RAF Tarrant Rushton, Dorset Dispersed Sites

Site No.2 Communal.
The living sites were dispersed to make it safer in a bombing raid. All the messing arrangements are in one area with Officers, Sergeants and Mens institute. Also a cinema, a gymnasium, squash court. Decontamination, started after WW1 when gas was used in vast amounts. The Government worried that a future war would mean the massive use of gas. So ALL airfields and camps had decontamination buildings. As the war went on and no gas was used, the decontamination huts were used as toilets, shower blocks and also storage.

The roadway into Site No.2 Communal.
On the right would have been the dinning room for 1176 airmen. Just passed the bend on the left 156 Grocery & Local Produce Store, a Nissen hut 12878/41.

Site No.2 Communal.

Site No.2 Communal.
AM 4206/11 G.G. of W. plan.
Dining room in T.B. of a Sergeants Mess just shows how it may have looked inside here.

Site No.2 Communal.
152 - Squash Court - T.B. - 16589/40.

Site No.2 Communal.
Sergeants and Officers Mess’s could look very mush alike.
Here was 151 - Officers Mess (for 180) - T.B. & N - 14382/41.

Site No.2 Communal.
In the picture is a gymnasium with cinema extension.
TR only had the gym. 157 - Gymnasium - T.B. - 4911/42. It did have a chancel extension where church services could be held. The gym had Officers and Men's changing rooms down one side.

Site No.2 Communal.
166 - Fuel Compound (108ft x 90ft) - 9108/41. Fuel compound held coke or coal as heating fuel for all the fires on the camp. Fuel was a prized item, it was in short supply and it was always cold. The Storeman had to issue and account for every piece of coal, so by not letting anybody have any, it meant he always had a full stock (job done). It was a constant battle between the store man and the Erk. Only the very cunning won. (That was usually the store man).

Site No.2 Communal.
166 - Fuel Compound (108ft x 90ft) - 9108/41.
Artists impression of the fuel compound.

Site No.2 Communal.
165 - Stand-By Set-House - T.B. - 16302/41.

Site No.2 Communal.
This is a protected 16302/41 type standby set house. There would have been at last two large diesel engines and dynamo sets to be able to run the electrics of the whole camp if the mains electric was broken. The roof is a reinforced concrete and it has blast walls to protect all the entrances into the building.

Site No.2 Communal.
The side view.

Site No.2 Communal.
The main door into the generator room. The low roof side building are where the switch gear was kept and a small office for probably civilian staff.

Site No.2 Communal.
The main generator room door.

Site No.2 Communal>
Left side of the generator room.

Site No.2 Communal.
Right hand side of generator room. Two or three sets could fit inside.

Site No.2 Communal.
LOAD NOT TO EXCEED 3 TONS.
Lovely sign and so well painted. There would be a steel beam running across the walls to lift engines and dynamos in and out.

Site No.2 Communal.
This one in 2014 had a modern standby set in its side office.

Site No.2 Communal.
Door to the fuel storage room.

Site No.2 Communal.
This room is for very large diesel oil tanks sat on plinth and on the right side was a gantry or walkway where the operators could walk along and check the quantity of fuel was in the tanks.

Site No.2 Communal.
Stand-By Set-House.

Site No.2 Communal.
Stand-By Set-House.

Site No.3 W.A.A.F. Communal.
This is the concrete road to the W.A.A.F. site.

Site No.3 W.A.A.F. Communal.
The WAAF site laid out in this field. There is absolutely nothing now left. Well actually there are at least three small pieces of concrete left in the hedge.

Site No.3 W.A.A.F. Communal.
Picket Post 176, Picket Post, T.B., 12404/41 The very first building would have been the Picket Post, a sort of police post. It would be manned (Womaned WAAF's) by a Corporal and a few air-women. To enter the WAAF site you would have to book in and again when you left you would book out. Also the WAAF's here would be the fire picket and have a small amount of fire fighting equipment. A telephone line would connect it to the station HQ. 177 - Fuel Compound - 9108/41 can be seen on the picture with a wire fence around it.

Site No.3 W.A.A.F. Communal.
179 - Ablutions - T.B. - 2970/42 may have looked like this.

Site No.3 W.A.A.F. Communal.
191 - Dining Room - N (for 350 & 20 Sgt's) - 12658/41.
A 24ft Nissen hut would have had a large kitchen with oven, hot plates and washing up facilities. A food store, dining room and also a relaxation area.

Site No.4.
The site starts about half way up. It is very hard to find many of the remains as the site was cleared very early. The site plan is 1944 so I presume late 44 and this site had already been removed.

Site No.4.
This is the top corner and inside there was the Braithwaite high level water tank and the Picket post. Here a Corporal would be in charge and checked everything was in order.

Site No.4.
There were pathways between the huts.

Site No.4.
Braithwaite water tower The highest point on the airfield. Often a bore hole was used to extract water and pump it up to the water tower, which gave enough head of height for pressure all around the sites.

Site No.4.
M&E Plinth.
The only other remains I could find was the M&E plinth but even that was knocked down.

Site No.5.
The airmen were packed several to a hut and a room for a corporal, the sergeants were maybe four to a room. And Officers possibly shared a room and the more senior would have a room to themselves. There would also be a servants room for Batmen to live close at hand to look after about four officers. Again lots of Nissen huts for accommodation and the larger TB for ablutions, etc.

Site No.5.
These air photos show off the sites very well and the Nissen huts are the short ones and the longer the TB ablutions and latrines.

Site No.5.
328 - Officers Ablutions - T.B. - 65047/42. All I could find was the brick foundations.

Site No.5.
342 - Transformer Plinth (M&E Plinth)

Site No.5.
342 - Transformer Plinth (M&E Plinth) with the outer blast wall covering the entrance.

Site No.5.
342 - Transformer Plinth (M&E Plinth), the parts inside.

Site No.6.

Site No.6.

Site No.6.
The hut is a modern barn and only sitting on the top of the Fuel Compound.

Site No.6.

Site No.6.
This is the lorry parking bay.

Site No.6.
396 - Airmen´s Ablutions - T.B. - 2965/42.

Site No.6.
396 - Airmen´s Ablutions - T.B. - 2965/42.
I think these are the plinths for the boiler and hot tanks to sit on..

Site No.6.

Hard to see now but this was the entrance, steps up into a porch.

Site No.6.
One left out of the whole place.

Site No.6.
One hut base's.

Site No.6.
Another hut base.

Site No.6.

Site No.7.

Site No.7.

Site No.7.
The tress in the distance.

Site No.7.
The concrete roadway.

Site No.7.
The wild flower area. This is where the road used to turn into the site.

Site No.7.
457 - Officers Ablutions - T.B. - 6502/42. This is where the stepped entrance and porch would have been.

Site No.7.
457 - Officers Ablutions - T.B. - 6502/42

Site No.7.
Possibly a latrine block.

Site No.7.
It looks like a roadway, but all along here were huts and at the end the Picket Post.

Site No.8.
W.A.A.F. W.A.A.F. living site.

Site No.8.

Site No.8.

Site No.8.
The site was right out across this field and on the edge of the far woods. A lonely walk on a wet, windy, dark night.

Site No.9.
Sick Quarters.
You can just make it out here.

Site No.9 Sick Quarters.
This is exactly how RAF Tarrant Rushton's Sick Quarters would have looked. Except maybe not the American ambulance. The chimneys were also water towers.

Site No.9 Sick Quarters.
The AIR files have several views of what a Sick Quarters looked like and Tarrant Rushton's would have looked no different.

Site No.10 Sewage Disposal Works.
Sediment tank at RAF Stratford.

Site No.10 Sewage Disposal Works.
Filter beds at RAF Stratford. There are no remains here at all.