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Site History 447th Bomb Group
 A few images from that time are shown below with a view of the site today.        The airfield fell into a state of dis-repair after the RAF left the site in 1966. At that time the control tower fell silent as shown here. Airfix Revival - Bit O' Lace In the sixites in a bizarre twist of fate, Airfix, the British plastic model company started to sell a 1:72nd scale model of the B17 and happened to chose the infamous "Bit O Lace" (known as Miss Lace to the crew) as the subject. This very aircraft was based at Rattlesden for the duration of its operational career.  The same model is in fact made by Revell and Minikits, although the Airfix version is no longer produced. If you look carefully on the fin, the bottom half of the "K" is visible along with the serial number. There is a website specific to this "Old Rattlesden Bird" here. Club Formation in 1976 It was only in 1976 that the Rattlesden Gliding Club was formed. It was formed by a splinter group from the Essex and Suffolk Gliding Club then based at Whatfield, near Hadleigh in Suffolk. The group was formed due to concerns among some of the members regarding security of tenure at Whatfield. Move to Rattlesden One of the members, Roger Watts, owned a farm at Rattlesden, on which the original World War II airbase for the U.S. 447th bomb group was situated. Part of one runway remained intact, and at 1200 yards long was ideal for winch or aerotow launching. In the words of one of the members of the splinter group, Mike Lee, "It was like going to Heathrow". Roger Watts very kindly offered the use of the runway and the old control tower as a clubhouse and a hangar for the one glider the club then had the opportunity to fly. It was an old Slingsby T-21, a side by side training dual seater. This was also donated by Roger Watts himself. The T-21 had to be rigged and de-rigged every flying day for the hangaring in one of the ground floor rooms of the old control tower. This room is the present day briefing room, and to this day a hole can be seen in the wall, where the nose of the T-21 went in order to be able to close the door without damaging the tail. In 1976, it was very much a family affair, the club consisting of eight to ten members. Ralph Brooker became the first Cheif Flying Instructor (CFI) of the "Rattlesden Soaring Group" and Roger Watts became the chairman. As the group grew, they became recognised by the British Gliding Association for the purposes of flying procedures and training, and the name of the club was changed to Rattlesden Gliding Club. A small hangar was built by the members, and Humfrey Chamberlain and Paul Handover donated two new gliders. These gliders (K-7's) became the clubs two training tandem two seaters, and at the same time, two single seaters were purchased for club members use. Airfield Purchase in the 1990's In the mid 1990's the club had enough finances to purchase the main runway from Roger Watts in addition to enough land nearby for a cross-strip and a dispersal area with room for a much larger hangar. The new hangar was again erected by voluntary members, and is the envy of many other gliding clubs. The original concerns regarding security of tenure at Whatfield eventually came to pass, however, many years later. The Essex and Suffolk Gliding Club is now based at Wormingford, near Colchester in Essex. Both clubs still retain close connections and Rattlesden Gliding Club now forms part of a network of East Anglian gliding clubs who work (and play) in harmony under the auspices of the British Gliding Association Today, the camaraderie and generosity that formed the club originally is still evident. The club now has around 100 full members, has a modern (GRP) fleet of gliders , two winches and a tug. Roger Watts is now president of the club and the family atmosphere remains. |
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