Oakley Farm, Wiltshire RAF Ord. Depot

Oakley Farm, where The Woods at Oakley is situated, in Dinton, Wiltshire, served as an RAF munitions supply base during WW2. The location was chosen as the woods provided cover from the air for both men and munitions and was only a short distance from the railway stations in Wylye and Dinton. (W at O).
The owner very kindly let me have access to the whole site, as it is a working farm and industrial units, it is best only to look from the road or ask permission.
The remains from my meagre experience reminds me of RAF and I will show this later. It is located in an area used up to and just beyond D-day for the storage of ammunition and bombs. I have numbered all the relevant buildings.For US units that were stationed at Grovely Wood, Baverstock and Oakley Farm Click Here.

Oakley Farm on the left being the accommodation for soldiers and airman working on the Grovely Wood depot, it is set about half a mile away from the nearest bomb dumps for safety reasons.

The main gate and original gate posts with
1: The guard room on the left 24ft Nissen Hut
2: Another 24ft Nissen Hut.

Oakley Camp was the Head Quarters of the Grovely, Baverstock and Oakley Farm RAF Ordnance depot. The RAF needed to build up its storage of weapons for not only the coming up bomber offensive but also for Operation Overlord, the landings in France. So large areas of woodland were used as camouflage for these weapons. Also it was a very un populated area and so if an explosion occurred, civilians would not be harmed.
Oakley was the HQ, Dinton, Wylye and Great Wishford were the rail heads. When America came into the war, they too needed vast areas of storage and they took over Grovely and used Oakley Farm as there HQ and billeting. They also used Baverstock as another camp.
Dinton and its surrounding areas, was still being used by the RAF as rail head & checking facilities and Chilmark quarries used for vast underground storage.

'The west area of Grovely wood was form 1942 - 45 the tactical ordinance store of the American 9th Air force with a turn over average of 15,000 tons of bombs / small arms per month and maned by 1 ordinance & 2 truck companies of African American troops housed at the end of the wood and at Oakley farm where you can still see the WW2 Nissan huts adjacent the road.The ordinance was mainly collected from a purpose build railway siding at Wylye station with some also collected from Great Wishford station.Also stored for the wars duration were 4000 tons of chemical weapons.

There are 3 remaining air raid shelters with also approximately 400 - 500 concrete hard standings and hut bases that can still be seen. The base was extended during 1943 with a 3 mile concrete road that stretches out from the west end of the wood crossing the minor road from the A303 to Teffont and can be seen terminating between Chilmark and Teffont in a large bell mouth. To the side of this road in each of the 15 nr wide sections were 8 nr bomb stores.

The Roman road, the old lead road, actually lies 60ft to the north side of the modern tarmac road that runs through the west end of the wood and the raised middle section can be still be clearly seen in several areas'.
(Nigel Goodenough from Facebook).

Main gate still with there two gate posts.
1 - MC/41/42 - Nissen - Headquarters Office.

10365/55 Air Ministry site plan.

10365/55 Air Ministry site plan.

2 - MG/55/42 - Nissen - Guard House & Fire Party.
24ft Nissen hut.

2 - MG/55/42 - Nissen - Guard House & Fire Party.

78 - no number - Officers Ablutions & Latrines.

78 - no number - Officers Ablutions & Latrines.
This was lived in on my visit.

Left: 6 - MG/32/42 - 1 1/2inch Brick - MT Shed & Office.
Right : 8 - MC/55/42-Nissen - Equipment Store.
Behind: 9 - 13072/41 - Nissen.

6 - MG/32/42 - 1 1/2inch Brick - MT Shed & Office.
A three bay MT shed with a servicing pit in one bay.
The front has been added on.

6 - MG/32/42 - 1 1/2inch Brick - MT Shed & Office.
The three bays.

Clockwise:

MT Office inside with green paint and a black line.

NO SMOKING

Asbestos roof supports, something I have never seen?

External wall showing the two extensions.

Left: 8 - MC/41/42 - Nissen - Equipment Store.
Behind the lorry: 1 - MG/41/42 Nissen - Headquarters Office.

Top: 58 - 10863/10 - Nissen - Tailors, Shoemakers & Barbers Shop.
Bottom: 8 - MC/55/42 - Nissen - Equipment Store.
Both have their electrical power supply above the doors.

10 - 1385/42 - Nissen - Dining Room.
Three large Nissen huts, linked together.
BS: Blast Shelter.

Top: 11 - 9041/41 - 4 1/2inch Brick - Ration Store.
May also have been used as the Medical hut.
Bottom: 56 - 12878/41 - 'B'-Nissen -Grocery & Local Produce Store.

9 - 13072/41 - Institute.

9 - 13072/41 - Institute.
The tower is a water header tank.

Behind the institute are several air-raid shelters and blast shelters. The air-rad shelters look like Stanton types.