Visiting the D-Day Airfields Memorial and Beaulieu WW2 Airfield in The New Forest

12 airfields were established in The New Forest during WW2. We visit the Airfields Memorial and the site of one of these airfields, near Beaulieu.

2024 is the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, the start of the great campaign to liberate Europe
and bring WW2 to an end.
This is the seventh video in the '80th anniversary of D-Day in The New Forest' series of seven videos. Links to the other videos are below.

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80th Anniversary of D-Day in The New Forest Video Series:
No 1. The Arrow:    • Uncovering The Mystery Of The Giant C...  
No 2: The Observation Shelter:    • Inside the WW2 Ashley Walk Observatio...  
No 3: The Sub Pens Target and a Crater:    • The mystery of the Gorse Covered Moun...  
No 4: The WW2 Secrets of Lepe Beach:    • Secrets of D-Day (and more) can still...  
No 5: The Canadian War Memorial:    • Discovering the Canadian War Memorial...  
No 6: The Huff Duff and Ginger Tom:    • What is a Huff Duff? Who is Ginger To...  
No 7: The Airfields Memorial and Beaulieu Airfield:    • Visiting the D-Day Airfields Memorial...  

D-Day Anniversary Playlist (all 7 videos):    • 80th anniversary of D-Day  

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During WW2, 12 airfields were established in The New Forest area. A memorial to these airfields and everyone who served in them can be visited at Bransgore, which stands on the western boundary of the wartime airfield of Holmsley South.
A striking Dakota propeller is mounted on the front of the large broad wall and the names of the airfield sites are inscribed on 12 plaques.
A map shows the positions of the airfields across the forest and the surrounding area.
The memorial was raised by the Friends of the New Forest Airfields and is dedicated to the Servicemen and Women who served in the New Forest during the Second World War.
The What3words location is : ///regal.itself.hurls

Beaulieu airfield is one of the airfields where WW2 activity can still be seen.
If you travel along the road from Beaulieu to Lymington you’d be forgiven for thinking that nothing much happens across the heathland.
If you view the area on Google Earth, though, a different view appears.The outline of the WW2 airfield can clearly be seen.
RAF Beaulieu was a Class A airfield built and opened in 1942. It was used by the RAF before it was handed over to the USAAF in 1944. The airfield was used by both fighter and bomber squadrons.
Today, we can still see evidence of the airfield. If you walk along the runways you’ll see that most of the area has been returned to its natural state.
The gorse bushes haven’t really taken over along the original runways which is why we can still see the outline from the air.
A track runs around the perimeter of the airfield and on the opposite side we can see evidence of the buildings that stood here.
If you look hard enough in this area you can find the letters BL made of concrete and set into the ground. This is located in front of where the airfield control tower once stood
BL was the airfield pundit code. All the airfields had one, much like a postcode. It helped airborne aircraft identify the airfield.
The what3words Location of the BL letters is: What3words: ///exactly.commuted.goggle

Attributions:
Beaulieu Airfield 1942
Royal Air Force, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons