NOTES TO THE MAP OF HOLTON AIRFIELD
These notes are to be read in conjunction with the airfield, above . They are taken from the map itself, but the document was too big to scan and keep legible, so I have transposed the information onto this document.
The map had no information on sites 1 and 2. Moreover site 8 was too far from the others to include in the scan. It was located in Harrison’s Lane close to the main road out of Halesworth. The old Holton Hall is on the map. Holton Hall was not well treated by the USAAF, we understand, and was demolished in 1957.
My thanks go to Eric Spalding of Halesworth for giving me access to the copy of the map that he owns. The map was declassified in January 1958.
The individual building numbers and annotations are impossible to see even on the bigger copy, but the buildings were a mix of temporary brick, Nissen huts, Laing-constructed, blast shelters air raid shelters, Thorne-constructed, and constructed by the British Concrete Federation.
You will see refence to M&E plinths. M & E plinths were made of brick to a height of about 1.60 metres and housed the Mechanical and Electrical transformer and switchgear used to keep the electricity supply at a constant voltage. As junction boxes they received in a mains electricity supply and distributed it though a number of outlets to buildings on the site.
In terms of the operational airfield itself it is not on the map. To our best understanding, it was probably on the other side of Sparrowhawk road, at the top of the map. This may have corresponded with Sits 1 and 2.
Site No. 3 Communal RAF and WAAF consisted of:
Bucket emptying enclosure
Institute
Tailors, barbers, shoe-makers
Ration store
Grocery and local produce store
Breakdown ration store
Picket Post
Sergeant’s mess
Water storage tank
Officers’ bath house
Sergeants’ showers
Squash Court
Dining room
Airmen’s showers and ablutions and latrines
CO HQ
Holton Hall quarters
M&E plinth
Gym
Stand by set house
WAAF sick quarters
Officers’ mess quarters and bath house
Solid fuel compound
WAAF Institute
Picket Post
Pump house
A/C’s quarters (a converted cottage)
Site No. 4
Officers’ quarters
Officers’ ablutions and latrines
Sergeants’ quarters
Sergeants’ ablutions and latrines
M&E plinth
Airmen’s barrack huts
Airmen’s latrines
Picket post (converted from the East Lodge)
Solid fuel compound
Site No. 5
Officers’ quarters
Officers’ ablutions and latrines
Picket Post
Sergeants’ quarters
Sergeant’ ablutions and latrines
Airmen’s barrack huts and latrines
Site No. 6
Solid fuel compound
Airmen’s barrack huts and latrines
Sergeants’ quarters
Picket post
Sergeant’ ablutions and latrines
Communal Hall
Officers’ quarters
Officers’ ablutions and latrines
Site No. 7
Officers’ quarters
Officers’ ablutions and latrines
Picket Post
Sergeants’ quarters
Sergeant’ ablutions and latrines
Airmen’s barrack huts and latrines
Site Non 8 (not on map)
Solid Fuel compound
Officers’ quarters
Officers’ ablutions and latrines
Picket Post
Sergeants’ quarters
Sergeant’ ablutions and latrines
Airmen’s barrack huts and latrines
M&E plinth
Site No. 9
Officers’ quarters
Officers’ ablutions and latrines
Picket Post
Sergeants’ quarters
Sergeant’ ablutions and latrines
Airmen’s barrack huts and latrines
Solid fuel compound
Airwomen’s barrack huts
Airwomen’s barrack huts and latrines
Baths showers and decontamination block
Laundry blocks
M&E plinth
WAAF officers’ sick quarters
Mess and institute
Site No. 10 Sick quarters
Ambulance garage and mortuary
Sick annexe
Sick quarters, officers
Static water tanks
Sergeants’ quarters
Sergeant’ ablutions and latrines
Picket Post
M&E plinth
Site No. 11
WT building
M&E plinth