RAF Waterbeach

Royal Air Force Station Waterbeach or more simply RAF Waterbeach is a former Royal Air Force station located in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire which is 5.5 mi north of Cambridge. The site was then used by the Royal Engineers, part of the British Army, from 1966 to 2013, as Waterbeach Barracks.

Royal Air Force
The airfield was built in 1940 on the northern edge of Waterbeach village and operated under the control of RAF Bomber Command. The original control tower and many RAF buildings, including several hangars, are still present.

Transport Command, 1945-1949
After the Second World War, Consolidated B-24 Liberators and Douglas Dakotas from RAF Transport Command flew from RAF Waterbeach.

Fighter Command, 1950-1963
RAF Fighter Command took over the base on 1 March 1950 and used Gloster Meteors, Supermarine Swifts, de Havilland Venoms, de Havilland Vampires and Gloster Javelins. In addition Hawker Hunter fighters arrived in May 1955 and, two years later, the prototype English Electric P1 (Lightning) visited RAF Waterbeach.

RAF units and aircraft - Fighter Command
After the last RAF fixed-wing aircraft (54sqn) left in August 1963, the site was used by the Airfield Construction Branch RAF until 1966.

Royal Engineers
The station and airfield remain property of the Ministry of Defence, but were transferred from the Royal Air Force to the Royal Engineers, part of the British Army, in 1966. The barracks, airfield and surrounding quarters most recently housed 12 (Air Support) Engineer Group. The former airfield was used as a training area for troops, with occasional visits by helicopters and, in the past, by Harriers. 25 Engineer Regiment was disbanded on 19 April 2012. Two of its squadrons (34 Field Squadron and 53 Field Squadron) have become part of 39 Engineer Regiment and will move to RAF Kinloss.

In July 2011 the Ministry of Defence announced that Waterbeach Barracks will close, and the site sold for housing. In November 2011 and March 2012 the Ministry of Defence announced that 39 Engineer Regiment would move to RAF Kinloss in July 2012. A total of 930 Service personnel will move to Kinloss, and 44 Service personnel to Wittering. HQ 12 (Air Support) Engineer Group will move from Waterbeach to RAF Wittering in October 2012, with the compete closure of Waterbeach Barracks by 1 April 2013. After that date, the Barracks will be guarded and managed by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation until they dispose of the site.

Waterbeach Forward was set up in 2011 by Cllr James Hockney and Cllr Peter Johnson to ensure that any future development of the barracks site, following its closure, will be of real and lasting benefit to the local community.

First units of 39 Engineer Regiment (Air Support) arrived at RAF Kinloss in June 2012, with the majority leaving Waterbeach during July. Their move was complete by September 2012. On 26 July 2012 at 1200 the RAF Ensign was lowered at RAF Kinloss for the last time, to be replaced by the flag of 39 Engineer Regiment (Air Support), Royal Engineers.

The barracks closed on 28 March 2013 and the vacated site is now in the care of G4S on behalf of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.

Museum
In 1985 a Museum was established by the Army to record and preserve items from RAF Waterbeach - in particular from 514 Squadron who held their Reunions at the barracks every year - as well as artefacts from the Army (39 Engineer Regiment). As the Barracks closed in March 2013, the Museum closed to visitors on 30 September 2012.

In December 2012, a group of villagers set up a trust, Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum, and the Army has gifted the collection to this trust. The Barracks Museum contents is being stored outside the barracks, until a new location can be found. The Hon. Curator from the barracks will continue to answer enquiries and carry out research. He has had an assurance from the most likely developers of the MOD-owned airfield and barracks (RLW Estates) that the inclusion of a Museum "will form an important part of the site's heritage".