An ordinary meeting of the Society was held at the Ampfield Golf Club on Wednesday 9th January 2019. The President was in the chair. The President then introduced the speaker Dr Henry Goodall who spoke to the title New Forest Airfields in the Second World War. Dr Goodall is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Friends of the New Forest Airfields, FONFA as it is known. It was formed in the mid 1990s to inform and educate people about the airfields and the people who served in them. He said there were 12 airfields in the New Forest. Apart from Calshot, which opened in 1913, they were all constructed between 1940 and 1944. In 1940-41 those at Ibsley, Hurn, Beaulieu, South Holmsley and Stoney Cross were all built as large 3 concrete runway airfields. They were rather close together for the large number of planes using them. Somewhat later extra airfields were constructed at Needs Oar, Bisterne, Lymington, Winkton and Ibsley using Sommerfeld Steel Tracking - a system using steel mesh with strengthening rods that could be quickly laid and taken up. Dr Goodall reviewed the history of each of the airfields and their different contributions to the war effort. In 1944 with the build up to the Normandy landings there were 1200 fighters and bombers flying multiple sorties from the New Forest airfields 24 hours a day. Stoney Cross was also used to operate secret supply drops to the resistance and for the glider-borne landings at D Day. He said that at 9.15pm on the eve of D Day his Father in Law was at Stoney Cross preparing to be towed in a glider for Northern France. Dr Goodall told us about the FONFA museum at Bransgore dedicated to preserving the history of these airfields, which is run by very knowledgeable volunteers, and the memorial at Holmsley South airfield which FONFA paid to have restored.

The President thanked Dr Goodall for such a fascinating talk about this aspect of our local history. There being no other business the meeting was closed at 10.10pm