RAF Witchford
RAF Witchford is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Witchford in Cambridgeshire, England, a short distance west of the city of Ely. Now largely returned to agricultural use, the site holds profound historical significance as one of the many heavy bomber bases that played a critical role in the Allied strategic bombing campaign during the Second World War. It is particularly associated with No. 115 Squadron RAF, which flew Avro Lancasters and Vickers Wellingtons from this base during some of the most intense periods of the air war over Germany. The airfield also hosted No. 196 Squadron and other units, making it a busy and important hub of wartime aviation activity. Today, the site is quietly commemorated through a small but deeply moving museum dedicated to preserving the memory of the airmen who served and died here.
The airfield was constructed in 1942 as part of the massive wartime expansion of RAF bomber bases across the flat fenland counties of eastern England. Its location in the Cambridgeshire fens was entirely deliberate — the low-lying, level terrain required minimal preparation for runway construction, and the relative proximity to the North Sea coast reduced flight time to continental targets. The station opened in June 1943 and quickly became operational. No. 115 Squadron, equipped with Stirlings and later Lancasters, carried out raids on targets across Germany, including industrial centres, transportation infrastructure, and oil facilities. The human cost was enormous: many crews were lost on operations, and the airfield witnessed both the elation of returning bombers and the grief of those that never came back. The names of those killed are carefully preserved in local memorials and the museum's records.
The physical character of the site today is largely pastoral and understated. Most of the original runways have been broken up or reclaimed by farmland, and the perimeter tracks have largely disappeared beneath grass and crops. However, traces of the wartime infrastructure remain visible to the careful observer — fragments of concrete hardstanding, the outlines of dispersal points, and the occasional crumbling brick structure that once served as a crew facility or storage building. Walking the area on a calm day, with the enormous fenland sky stretching overhead and the distant tower of Ely Cathedral visible on the horizon, it is not difficult to imagine the roar of Merlin engines shattering the pre-dawn quiet as laden bombers climbed away into the darkness.
The surrounding landscape is quintessentially fenland — broad, flat fields under immense skies, with drainage ditches cutting geometric lines across the black peat soil. The Isle of Ely rises gently to the east, crowned by its magnificent Norman cathedral, which is said to have served as a navigational landmark for returning aircrew. The village of Witchford itself is a quiet settlement with a church and scattered houses. The market city of Ely, with its exceptional cathedral, Oliver Cromwell's House museum, and range of shops and cafés, is just two or three miles to the east and provides most practical amenities for visitors.
The RAF Witchford Museum is housed in a small building on the old airfield site and is staffed almost entirely by dedicated volunteers. It contains an impressive collection of artefacts, photographs, logbooks, and personal memorabilia relating to the squadrons that served here. The museum operates on a restricted timetable, typically opening on specific days during the warmer months, so it is strongly advisable to check their opening schedule before visiting. Admission is either free or at a modest charge, with donations warmly welcomed to support the preservation work. The site itself can be visited informally on foot along public rights of way, though access to certain areas remains on private farmland.
One of the more quietly extraordinary aspects of RAF Witchford's story is the sheer statistical weight of loss it represents. Bomber Command as a whole suffered casualty rates that rivalled the worst infantry engagements of the First World War, and stations like Witchford bore that burden acutely. Young men, many in their late teens or early twenties and drawn from across Britain and the Commonwealth including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, arrived at such bases with minimal life expectancy on operations. The museum's roll of honour is a humbling document. It is this human dimension, as much as the technical or military history, that gives RAF Witchford its particular emotional weight as a place of remembrance and reflection.