The Ghosts of Biggin Hill 

My dad was working on the airfield when they made the movie Battle of Britain ,I went with for 3 days ,,very cool ,,made me think of the brave polish and commonwealth airman ,,,the bravest if the brave ,,we owe you our future

I am over 80 years old and lived near Woolwich Arsenal Munitions Factories throughout WW2, not far from Biggin Hill. I was a member of the Air Training Corps for many years and went to Biggin Hill many times when it was still active. It was a very proud atmosphere and rightly so. It MUST be rebuilt as a National Monument and Museum as a tribute to all those that lost their lives in South East and those of families in that region who also lost their lives and suffered greatly. The two houses next to mine were destroyed by a “doodle bug” and my house was badly damaged. I now live in San Diego, California (USA) but still remember those wartime days very clearly - like it was yesterday. Now we have to face a bigger war with Covid - 19. Let us all be considerate of those medical staff on the “front line” in this battle. DO WHAT YOU KNOW YOU SHOULD DO, DON’T BE CARELESS WITH YOUR LIFE OR THOSE OF OTHERS,

What remains must be preserved. Such places are as much part of our history as any medieval castle or Tudor palace. Don't give up.

They will never be forgotten...🇬🇧🇨🇦🇦🇺🇳🇿🇨🇿🇮🇩🇫🇷🇺🇸

A generation of men & women with whom one can be rightly proud & grateful. This beautifully crafted vignette of wartime Biggin pays an evocative tribute to that sentiment. Thank you so much .

My mum died last September 2019 aged 95 and mum was a WRAF like the rest of her 4 friends! they stuck together for the duration, sadly, my mum was the last to survive! I head all about her stations she was at! R.I.P all of those brave folk back than! We can never thank them enough! Sigh! :(

I would hope that RAF Biggin Hill would be restored to it's war time condition in honor of the many heroes who saved Britain

Think the gravestones said it all. An Airman. We have the same loss of the bomber bases round York. I've seen grown men, not always old, stand with tears running down their faces at places like these. Perhaps the Souls of these men rest easier now.

I used to live near Biggin Hill back in the 70's it was still a going concern then. Used to go to dances held in the officers mess. The local pub, can't remember the name now, either the queens head or rose and crown I think but in the bar the caps of pilots that never returned from missions were still hanging on pegs next to the bar. Loved drinking there, unique atmosphere.

Thanks for this. I watched with sadness the ball/dance scene. Both my parents were ballroom dancers and I have memories of them gliding around the floor. You can see the gowns that the women wore. I was the last generation (Baby Boomers) who were taught the art of dancing. We thought it rubbish. How I wish I had learned more. Just that scene made your efforts worthwhile.

Brilliant well done a great film

Southern England in Summer is truly beautiful

sad and heroic memories

Thank you well done

Very moving … We will remember them … Per Ardua Ad Astra

What can you say about all this death? Never forget.

Biggin hill is still an operational airfield

Yes it’s shame they need to keep these placers not them go to rack and rune all them airmen who gave there lives to save this country They need to spend some money to keep these buildings for our future grandchildren to show them whot our fathers done to keep this country safe / as there now only 2 spitfire people left we need to to safe these airfields for the future children// it’s not much to ask to keep these placers in tack / God bless you all for whot you done for us and to make this country safe / the P.M. should put money to keep these airfields for our future children

Places like this should be national monuments. It's not like we can't afford it considering the insane projects they throw money at instead these days.

Biggin Hill should have retained historical site importance - it is a testament to all who served there in WW11

Thanks for making this excellent film. I wish my father could have seen it. As a young man he was there on the ACK-ACK guns. When the nazis moved their attention away from Biggin Hill on to the docks in the east end, my father went there with his Ack-ACK unit. He never spoke about it, all I was told was that he was there the night that an air raid hit an air-raid shelter which was referred to in this film. So as a young man called up to do his national service in 1938 he found himself picking up body parts of girls and lads the same age as he was. No wonder he never wanted to talk about it. My uncle told me the lad that went to war never came home, just his shell. RIP. private Robert. L. Mellor . Royal Artillery. My dad .

As someone whose Grandfather was one of the few, I thank you deeply for taking the time to upload this not just for me but for my children to see.

RAF stations like Biggin Hill, Duxford, Tangmere, Manston and countless others, including those of Bomber Command, were too many to be all preserved for posterity, but you would think that at least some of the most famous of them could - and should - have been saved from decay and the deconstruction work that became their fate. They should have been turned into museums and historical monuments. Shame on the disinterested post-war governments who treated the national heritage in such manner.

I have always admired the strong British spirit. Their chin up attitude is inspiring despite what they sometimes go through. Although, I am a yank, I have always respected the British especially during their Finest Hour.

I was born in Sevenoaks and remember going with my father to see a German pilot shot down from over the Kentish fields. My father worked for the Express newspaper and was sent to capture the pics of the downed pilot I remember seeing the dog fights in the skies over my home This place is hallowed ground from where so many young gave their lives to save our country

I visited Biggin hill recently and can report that heritage hangar chapel and museum are still being looked after The chapel a fitting memorial to those brave young men Spitfire’s still flying from the airfield

What a lovely film. My grandfather was stationed here as an engineer in 1941, and his brother (my great uncle) a flt cmdr. He moved out to South Africa when the RAF did the training out there, and never returned to the UK. I was born there and grew up there and he passed when I was in my early 20's. Now in my late 40's, I have moved to England with my family. We visited the site recently and it was a profoundly moving experience for me. I wish I had asked him more questions about his time here.

Brilliant....just brilliant....as has been said this place should have been preserved as a memorial to all who served and gave their lives. So sad to see how this once great Country is now.

We're not always good at preserving our heritage are we?

It would be so much cheaper to preserve Biggin Hill at this point than in 20 years time.

Speaking as a Yank, I consider the RAF bases as superior to American ones for, if no other reason, the stylish architecture and and interior design. RAF Lakenheath's officer's club was a pleasure to be in. Mind you, I have visited few USAF bases, as my service was Army.

I just came across this. I had no idea it was abandoned. I went there twice in late 60's when it was OASC (Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre) One was surrounded by history and it was very atmospheric. I didn't get selected in the final tests and in those days they never told you why, but it was an experience and the selection process was pretty tough.

My mother was a driver in the WAAF stationed there 1940 - 1942 approx ... we have numerous photos of her squadron etc...etc...

the ground should belong to the National Trust to prevent development of the site

One of the most moving tributes to all who served during the Battle of Britain! Superb! Tragic and very, very sad to think that a civillian demolition crew achieved without opposition, what the Luftwaffe couldn't do to Biggin Hill through six years of WWII.

As luck would have it, We were vacationing in Cornwall on 9/11. On Saturday the 15th we attended an event at Salisbury Town Hall where combined Bands musically remembered Battle of Britain Day. The 76th US Army band was one of the bands there that night. I had no idea why the 15th of September was the day of remembrance for the Battle. Over dinner, I asked why the 15th had been designated the particular day to be remembered. I can only imagine now, that with 9/11 as the backdrop, I might have received an answer I might not have received otherwise. After a short pause, and a suddenly quiet table, one of the ladies said, “It was the worst day, after that it got better.” Later that night at the conclusion of the combined bands musical performance the 76TH US Army Band Captain led the combined bands in the finale. As the first note of the Star Spangled Banner was played, the entire audience stood. As one. Sharply. The bands finished with Rule Britannia and God Save the Queen. I’ve never forgotten the word-less kindness we received that week from our English hosts. Never forgetting IS remembering.

Wow. Incredible film. Thank you

The goverment should save these places .for the future .lest we forget

it's always a little sad to see something of such historical importance lost. many former airfields have become industrial areas or trading parks. some are turned over to housing development or converted back into farm land. but i think Biggin should have been kept as a national treasure.

Really wonderful film, bravo to the makers and anyone keeping this alive. My mum was born near Biggin Hill in 1943 and spent many nights in an all-encompassing gas mask for babies. She's terrified of enclosed spaces to this day and is sure that's why! Thanks again for publishing this, it's truly marvellous to hear those voices. I will visit the museum there next month. Hopefully some of the commenters here talking about it being a disgrace that it's not preserved will do the same.

Great film, I live near Gravesend in Kent & unless you know the history of the area you'd never know that there used to be an RAF fighter airfield there apart from some road names belonging to the housing estates that replaced it, there is nothing to show it existed, a disgraceful state of affairs. So many of these WW2 airfields have fallen victim to the greed of developers who want to build on every bit of green space they can get their hands on. There used to be a pub called 'The Battle of Britain' on Coldharbour Road Gravesend, this was demolished, illegally I might add a few years ago, it had a large painting fixed to the wall outside depicting a Hurricane chasing a burning ME109, hopefully that was saved before the demolition started. The site is still empty as the council decide what should be done with it. Locals have called for the developers to be forced to rebuild it, somehow I doubt the council has big enough balls to take such action.

Absolutely brilliant. Thank you to you and your team for making such a wonderfully evocative and well produced film. The veterans stories really capture the atmosphere. (Steve - High Flight)

Such brave men from Britain & Ireland, the commonwealth and Europe and even the US. #wewillrememberthem

Wonderfully evocative film, but desperately sad to think of the sacrifices made by many people barely out of their teens. They shall never be forgotten.

Such films and the books "forgotten voices" give quite an insight into the "world" of those years we should never forget. Thanks for the upload!

I think you did a great job with this video, it gave me a real feeling of being there during that period of time, keep up the great work, Cheers.

This is an absolute gem.

Brilliant, Well done and we'll produced we should never forget those that put their lifes on the line for not only their generation but all generations to come.

The Holy Grail of Britain.

Very strange how we brits treat our historical buildings.In viet nam the tunnels and traps are preserved for tourists.If Biggin hill were restored I am sure many tourists would pay to visit.A shame to see it being destroyed. Stay safe happy new year :}

There is a stone in Orpington that marks where a spitfire came down . My Alsatian stood there barking at It . Makes you wonder.

Wonderful short piece: can't believe 20 years has gone by since it was done.

So many life had been saved by so few of these fine young men in such short time. We will remember them forever.

What a disgrace, to think the young men who gave their lives fighting the Nazis. Now the powers that be let this drome crumble away when it should be preserved. The young fliers gave their lives to preserve our way of life. They should be remembered and honoured for their sacrifice. Many thanks for this video, it's a privilege to watch. 👏👏👏👏👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏

Hi Paul, Thanks so much for the video. My father was the exec producer of this film and i was wondering if you could get in touch? Many thanks

I always get very emotional when anything about the battle of Britain is shown it is and will always be immortal to us Brits literally our finest hour

My mum,,Joan Bellinger,, served the during the war. On RDF. Mike Kingdon

Very moving!😢 Thank you Paul👍

Now its a Covid Quarantine dodgers landing airport. Went there in 1989 or 88 when it was a working station. Always liked MOD property styles.

I was fortunate enough to be given a Permanent Commission after spending 3 days at the Biggin Hill Officer selection process. A major honour! The RAF treated us well , light on discipline - the Mess nights with heavy drinking and games. High Cockolurum. "Are you there Moriarty?" CAVU skies!

Lovely film, Paul. This is the first time I’ve seen it in about 20 years. I hope you’re keeping well. Best regards, Tim (Marc T’s friend)

Thank you for the upload, my grandad was here during the war. RAF 610 squadron

I can't imagine what that was like. What a horrible time in history. Man's cruelty to man.

That was a fabulous insight. A common threat brings out the commonality in us all none more so than here. I remember them old barracks - stayed in a few. They have a distinctive sound. Brilliant. Mark

I typed in Benny Hill and got this

Paul, this was brilliant. Well done, and thank you.

My father Sgt George Reid and his family lived in Biggin Hill during the 1950's.. as children we could still dig machine gun bullets out the surrounding valley surface, we assumed they were delivered by the Luftwaffe..

I live in biggin hill and between the local council and those who own the airport surprised any of the orignal buildings are left less said about the biggin hill memorial museum and the bad headlines from the building of the museum the better

He was picked up by a waaf who "had lost her fiance the day before". To be honest I had to stop there.

Excellent. Thank you. Wonderful pilots and all those who supported them.

Having visited Biggin Hill for the first time today, this was a brilliant watch, thank you!

Great production, we shall remember them.

Thank you.

If the RAF and Biggin Hill interest you may I recommend an old book, 'RAF Biggin Hill'. It can still be found sometimes via Amazon and similar sites. The book tells the story, mostly through the words of the men and women present, of the most famous fighter station in British history. I'd be surprised if it does not surprise, amaze and entertain you.

Brilliant absolutely brilliant.

Great film

Melancholy video, and still likable! (Any kin of Tony Bartley: I am a yank from Missouri and me great (great?) grandfather was a Methodist minister from county Cork, Ireland who carried John Wesley's teachings to America.) Did I see bulldozers wrecking Biggin Hill? Ironic that the lust for land ultimately destroyed what the Germans could not...

Thank you, whenever I hear the roar of the mighty Merlin I get goosebumps, and a little emotional, I served as an aircraft engineering technician in Her Majesty’s Royal Air Force for 24 years, following in my father’s, grandfathers and great grandfathers (RFC & RAF) footsteps, and I am very proud to say my son followed in my footsteps, but I always think of those men and women who gave so much, some of whom gave everything, in defence of this many splendored isle, and I am disgusted by the disgraceful way that their sacrifices are treated by successive governments, in the period directly after WWII you can understand that immortalising now surplus airfields was not exactly a priority, however there has been plenty of opportunities since then for some of the more important and well known bases to be preserved as a tribute to all that served, but no, that hasn’t happened, and now it probably won’t ever happen, and I can’t understand why, all governments since WWII have bleated on about how much they respect and give thanks to our armed forces, past, present and future, but that is as far as it goes, they are ALL two faced liars, the depth of their respect lasts a little over 2 minutes on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, usually accompanied by the sound of silence and a lone bugler. It’s extraordinary how money can be found to refurbish the Houses of Parliament, or build a new high speed railway line that will only benefit the few (the rest of us can’t afford rail-fares) season ticket holders and the Uber rich, but find money to immortalise the few, or the many?, Nope can’t be done, and what about the National Trust?, The National Lottery, or goodness forbid, the ministry of defence, Nope, they are to busy propping up derelict castles or houses that someone famous lived in for a week, the National Lottery are to busy giving handouts to the cause of the moment, especially if they don’t deserve it, and the M.O.D are far to busy finding ways to waste the budget on computer systems that don’t work (twice during my service), aircraft carriers that don’t actually do what the navy asked for and light tanks that are so far behind schedule and so far over budget that IF they ever enter service they will be obsolete by the time the paints dry on the outside. The ONLY way that anything connected with preserving our military heritage happens is if volunteers do everything the government should, raising the capital just to buy the land, then the capital to restore the airfield, army base or navy ship, then the capital for buying period furniture, artefacts etc, and finally finding the capital to actually run the finished project, and even then they wouldn’t get any help from the government, nope, not a bean, but you can bet your last penny that some high profile politician or civil servant would decide that THEY should open this new and inspiring tribute to the armed forces, because THEY were the driving force behind it, BEHIND is the operative word. Sorry for going on and on like the energiser bunny but this is a subject close to my heart, and if I were still able bodied and without mental health issues I would have been one of the people trying to rectify the government’s very limited, if not nonexistent, respect and honour for our armed forces. Thanks for sharing this very interesting and emotive topic, I promise that I have put my soapbox away, vented my spleen and finished my adaptation of War and Peace, and to anyone who manages to read all the way to this point a massive thank you and thumbs up 👍. RIP all that have, are and will serve our country, thanks to all our veterans, and remember, Lest We Forget. Per Ardua Ad Astra. ☹️😡🥲👍🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

This is excellent, brings home the human side of the war rather than the romantic which we all know and love. Steve

Interesting Paul - my Grandfather was a member of ground crew there during WW II.

It doesn't matter how many Documentaries you watch your always finding one or two you miss when you're trying to complete some research . I never knew that this existed , Always willing to learn more at any time . Thanks for the up load .

How quickly we forget.

My grandfather Fredrick Edward Tucker fought in WW1 .Lied about his age , 16 years old ,invalided out age 18 due to 2 mustard gas attack exposures. Fought in WW2 in the RAF age 44 ,based at Biggin Hill . Time his spent in Machine gun pits shooting at German ground attacking aircraft. Commuted to Biggin Hill everyday from Upton Park, East End ,London like a regular job.

I lived near Biggin Hill when I was growing up in the 1960s. Went to the air show there every year. At the main entrance there was a spitfire on one side of the gate and a hurricane on the other. During WWII dad was ground crew at Tangmere, not far away.

It’ll be a mall and McDonald’s soon

have some very vague memories of an annual Air Show being held there back in the 70s, maybe early 80s

TWO SECTION SCRAMBLE !!! For the Few...

Its kind of sad to think of this being forgotten and abandoned.

“And by saving [Britain], they saved humanity.” Is he kidding me?? The pilots saved Britain, all right, but _DEFINITELY NOT_ humanity. The US and Canada were still around, with nearly impossible invasion logistics bc of the size of the continent, unmatched natural resources everywhere, and the incredible ability to jump to a war production footing very quickly. Too much hyperbole, so I’m done after 1 minute!

I am from India an have the book NIGHT FIGHTER by C. F. Rawnsley and John Cunningham. A must read. Biggin Hill is to the west of West Malling and east of Kenley aerodromes in the South-east sector of mid war England(p.74)"Biggen Hill had featured prominently in the Battle of Britain"p.235 ibid. The book was handed over to me by my late grandfather L. L. Reade(look up)

Preserve Biggin Hill? Comments below ask about this. It is possible to visit this still active airfield. Don't miss the pubs nearby where the airmen used to relax. As far as I know and I grew up near and visited many times Biggin Hill so could tell you a few tales there is a museum journey begins over 100 years ago when RAF Biggin Hill was just farmland. One of Britain's oldest aerodromes, RAF Biggin Hill is still internationally recognised as Sir Winston Churchill's 'strongest link' which became the station motto. During your visit, you can freely explore the main chapel, gardens, café and shop. There used to be a Spitfire and Hurricane parked outside the chapel. A am told they have been replaced with 'replicas', the aura won't have departed.

An evocation of place and memory. The film juxtaposes the recollections of fighter pilots, ground crew and WAAFs who served at RAF Biggin Hill during the Battle of Britain with contemporary and archival footage of the base. We made this film in the early 1990s, when the buildings were deserted and threatened with demolition, and the film intercuts images of the near-destruction of the statio …😆😁😄😃😀😇

Wow what a magic video. Never seen anything like this. Superb well done.

1984 - 1986 raf biggin Hill Was my fist camp Nice place had some good times there. Wish I could go back to those days. Still O.A.S.C at that time.

An excellent and emotive short film - thank you. God bless all that served in any way, shape or form.

An evocative film, but don't forget that Hawker Hurricanes also flew from there. My father was a Leading Aircraftman at Biggin Hill during the Battle of Britain.

Don't don't don't mess with the best as thay say in rolls Royce terms sufficient (power is developed) no fxxxxxg problems rest in peace all who may be concerned end of 😊😊😊😊😊😊❤

My first Posting May 88 to june 89. .loved the place. Such history SAC Geordie Marshall

I used to play 5va side cricket in one of the hangers in my teens,in a netted off area full of WW2 British and German aircraft. This is where whatscat Duxford should be and a reminder where we fought and not let invaders of our beaches in and accomadate . It was also when we all mostly lived on the Continent where we naturally belong. These men who died and were maimed would wonder why they bothered.

Polish flyers did a magnificent job during the Battle of Britain. My Grandfather said they were tenacious , 🇵🇱