RAF Danby Beacon
On a clear day, the 360 degree panorama from Danby Beacon is hard to beat. But did you know that this seemingly unspoilt moorland was once home to a collection of buildings and radar towers covering some 75 hectares?
RAF Danby Beacon was built in 1937 and provided long range early warning for raids approaching the north midlands and the industrial cities of the north of England during the Second World War and the years of the Cold War.
In 1940 the station was responsible for guiding Flight Lieutenant Peter Townsend when he intercepted and shot down the first enemy aircraft to fall on English soil since World War One. The site closed in 1957.
A group of former personnel from RAF Danby Beacon, determined that their time at the station and their memories of their special Danby ‘family’ wouldn’t be forgotten, have donated a file of photographs and mementos to the North York Moors National Park Authority.
A copy of this file can be found in the reference section on the top floor of The Moors National Park Centre in Danby. Click here for information on opening times and how to get there.
To give you a taster of some of the gems contained in the file, click here to view the pdf displaying some of the file’s photographs.
Sue Richmond’s father, Cpl Jim Richmond served as a military policeman at RAF Danby Beacon. She says:
Eric Hampson initially contacted my family earlier in 2010, hoping to capture some of dad’s memories from his time spent at the Beacon. We informed Eric that sadly dad had passed away in 2006, but I would be glad to pass on the little knowledge I had. While collating photos to forward to Eric I realised dad had also been in correspondence with Freddie Smith, exchanging pictures and information they had individually gathered. On forwarding dad’s details to Eric, I was intrigued to see where he had served, and I was delighted to be invited to the tribute ceremony, where the veterans gathered and the modern Danby Beacon torch was lit. This was also marked by an RAF fly past.
My father Cpl Jim Richmond was originally conscripted to work down the coal mines as a Bevin Boy. He was happy to do this as he believed he would be close at hand to care for his sick mother, who had already lost two sons serving in the RAF. While working at a mine in Wakefield, dad was under pressure to sign up for extra years down the pit. This prompted dad to seek his mum’s blessing to do his National Service with one of the armed forces, wherever this might take him.
In 1950 at the age of 18 dad underwent training at the Royal Air force camp in West Kirby, near Liverpool. From there he was posted to Danby Beacon. When he first arrived the camp was being reinstated and the military digs were uninhabitable, so he stayed in the nearby village of Castleton, lodging at the Station Master’s detached house with a Mr and Mrs Harry Mead. The Mead family were very hospitable; Mrs Mead was an excellent cook and the rural family home with its lawned garden and fantastic views was quite a contrast with dad’s humble terrace house in Bradford.
Dad spoke fondly of his time at the camp; how the Military Police were given the nick name “snowdrops” from the white cover on their caps and about his ventures to the top of the radar towers, some 350ft high.
