RAF West Beckham

We have received the following letter from Mike Digby.

 

RAF West Beckham

I currently live on part of the former RAF West Beckham chain home radar station in Norfolk.

I plan on writing a book about the history of the station and those who served here.

I have so far tracked down the former wartime station commander’s daughter along with several former WAAFs and airmen.  So if you have any memories you wish to share, photos/documents you would allow me to copy then please get in touch.

I am happy to share the photos/documents I have with you.

Mike Digby, 01263 824069

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafwestbeckham/

http://s1114.photobucket.com/profile/Mike_Digby

 

 

Marconi Building Chelmsford, field trip – June 16, 2012

A symposium was held at Anglia Ruskin University to discuss the future of the ex Marconi New Street site.  The event was held under the auspices of “Changing Chelmsford” and was, appropriately, in the Marconi Building at the university.

The  symposium was divided into three parts.  The first comprised presentations by Barry Shaw, advisor to Essex County Council, and  Roger Estop from Chelmsford City Council planning.  Barry outlined what he called the heritage triangle formed by the Anne Knight Building, a former Quaker Chapel; the 1912 Marconi building itself, and the grade 2* listed Shire Hall.  Just outside this triangle is the railway station and Anlia Ruskin University campus.  Barry’s submission was that redevelopment of the Marconi site would open up this part of the city and draw the university campus closer to the centre.  Roger Estop then gave a brief description of the buildings on the Marconi site.

The second part of the event was the visit to the New Street site itself.  This was, unfortunately, very restricted in scope, partly because some areas had been boarded up, partly because vandalism had exposed asbestos in various places and partly because the dreaded Health & Safety would not allow anybody upstairs.  Nevertheless, some pictures were taken and these are included at the bottom of this article.

We then returned to the university campus for the third session which was a series of reports and ideas for the site from the groups that had visited.  Most of the ideas had been rehearsed many times before with Ashwells and others and in the present economic climate are unlikely to be viable so although Changing Chelmsford has done a good job of raising the profile of the site and the problems it presents it seems unlikely that development will take place in the near future.