LANCASHIRE AIRFIELDS in the SECOND WORLD WAR
By ALDON P FERGUSON
Countryside Books, published 2004
Softback, 288 pp, price £12.95

A well-researched and lucid tale about
people and industry in Wartime Lancashire

Having been talking to one or two people about conditions in Lancaster during World War II in the last couple of months, I was intrigued to see this new publication from Countryside Books, who have issued a number of interesting titles relevant to our local area (see my review of Suggitt's Lost Railways of Lancashire)

Whilst military history is not one of my particular interests, and neither is World War II, I am of a generation whose parents were intrinsically bound up in it. Nor can I ignore the positive aspects of current attempts to view the disturbing events of the 1930s and 1940s with greater objectivity and in a more professional light.

Aldon P Ferguson's book does just that. He narrates a clear story of the history and background to airfields in Lancashire from the earlier days of airborne navigation to the special function they fulfilled in the dark days of the War. Having set his scene, Ferguson carefully describes the role, function, activities and purpose of the fourteen airfields in the county at the time, from the now-civilian Speke and Blackpool, to the all-but forgotten Walney Island, Cark (near Cartmel), Salmesbury (near Blackburn), Hesketh Beach at Southport and the rest.

The immediate Lancaster and Morecambe area was, in practical terms, more involved with the Army than with the Air Force, and our nearest such establishment was across the Bay either in Barrow or Cartmel, depending on where you are looking from.

A further interesting point is that the Lancashire airfields were not in the front line of flying combat; their main roles were construction, training, maintenance and support for their colleagues elsewhere.

The American interest is also of interest. "The USAAF ‘Air Depots' at Burtonwood and Warton became the two largest air bases in the UK, with such a large output that the former was known as ‘Lancashire's Detroit''. Though some may see that as a two-edged compliment, it certainly speaks volumes about the reputation of this county as – pace Birmingham - the ‘workshop of the world'. (Hmm, many Lancastrians will doubtless have mused on that when we were blockading the USAAF Burtonwood base during the 1980's anti-Cruise protests - ed)

High-precision engineering, heavy manufacturing, aeronautical expertise (to be found even today not far from here towards the Fylde at BAe) and sheer hard factory graft (also still to be found, er, I think, hereabouts) are traditional hallmarks of achievement in Lancashire.

Aldron tells his tale clearly and lucidly, with a good eye for detail and after some obviously thorough and painstaking research. What also comes across, even to this aeronautical and warfare lay person, is a distinct passion for his subject.

Those two qualities immediately and vitally commend any book to me, no matter what it's about. So if your particular interest is military history, aviation history or World War II, or even Lancashire's relatively recent history, this book is for you.

It is also yet another worthy contribution to the wider local history of our own area, and of the wider County we live in.

Copyright © 7 March 2005 Michael Nunn

Lancashire Airfields in the Second World War is available in Waterstones, Tourist Information Centres, local museums and galleries, and local booksellers (please support them!).