Home     About Us     Join Us     FAQ     Airfield Review Back Issues   AR Publications    Contact Us    Shopping Basket
The aims of the Group are to research, record and to report information and material related to the history, architecture, current status and use of military and civilian airfields throughout the United Kingdom. Our members believe that it is important to maintain a history of all aspects of the nation’s aviation heritage.
 
Our members are generally interested in researching, recording and reporting on the infrastructure associated with airfields but Individual preferences are wide ranging and include researching all aspects of architecture associated with aviation, individual airfield histories, technical innovations related to aviation, archaeology and memorials.
 
Naturally, when people join an association, such as the Airfield Research Group, there are those members who tend to specialise in various aspects of airfields or architecture. Some take an interest in control towers or hangars. Others go into great detail on the way a particular airfield evolved, often illustrating their findings with detailed layouts and an abundance of photographic evidence.
A great deal of work is related to airfields used by the Royal Flying Corps and the United States Armed Forces during the First World War and the aviation history of the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force during World War Two. The period between the World Wars, especially when this Country's Armed Forces were expanding, provides an almost continuous history of some airfields spanning a period from 1914, and in a few cases earlier, to the present day. All in all, a great deal of history to be researched and recorded.

While most of our members mainly concentrate on airfields within the United Kingdom, airfields located in other parts of the World are not excluded, especially those airfields associated with the Royal Air Force.

AIRFIELD REVIEW

AIRFIELD REVIEW

In order to disseminate the information derived from member’s researches the Group publishes a journal, Airfield Review, which is published in March, June, September and December. The journal is recognised throughout aviation circles as a first class product, with high quality content.

Each issue contains articles on various airfields. It also contains a 'Round-Up' section which is the part with the news and more recent information and basically covers the current status. Some of our members were volunteers of a UK-wide project dedicated to recording and reporting on WW2 defences, known as the Defence of Britain project. This was a study associated with recording the vast numbers of pillboxes, gun posts and stop lines. A great deal of these structures are associated with aviation sites, such as airfields and RDF stations.
 
The Airfield Research Group is also a member of the British Aviation Preservation Council which mainly covers the preservation of aircraft but also covers airline history, light and sporting aviation activities and providing photographic records with oral and written history of airfields/aviation sites.
 
Other than the AGM the Group does not hold regular national meetings but there is no reason why members in a particular area might not get together. Our Membership Coordinator can provide information so that members can contact one another.
 
The Group provides a 'Membership Service' which provides answers to an infinite variety of questions asked. There is a back issue service for the Airfield Review. In reality its a way of supporting the membership in any and every way possible.

The Group also provides a 'Non-member Enquiry Service'. This provides answers or tries to provide answers to virtually any and all aspects of aviation. Naturally some questions ask for detailed answers but while the Group will not write the history of an airfield for an individual, it will pass on the information which will permit the inquirer to research the subject in more depth.

Airfield Review Back Issues  Click Here

 Continuous projects include:

(a) Control Tower Study Group
(b) Hangar Study Group
(c) Memorial Study Group
(d) Gate Guardian Study Group.
 
Each of these Study Groups is interested in the entire history of each of their respective subjects and correlate the information, so as to maintain a continuous detailed record of the past and present. Details of the Group coordinator can be found in each issue of the journal.
 
Another continuous project is maintaining an Airfield Research Group Archive. Until recently the ARG did not have an archive, leaving it to individual members to contribute as and when, but with the demise of our late Chairman, who had such a wealth of information it was thought prudent to amalgamate any and all of the information, photographs, etc into one archive. The information and material contained in the archive is available to all members. Any member requesting information should ask for information on a specific location or subject.
 

Home     About Us     Join Us     FAQ     Airfield Review Back Issues   AR Publications    Contact Us    Shopping Basket