RAF Ibsley, Hampshire, Battle Head Quarters

To park safely here just north of the old Station Head Quarters, Moyles Court school.

Plan of the route to take
Red line -- Path.
EWS -- Emergency Water Supply (was the pond feeding the water fountain at Moyles Court).
153 -- P.B.X. Building TB. 133727/41.
154 -- Signals Block.
155 -- Signals Workshop.
156 -- Battle HQ. 110006/??
157/158/159 -- S.A.A. Stores (Small Arms Ammunition).
Barrow -- A sunken drain pipe Lewis gun AA position.
Zig Zag lines -- Trenches covering dead ground.
AA -- Two drain pipes buried for anti-aircraft defence and local defence.
Defence position -- A large depression in the ground, over looking the whole airfield and all around defence.
Rifle Range -- There are some remains, very hard to find but signs are there of a hut, a couple of lines for riflemen to line up. Butts could be the hill over the stream??

A lovely air photo of where the BHQ is situated and the clear views it had all around the airfield.

CT -- Control Tower.

HQ -- Station Head Quarters.

Entrance to the BHQ.

The long entrance being cleaned out by some young lads that decided on their own backs to clean it up, 26 August 2012.

BHQ plan with yellow the outline of the two cupolas.

The reasons why a BHQ was built was to help defend the airfield from an enemy attack. When the threat level became such, the stations commander would leave his office and head for the BHQ. He would have about three none flying officers with him and a small group of airmen & runners.

In the centre was the Station Commanders office, at least two officer in each cupola. The airmen-runners would wait in their room. The PBX room ( Private Branch Exchange) would have a signaler sat at his desk. There was a small toilet with an Elsan bucket for convenience.

All orders in and out would be by telephone (PBX), but if the lines were down or a message had to be sent to a defence area with no phone. A runner would be sent out with the message.

The additional cupola inside. The battle theory at the time was that German parachutists would land on the airfield, capture the landing ground and make them safe for gliders to land. Then heavy transports could begin to bring in more men and equipment.

The defence plan was to surround the airfield with defence pillboxes, trenches, sunken pipes with machine guns in, etc. There were also tubes of explosives sunk under the runways to blow them up if needed. Most defences pointed inward and the BHQ was the command centre to run the battle, so it had to be in a position where it could view the whole battle area. With RAF Ibsley the BHQ was placed on a hill over looking the airfield. The second cupola was added later when the runway was extended.

The messengers and runners rest room. There would have been a place to hang up their equipment and weapons (if they had one) and a bench to sit on. A window into the office where messages could be passed through..

PBX room. This is where a telephone board was up against the wall and all telephone messages would have come and gone from here.

PBX - Private Branch Exchange.

PBX room.

Looking out towards the Messenger & Runners room and a small window to allow access of messages to and from the office.

Office.

The two windows opposite, one for the Messengers and the other to the PBX room. A table would have been placed here and maybe a telephone, maps of the airfield. And the plan of action.

Office.

Window to the Messengers room.

Office.

Window to the PBX.

The second cupola.

The view out.

The second cupola.

The way out of the room.

The second cupola.

The way out of the room.

Plan of the defences found.

Red - trenches.

Tumulus - Lewis AA gun.

Tumulus - Lewis AA gun.

Set into a concrete drainage tube.

Tumulus - Lewis AA gun.

Set into a concrete drainage tube. As it is today 2018.

Tumulus - Lewis AA gun.

Set into a concrete drainage tube.

Trenches.

Hard to see in these pictures are a set of trenches, there are several picket posts set in holding back sheets of corrugated iron..

Trench.

Sheets held back by picket posts.

The view over the other side looking south at woodland that was the Rifle range.