RAF Driffield/eastburn

RAF Driffield lay about two miles south-west of the market town of Driffield in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The site first saw flying as RAF Eastburn during the First World War, but closed soon afterwards. It was rebuilt and reopened in the mid-1930s as a permanent bomber station, and from 1936 served as a front-line aerodrome under Bomber Command, passing through No. 4 Group and, later in the war, No. 6 Group RCAF.

For much of the early war the station was home to twin-engined heavy squadrons. No. 102 (Ceylon) Squadron operated Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys from here, and among its pilots was Leonard Cheshire, later one of the most decorated airmen of the war and a Victoria Cross recipient. Wellington-equipped units, including No. 405 Squadron RCAF, also flew from the field, and over its long career a great many squadrons in bomber, fighter and training roles were associated with the station.

Its exposed eastern coastal position made it a target: a heavy German raid in August 1940 caused fatalities, including the first death of a member of the WAAF. After the war the airfield was retained by the military, serving as an Army driving school and later as a Thor ballistic-missile site between 1959 and 1963. RAF use eventually ended, and the site passed to the Defence Training Estate, with parts given over to commercial and training use.