RAF Manby, Officers Mess - May 2016

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jsp77

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Upon arriving i never realised just how big this block was and once inside parts were very dark and poor floors in some areas made this an interesting explore. I spent around 3 hours wandering round and taking it all in. i thoroughly enjoyed looking round this one.

history

The Officers' Mess and Single Officers' Quarters was built in 1937 and is by A. Bulloch, the architectural advisor to the Air Ministry's Directorate of Works and Buildings. It has a complex extended H-Plan set out on formal Beaux-Arts lines. The main range includes the principal dining room, reception room, lounge and other public rooms as well as the kitchen. The bedroom blocks form the outer arms of the H. It is an impressive example of a neo-Georgian officers' mess and quarters, typical of those built on airfields in the 1930s.

RAF Manby was opened in 1938 as home to the Empire Air Armament School. Many bomb disposal techniques were invented at Manby, often a trial by fire.

By June 1940, RAF Manby housed the Joint Services Bomb Disposal School. Royal Engineers and Royal Navy demolition parties being trained alongside their RAF counterparts. In August 1940, the bomb disposal workload, generated by ever-increasing enemy activity, led to the establishment of 25 mobile BD squads, increased in manpower strength from three to 25 personnel each.

RAF Strubby came under RAF Manby RAF Flying College from VJ Day until closure in 1972. The nucleus of the staff of the Empire Central Flying School was transferred to RAF Manby to open the Flying College in 1946. Manby later became the home of the College of Air Warfare, part of which was the School of Refresher Flying.

As a member of the crash crew in 1951/52 at RAF Strubby, Les Featherstone attended a Vampire crash into a farm yard. The pilot was Wing Commander Steventon. He bailed out, but his parachute did not open, and he crashed through the farmhouse roof. The farm was local between Strubby and Mablethorpe.

In Oct 1954 a Canberra bomber belonging to the RAF Flying College, Manby, makes the first jet flight over the North Pole.

In 1963 the Navigation Wing of the Central Navigation and Control School moved to RAF Manby from RAF Shawbury, leaving Shawbury the task of all aspects of ATC training as the Central Air Traffic Control School.

The base closed in 1974. Today the site is used for Agriculture, the hangers are used as a grain store, with other buildings being used for industry. It is also home to Manby and District Model Aero Club.​

on with the photos

26925563300_20bb97004e_b.jpg1 by JSP 77, on Flickr

27104132312_3a182e715e_b.jpg2 by JSP 77, on Flickr

27200365125_672445c8f9_b.jpg3 by JSP 77, on Flickr

27131277701_5ba5b9efe4_b.jpg4 by JSP 77, on Flickr

26925409890_d1c6c39692_b.jpg5 by JSP 77, on Flickr

26925390400_624350cca3_b.jpg6 by JSP 77, on Flickr

27131222661_dfe58cdc5c_b.jpg7 by JSP 77, on Flickr

26595265793_1e769cbd35_b.jpg8 by JSP 77, on Flickr

26925332050_e6022f652d_b.jpg9 by JSP 77, on Flickr

27166702346_139b0b3eac_b.jpg10 by JSP 77, on Flickr

27104179782_96a3346254_b.jpg11 by JSP 77, on Flickr

27166672526_0c0b796e70_b.jpg12 by JSP 77, on Flickr

26595420903_b49121d20d_b.jpg13 by JSP 77, on Flickr

27200407955_ab60f82d82_b.jpg14 by JSP 77, on Flickr

26595253183_9d2a985e0b_b.jpg15 by JSP 77, on Flickr

27226808202_f177b3e4ec_b.jpg16 by JSP 77, on Flickr

thanks for looking
 
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That's deteriorating quickly now. Not so long ago the paint was intact and the walls were clean.
 
Nice one jsp.you got some nice shots.visited here myself a few months back.bit of a strange place to wander around on your own.its like a cross between upwood and raynham.not as good condition as raynham but far better than upwood.your right about the floors that corridor in the new extension is really bad and some of the upstairs are a bit ropey.
 
I've always had an obsession with officers mess's. a long time since i was in the forces, but compared to the junior ranks accommodation the officers always felt like 10,000 years apart. The smell of chesterfield leather sofas, decent luxurious carpets, and cutlery you only see on the antiques road show. Used to annoy me when I would be sat there eating cheap cack with blue plastic knives and forks......
Beautifully captured
:)
 
Is it just me who cringes when I see the words 'officers mess' in the same sentence? ......... It is, isn't it.
 
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Hi there. I'm new to exploring and I was wondering about visiting the Manby officers mess. Do I need any permission to enter it and if so who do I speak to? Or can I just wander around it unhindered?
 
Fantastic photos, im new here so don't want to get kicked asking wrong questions, is permission needed to enter here ?
 
Our last day in the RAF involved a meal at an officers mess (RAF Little Rissington, Glos.) so very evocative snaps. Thanks.
 
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