RAF Ibsley Watch Office
Wartime monument to human courageDonate now to support this appeal
Help save RAF Ibsley
RAF Ibsley Watch Office (also known as Ibsley Control Tower) once played a crucial part in Britain’s fight against the dark forces of Hitler’s planned invasion. It now stands derelict and in peril. Our project aims to rescue and restore the Watch Office at the former Second World War airfield at Ibsley, near Ringwood in the New Forest. With your support, we have the chance to save this wartime monument to human courage.
From 1941 to 1944 both the RAF and USAAF saw active service at Ibsley. And here during the punishing first years of the war Lesley Howard and David Niven made the seminal war film The First of the Few.
RAF Ibsley Watch Office’s survival is remarkable, but it is in a state of extreme dereliction. Badly vandalised, with its structure crumbling after many years of neglect, it will soon be too late to save it from decay or demolition.
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From 1941 to 1944 both the RAF and USAAF saw active service at Ibsley.
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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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We continue to believe that the rescue of the Watch Office must be possible while at the same time respecting the building’s highly protected setting.
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P-47 Thunderbolts lined up at RAF Ibsley in June 1944 ready for their assigned mission.
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RAF Ibsley played a key part in the campaign to sustain national morale as the location of this celebrated film.
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.
Thank you for your support of RAF Ibsley
We are grateful to everyone who has already donated to support the rescue of RAF Ibsley Watch Office. The support of generous individuals and organisations continues to inspire us as we undertake further ecological surveys on this beautiful and highly protected site.
Supporters pledging £6,000 or more are honoured as Guardians of RAF Ibsley, playing a crucial role in this building's transformation. To find out more about becoming a Guardian, contact Hatty Masser [email protected].
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 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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The skill of flying an aeroplane so low to the ground and then ‘snatching’ at a rope to practice collecting gliders was admired by watchers.
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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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“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.”
Latest news and updates
Follow along with the latest news and updates from site as we strive to rescue this former RAF Watch Office from its current state of near dereliction.
Help rescue this precious fragment of wartime history
Further information
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.
