World War II heritage revealed

The project site comprised part of a large innocent looking agricultural field, however during the desktop study it came to light that during The Second World War it had formed part of the Shobdon Airfield.

The Herefordshire Record Office, The Royal Air Force Museum and Herefordshire Aero Club Ltd were contacted in order to obtain information regarding the history of the Shobdon Airfield. Through our investigations, it was discovered that the Shobdon Airfield was on the flight path for German bombers flying from Bristol to Liverpool. German bombers who had failed to find their target would often jettison excess bombs to lighten their aircraft for the return journeys home. The closest recorded bomb to the airfield was on a farm to the north of the village, however it didn’t explode.

A significant concern was risk to site users and construction and maintenance operatives from unexploded ordnance that would have been stored and used on the Shobdon Airfield, likely for training purposes. From looking at the site layout, the airfield layout and the associated list of map reference points, we were able to confirm that the site is not within an area where it is expected that significant contamination from the aerodrome would be encountered, a watchful eye was recommended during construction.