. Search gets annoyed at three letters!

[REF]

I couldn't find anything on the search PNK....

[tigger]

These two threads mention it:
http://www.airfieldinformationexchan...temple+guiting
http://www.airfieldinformationexchan...temple+guiting

The first mentions a possible location

[OneEighthBit]

Spooky I just took a picture of what I think was the ELG last week. I'll post details when I'm done unpacking from my trip.

[REF]

Thanks OEB, look forward to seeing more about the place.

[OneEighthBit]

Right info as promised.

First up a disclaimer - I don't have 100% proof of the exact location but this is all information I've tried to deduce from various sources and trying to join the dots and my knowledge of the local area. If anyone has anything more concrete then I'll gladly be corrected.

Temple Guiting was a small area of land of 54 acres requisitioned by the RAF possible intended for used as use as a "scatter field". It's referenced in AIR 20/7260 which states it was de-requisitioned 29th September 1945. It doesn't mentioned when the land was first acquired although there is a reference in the No.3 Glider Training School (Stoke Orchard) ORB for 19th August 1943 which states that the Commanding officer visited the "Forced landing field at Temple Guiting" where he met two officers from HQ No.23 Grp.

So where was it?

The only reference I've found is an airfields list published in 1974 which states N51° 57' W1° 48' which is only a very rough approximation as far as I can tell. Looking at pre-and post-war OS maps for field boundaries and the general topography it's not possible the field that co-ordinate lies in would of been the site as it's too small - only 500 yards corner to corner.

So I've tried to factor in some logic based on the following needs:

- Needs to be flat.
- Needs to be accessible by road.
- It would need maybe 800 yards of length.
- Probably east-west run based on local wind prevalence.

So my best guess so far is the field at N51° 57.164' W1° 48.852' or SP128282. My guess is that it encompassed that whole field and possibly part of the field to the west. The hedge/wall between the field in fact doesn't exist and hasn't since the wall giving some credence to the fact the fields were combined at some points. Also if you add a little of the western field to the one mentioned, you get a nice land area of about 54 acres.

Here are the other reasons I think it was this field.

- It's fairly flat.
- It has a road running along side it.
- It has at least an 800 yard run.
- It runs east-west.
- Evidence of the wall/hedge between the fields being remove to extend it.
- Fairly clear approaches without obstacles compared to other fields in the area.
- There is what appears to be a broken up concrete entrance "apron" leading into the field from the road. (Visible at N51° 57.259' W1° 49.074' in the 1999 Google Earth imagery)
- In the "1945" (actually about 1955) Google Earth images you can see what appears to be three small buildings at the edge of the field near the entrance "apron".
- According to a wartime land-usage map it is the only field marked as grass pasture amongst arable farm land within about a square mile.

Of course, I could be completely off - it could well be the field to the north on the other side of the road which offers a slightly longer landing run but I discounted it for the following reasons:

- There are more trees around the perimeter than I'd like. Might be good camouflage for a scatter field but in a forced landing I don't want to be hemmed in by trees.
- National Heritage Records show that on photos from 1946 that the field contained a "1943" pattern AA searchlight battery.
- Within the immediate area is evidence of storage depots, possibly a radar/radio antenna and other buildings.
- Gut feeling.

So there you go. That's where I *think* it was.