RAF Bradwell Bay was eventually a large RAF station on the Essex coastline. It had origins in the mid 1930’s as a small grass airstrip serving the firing and bombing range on the Dengie Marshes. In 1941 work was started on expanding airstrip into a large, concreted runway. The first squadron to move in was 418 RCAF, who flew their first operation, an intruder raid to Gilze Rijen in occupied Holland, was carried out on 16th April 1942.
The base has been studied by aviation enthusiasts, including Historian Stephen Nunn, for many years. The base has received little notoriety except locally. In 2021 the RAF Bradwell Bay Preservation Group was formed with a view of collating the many stories. This includes military operations as well as many human stories. We are building an archive so that we can share this knowledge. We have always had a desire to have a museum. We have an exhibition at the Othona Community, open weekends during the summer. We now are progressing towards a museum near our famous memorial. We have the site and offers of buildings but to build this we need funds.
You can help by donating either through our website:
www.rafbradwellbay.co.uk
or on our Just Giving page
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rafbradwellbay
You can keep up to date on our Facebook page.
Thank you,
Eric Simonelli
Vice Chair and Historian
RAF Bradwell Bay Preservation Group
[email protected]
