The little village of Skipton-on-Swale is situated 3.5 miles south-west of Thirsk in the Vale of York. The A61 Thirsk to Ripon road runs through the village with the river Swale to the west. The old airfield lies to the north of the village the A61 forming the southern and the River Swale the western boundaries.The land for the airfield was acquired in late 1940 from the Sanderson family. Maurice Sanderson still farms the there. The airfield was a satallite to RAF Leeming situated to the northwest on the A1 great north road. Due to the close proximity of the river Swale it lead to a rather unusual arrangement of hardstandings and their access lanes being constructed; George Wimpey & Co. Ltd were the main contractor. The main runway 04-22 was 1,900 yards long, 09-27 1,400 yards and 16-34 1,350 yards, with 24 hard standings. At first Skipton came under the control of No. 4 Group. In August 1942 No. 420 Squadron and its' Wellingtons were transferred from No. 1 Group at Waddington in preparation for joining the planned RCAF 6 group, but due to the incompleteness of the camp facilities in mid-October the squadron was moved on to Middleton St George. The airfield was officially open on the 1st May 1943 with No. 432 Squadron operting Wellingtons, first operations were on the night of the 23rd/24th May. In September, No. 432 was moved to East Moor and another RCAF squadron, 433 squadron, was formed to replace it in late September to fly Halifaxes, being joined in November by No. 424 recently returned from North Africa.The first No. 433 combat operation was on the night of January 2/3 1944. No. 424 made its' first raid with the Halifax to Berlin on February 15/16. Both squadrons were to see out the war at Skipton, converting to Lancasters in January 1945. The squadrons were disbanded in mid-October 1945. By the end of hostilities 98 bombers had been lost in operations flown from Skipton-on-Swale; 21 Wellingtons, 66 Halifaxes and 11 Lancasters. The airfield site has largely reverted back agriculture, but some of the buildings remain as does the perry track. Often a line of mist use to creep out and cover the camp and airfield making flying operations interesting. When the nisson hut stove was lit steam use to emerge from the bed blankets.

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Here is a poem which is outside East Kirkby, it sums up quite a bit in a very few words and speaks for so many silent and long neglected airfields which still wait for crews who will never return.

Old Airfield
I lie her still beside the hill
Abandoned long to natures will
My buildings down my people gone,
My only sounds the wild birds call.

But my mighty birds will rise no more
No more I hear the Merlins roar
And never now my busom feels
The pounding of their giant wheels

From the ageless hill their voices cast
Thunderous echos of the past
And still in lonely reverie
Their great dark wings sweep down to me

Laughter, sorrow, hope and pain
I shall never know these things again
Emotions that I came to know
Of strange young men so long ago

Who knows as evening shadows meet
Are they here still a phantom fleet
And do my ghosts still stride unseen
Across my face so wide and green

And in the future should structures tall
Bury me beyond recall
I shall still remember them,
My metal birds and long dead men

Now weeds grow high obscure the sky
Oh remember me when you pass by
For beneath this tangled leafy screen
I was your home, your friend "silksheen"

W.Scott
Ex-630 Squadron.