Water Tower, RAF North Witham, Lincolnshire, May 2019

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HughieD

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1. The History
RAF North Witham is a former World War II airfield in Lincolnshire, England. The airfield is located in Twyford Wood, off the A1 between Stamford and Grantham. It opened in 1943 and was used by both the RAF and US Army Air Forces. During the war it was used primarily as a transport airfield. It was allocated to the USAAF Troop Carrier Command in August 1943. Its immediate task was to distribute transport aircraft and the means of maintaining them to operational groups of the USAAF. USAAF C-47 maintenance repair activities continued at North Witham until May 1945, albeit on a reducing scale.

After the war it was closed in late 1945. The site was originally partially wooded and some of this remained to the northeast of the runways throughout the military period but after closure, the Forestry Commission planted most of the airfield with oak (Quercus robur) and conifers. Part of it is now a reserve for butterflies and the concrete is slowly being broken up and removed. Outlines of large numbers of loop dispersal hardstands can be seen in aerial photography, with the perimeter track being reduced to a single lane road.

2. The Explore
Walked the runways and explored the old watchtower and a while back but never got around to the water tower as it is quite a bit south of the watch tower. Hence a revisit was always on the cards. Very little info about the water tower and no pictures that I could find. Having parked up, I hopped the barb-wired gate followed the treeline and arrived at the coppice that has now engulfed the water tower. It’s fenced off but having negotiated that found that the metal ladder was caged and locked at the bottom. Perhaps with a bit of perseverance and if I hadn’t been on my tod, I could have got around it and up there. Once past that obstacle you can get right up to the top of this impressive water tower. One for next time. Previous report HERE.

3. The Pictures

Didn’t go back to the watch tower:

40717258930_277fd13822_b.jpgimg7795 by HughieDW, on Flickr

41802271514_c6a1c132b2_b.jpgimg7811 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Or walk the runways this time:

42524798511_2e0e931c3a_b.jpgimg7824 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Headed straight for the water tower:

47901165301_f30310d4d2_b.jpgimg0898 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Not sure if this dates back from WWII:

47113612644_0bb90139a4_b.jpgWatertower 04 by HughieDW, on Flickr

The water tower peeps out of the trees:

47111826664_b6400455fa_b.jpgimg0897 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Full frontal:

46986906415_df782fca38_b.jpgWatertower 03 by HughieDW, on Flickr

The old depth measure:

46985235815_4fe5342911_b.jpgimg0895 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Pipping rusting away:

47850762822_c4504b07bf_b.jpgimg0893 by HughieDW, on Flickr

40934864913_0f9fd1eb4c_b.jpgimg0891 by HughieDW, on Flickr

The reason I couldn’t get up:

40934876733_ddc00533ba_b.jpgimg0888bw by HughieDW, on Flickr

40934897923_ef52b433fe_b.jpgimg0885 by HughieDW, on Flickr

40934934063_6420743153_b.jpgimg0882bw by HughieDW, on Flickr

40934968063_7ba7065728_b.jpgimg0878 by HughieDW, on Flickr

46985219515_cb04a2b40b_b.jpgimg0896 by HughieDW, on Flickr
 
You know those moments when your brain connects two places after the rusty gears have been stuck? Mine just did that!
There's an almost identical tower near the old RAF Morpeth (Tranwell) airfield. The Tranwell one is basically two separate tanks with a narrow gap in the middle for access to the roof.
For all these years I've known that the Tranwell tower is a private water supply for some nearby houses - I hadn't realised it was far older and from the airfield lol. Oh dear I slipped there!

Water towers fascinate me. They're basically exposed engineering. The one in your pics - must be close to 200 tons of water when full and yet stood on spindles for supports. It worked though and still stands many decades later.
I'm wondering - is this tower still in use too? The fact that the ladders are locked off tells me it is. At Tranwell the residents got so annoyed they had the ladders cut away at about half way up because some people were climbing it and being stupid.

Interesting stuff that.
I suspect that shelter is original too. Looks like asbestos sheeting? If so there must be a reason why metal wasn't used for it? Prevention of sparks perhaps?

As a side note: About 12 years ago I put sealed bids in to buy an old concrete water tower in Northumberland. I wasn't madly keen on the purchase (lack of parking) and so kept my offers low. In the end it sold to a couple from London - that's all I can find out. It was bought by them as an investment. I guess when water tower conversions were all the rage but this one is more like a lighthouse shape and not wide.
The tower still stands and is untouched and has never been entered. Whoever bought it either ran out of money of have vanished.
A possible explore for passing people perhaps...
 
That's cool, it looks like an old Braithwaite tank, made from identical steel pressings bolted together. Surprisingly the firm is still in business - Braithwaite Engineers

As a side note: About 12 years ago I put sealed bids in to buy an old concrete water tower in Northumberland.
Out of interest, whereabouts is it roughly, as I'm sometimes passing through the area?
 
There's lots of these dotted around the country, usually hidden in wooded areas. They were used extensively at domestic sites around ww2 airfields. I always think they look great, rusting away.
 
There's lots of these dotted around the country, usually hidden in wooded areas. They were used extensively at domestic sites around ww2 airfields. I always think they look great, rusting away.


Yup and it's making me wonder about other sites close to me here. I've probably not spotted them because of how they're hidden off to one side.
I can think of two old airfields which need further investigation..
 
Lol! I was going to say a frying pan.

Dude(ette?) it tells you on my profile.
 
The asbestos cement sheeted agricultural shelter has nothing to do with with the original site - it is late '50's - early '60's and produced by one of three companies who started up again after WW11.

As a point of interest asbestos sheeting was not used on buildings in WW11. Asbestos was a far too important commodity for that mundane use - unless the structure was special, and the supplies of it that survived the long wartime sea passages were used in gas protection, engineering insulation and armoured vehicles - to name a few uses. It was the good old Corrugated Iron Sheet that was mandatory choice for building usage. Initial wartime supplies were made from the mountains of low grade 'scrap iron' that was collected, along with the aluminium pans, from every household in the UK. In the late '50's I can remember travelling around the steel working areas of Sheffield with Dad, and seeing mountains of this wartime scrap still standing around. Of very poor grade, it had been no use for wartime production and eventually found its way into reinforcing mesh used in the reconstruction and post war development of our bombed major Cities.
 
I love these towers..there is actually quite a few my way considering Norfolk had so many airfields I guess there would be. Great set
 
been the airfield many times, and never knew the water tower was there. Been in the control tower a few times
good work, as usual.
 
My Dad had to haul a theodolite and tripod up to the trig point on the top of that tower in the late 60s, when he was surveying for the local iron ore quarries.
Back then the trees were only just planted and a couple of feet tall at most, it was a tad breezy up on top.
 

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