RAF Fairlop

RAF Fairlop lay near Ilford in Essex, on land now within the London Borough of Redbridge. Built from late 1940 on a site that had earlier seen Home Defence flying during the First World War, it opened for operations in November 1941 as a satellite fighter station under No. 11 Group of Fighter Command, working closely with the nearby sector airfield at Hornchurch.

For most of its active life Fairlop was a Spitfire station. A long succession of fighter squadrons passed through, among them No. 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron, together with Polish, Czech, Belgian and Canadian units, reflecting the international character of the Allied air effort defending and striking out from south-east England. Its aircraft were employed on defensive patrols and offensive sweeps across the Channel.

In 1944 the station’s role changed entirely when it was handed to Balloon Command, becoming a balloon barrage centre whose defences were largely operated by the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. It continued in this capacity until the station finally closed in 1946.

After the war the airfield fell into disuse and was given over to gravel extraction. The land was later reclaimed as Fairlop Waters Country Park, today a leisure site offering sailing and golf, with a memorial unveiled in 2013 commemorating its wartime service.