RAF Ibsley Watch Office
Wartime monument to human courageDonate now to support this appeal
A wartime monument to human courage
RAF Ibsley Watch Office once played a crucial part in Britain’s fight against the dark forces of Hitler’s planned invasion. The building at the former Second World War airfield in the New Forest now stands derelict and in peril.
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"My father served in the RAF at Ibsley from June 1943 to May 1944.
He was a Band Sergeant responsible for music and entertainment on the base and raising morale.”
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“My mum's childhood home was on a main road at Blashford.
She remembered American airmen throwing chocolate for her and her sister from the back of a lorry going to Ibsley airfield.”
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“I’d like to remember my father, Lt Bill Lovegrove.
He was sent on reconnaissance towards Dunkirk in June 1940, but was mortally wounded.”
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“Both my parents served in the RAF during the Second World War.
My mother worked in radar in the WAAF and my father in police and security.”
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“My father trained to be a bomb aimer and co-pilot in Bomber Command.
Luckily he and his crew returned home safely from the war and he went back to work on the farm.”
How your donation could help
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£500
could help replace lost and damaged Crittall windows with energy efficient equivalents
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£125
could support repairs to the unique concrete viewing balcony
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£60
could support the sensitive repair of crumbling and damaged brickwork
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£30
provides a tin of paint to replicate the wartime decorative scheme
Last hope for this inspirational survivor
From its runways, between 1941 and 1944, both RAF and USAAF airmen flew out into hostile skies to defend Britain with great courage and at huge personal cost.
The Watch Office itself is a rare surviving example of its type, with a Meteorological Section, large Crittall windows and a concrete viewing balcony. Its survival is remarkable, but it is in a state of extreme dereliction.
With your help we can still bring this important fragment of our wartime history back from the brink of collapse, remembering the brave people who once worked and flew here.
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Ibsley was the setting for the seminal war film The First of the Few, starring Leslie Howard and David Niven and featuring serving pilots and officers.
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A rare surviving example of its type, the Watch Office is in an extreme state of dereliction.
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The Watch Office in July 1944, in use by the 9th USAAF, 367th Fighter Group.
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The Watch Office included a Meteorological Section where readings were typically taken by WAAF.
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From these windows airmen and officers hopefully waited for the safe return of their squadrons.
Help rescue this precious fragment of wartime history
Other ways to donate
By phone
Please call us on 01628 512124 to make a donation over the phone.
By post
Please mail any donations by cheque or CAF voucher to:
RAF Ibsley Appeal
The Landmark Trust
Shottesbrooke Park
Broadmoor Road
White Waltham
Maidenhead
SL6 3SW
Leave a gift in your Will
We depend on the generosity of individuals, and gifts in wills play a vital role. Every gift, small or large will help protect important historic buildings, as well as the flora, fauna and marine life on Lundy.
