RAF Ibsley Watch Office
Wartime monument to human courageDonate now to support this appeal
Help save RAF Ibsley
RAF Ibsley Watch Office 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Autumn 2024 update
The planning application remains open and we continue to develop the project, with extensive site-specific seasonal ecological surveys ongoing this year. We continue to engage with statutory bodies, communicating especially about appropriate ecology mitigation strategies and look forward to continuing conversations this autumn and next year.