Tempsford Museum & Archives 1940's Armed Forces Day, 1st June 2025

I was thrilled to have been invited to talk at this prestigious event to help raise funds for this important museum in its bid to extend its premises.

The museum, in the village of Tempsford near Bedford, commemorates the clandestine work of two Special Duties Squadrons,138 and 161 which were based at top-secret RAF Tempsford during WW2. Their rôle was the delivery of equipment and personnel by parachute (138 Squadron) or the infiltration and exfiltration of agents, key political figures and sometimes their families as well as the repatriation of escaping or evading pilots (161).  In the case of the Lysander operations with 161, the collection of packets of courier (vital intelligence documents) was even more significant.

All that remains of the old RAF station is part of one of the runways (quite eerie) and the iconic black barn where agents had their final checks before being driven out to the plane which was to deliver them.  It is very moving to stand there reading the commemorative plaques and reflecting on the brave souls who passed through there. To get an impression of it at the time have a look at the film ‘School for danger’ aka ‘Now it can be told’. A film made as a training tool for agents and which features scenes at Tempsford.

In my talk I explained the link between RAF Tempsford and RAF Tangmere on the south coast which was used as a place to re-fuel, check the planes over, collect agents and set off for Occupied Europe (mainly but nor exclusively, France.)  I then described the way such operations were run, where pilots and agents were accommodated, before citing specific examples of some of the wonderfully brave pilots and agents engaged in this highly dangerous work.

If you have not yet visited what remains of RAF Tempsford or the museum I would urge you to do so. You might link it to a visit to one of the airshows at nearby Shuttleworth where you could see a Lysander fly. You’d also be quite close to Bletchley Park and the lesser-known but fascinating Museum of Military Intelligence (contact them in advance to arrange a visit). A whole weekend programme easily put together!

Thank you to Cécile Coolen for the photograph above of myself speaking at this event.