WALNEY AIRFIELD - A BRIEF HISTORY

During 1935 Barrow Borough Council after raising a provision with the Air Ministry, completed ‘proposal’ plans for a 'civic aerodrome' in the Barrow-in-Furness area, although Walney-Island was not to be the only site considered at the time. The plans themselves contained three runways with an outer ring road, which was to contain a number of small satellite ‘single plane’ hangers. Walney was chosen over the other proposals on the grounds that it was nearer Barrow town centre than the others. It wasn’t until 1937 that the present six-hundred acre site was acquired for a cost of £8050, by compulsory purchase and the subsequent demolition of North End Farm. Actual building work on the site did not get underway until 1940, and wasn’t finally completed until some time during late 1941.  

With expansion of the Air Force, links between bases at Lancashire and Scotland were established, and upon completion of Walney's airfield construction ‘No.25 Group - Flying Training Command’ became the first group to take up post, followed a number of weeks later by a small group who were to form into ‘No.3 Air Gunnery School’. A number of small improvements to the airfield before Christmas of 1941 were greeted with the arrival of ‘No.10 Air Gunnery School’ with over 100 personnel, including students. In 1942 an Air Force base was created  for personnel and camps were erected at sites on Cows Tarn Lane, North Scale and a WAAF hostel on the Promenade at the foot of North Scale village.

Over the next 60 months well in excess of 5000 RAF personnel received their training at Walney-Island, even after the end of WWII air-gunners were retained for the post-war Bomber Command. Following the closure of Cark airfield early 1946 the Mountain Rescue Unit moved to Walney alongside the AGS until the airfield closed During the summer 1946, bringing with it the end of ‘No.10 Air Gunnery School’ inhabitancy at the Island.  Today the airfield is owned by BAE SYSTEMS who operate 2 Beech-craft King-airs there during the week.