RAF Ibsley Watch Office once played a crucial part in Britain's fight against the dark forces of Hitler's planned invasion of Europe. It now stands derelict and in peril.
Our project aims to rescue and restore the Control Tower at the former Second World War airfield at Ibsley in the New Forest.
From 1941 to 1944 both the USAAF and the RAF saw active service at Ibsley. From its runways airmen flew out into hostile skies to defend Britain with great courage and at huge personal cost.
My mum's childhood home was on a main road at Blashford in Hampshire, England. She remembered American airmen throwing chocolate at her and her sister from the back of a lorry going to Ibsley airfield.
And here, during the punishing early years of the war, screen idols Lesley Howard and David Niven made the seminal war film, 'Spitfire'- designed to inspire confidence that, thanks to the exceptional qualities of the Spitfire aircraft, Britain could prevail.
While the airfield has long since become scenic lakes and woodland, the Watch Office is now in critical condition. Crumbling and badly vandalised, your support now will enable a skilled and careful restoration to begin. If we are successful, a new Landmark Trust vacation property for all to enjoy, rich with stories of courage and heroism, could open in 2025.
My brother, USAAF Second Lieutenant Richard A. Early, 415th Fighter Squadron, 358th Fighter Group piloted a Black Widow night fighter over France and Germany. After being demobbed, he volunteered for one last mopping-up sortie over France and on 24th April 1945 he lost his life. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart for his sacrifice.
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