page_title: RAF West Raynham
section_title: Heritage
hierarchical_section_title: RAF West Raynham / Heritage
caption_attribution_description: English: Completed Memorial
context_page_description: Royal Air Force West Raynham or more simply RAF West Raynham is a former Royal Air Force station located 2 miles west of West Raynham, Norfolk and 5.5 miles southwest of Fakenham, Norfolk, England.
  The airfield opened during May 1939 and was used by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War with the loss of 86 aircraft.
  The station closed in 1994, though the Ministry of Defence retained it as a strategic reserve. Having lain derelict since closure, the station was deemed surplus to requirements by the MoD in 2004 and two years later was sold to the Welbeck Estate Group who resold the entire site in October 2007. It is now managed by FW Properties of Norwich, acting for administrators Moore Stephens.
  The technical area now operates as a business park with many buildings now reused. The former married quarter areas are now all occupied with a pub and nursery on site.
  Planning permission was granted for the installation of a 49.9 MW solar farm, together with plant housing and a perimeter fence, operated by Good Energy.
  The solar farm is now fully operational.
context_section_description: A proposal to afford Grade II listed status to the Type C Hangars, Control Tower, Parachute Store, Workshops, Station Sick Quarters & Annex, Station Armoury, Works Dept. and Water Tower, Central Heating Station, Station Headquarters and Operations Block, Guard House, main entrance gates and railings, Officer's Mess, Felbrigg Walk (two NCO married quarters), Nos 3–8 Airmen's Married Quarters, and five blocks of Airmen's Married Quarters under the Thematic Listing Programme was withdrawn by English Heritage.
  Gloster Meteor F.8, number WK654, is preserved at the City of Norwich Aviation Museum. This aircraft served with the ‘All Weather Flying Squadron’ and Central Fighter Establishment at RAF West Raynham. Gloster Javelin FAW8 XH992 has been preserved in 85 Squadron markings at the Newark Air Museum. The Bloodhound missile that formerly served as gate guardian outside the station HQ is preserved at RAF Cosford.
  On 13 May 2008 Air Commodore Clive Bairsto presented Wing Commander Seb Kendall of No 6 RAF Force Protection Wing HQ with its recently approved badge.  This badge includes the sword from the badge of RAF West Raynham, the former home of 6 Wing RAF Regiment.
  Funds were raised to erect a permanent memorial to all who served at RAF West Raynham between 1939 and 1994.  It depicts the Station Crest and the Crest of the Central Fighter Establishment (1944–1966) It was sited on an existing plinth which once held a Norfolk village type sign of the Station Crest.  This plinth was donated by Investec, the site owners and repaired by FW Properties of Norwich, who manage the site.
  It also has a representation of aircraft which flew from WR and associated squadrons.  The aircraft represented are: The Bristol Blenheim, the first operational aircraft to fly from RAF West Raynham with No 101 Squadron; the Bristol Bloodhound and BAe Dynamics Rapier Missiles to represent air defence roles; the English Electric Canberra, the last operational aircraft to fly from RAF West Raynham.  Finally, the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel, later the famous Harrier, was evaluated at WR in 1965, with a Tri-partite Squadron consisting of military test pilots from Great Britain, the United States and West Germany. One of these aircraft (XS695) can be viewed at the RAFM Cosford.
  The Aircraft which flew with the Central Fighter Establishment and RAF West Raynham are represented by, The de Havilland Mosquito; the de Havilland Vampire; the Gloster Meteor; the Hawker Hunter and the Gloster Javelin.  In addition, Fleet Air Arm Squadrons 746 and 787 served alongside CFE. Between them, they flew over 35 types of aircraft.
  The Memorial was unveiled by Air Vice Marshal Les Phipps, Wing Commander Don Webb DFM and Mr Kenny Freeman on 27 September 2014.
caption: Completed Memorial
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