A history of Duxford Airfield RFFS

Originally Compiled by Station Officer Rob Unwin 1975-1991 The airfield fire service at Duxford Airfield started from an idea, in one or two members of what was the then East Anglian Aviation Society during 1974, to whom it was apparent that to operate the airfield for occasional test flights and for air shows, specialist services including fire cover and ground handling would be necessary on a part time volunteer basis - the service commenced operation in 1975 The Imperial War Museum in the 1970’s were only at Duxford as an outstation / store for the Museum in Lambeth Road. Fortunately at this time, Stansted Airport was disposing of some of its older fire equipment, and following negotiations with them, Duxford’s first fire appliance was acquired, this being Thorneycroft Nubian /Sun Water (Foam) tender VXN867. It carried 950 gallons of water and 50 gallons of protein concentrate. Almost straight away training commenced with the first volunteers, including Terry Betchley, who is still working part time in the Airfield Services Department, over 40 years later, following a long and fruitful career in the Army Air Corps! After this humble beginning, the fire crew, now under the auspices of the Duxford Aviation Society grew fairly rapidly, with the second fire appliance, a Landrover ACR(T)II, NJE489R being acquired in 1976. This appliance had previously served in the Royal Air Force, and had a local connection, being based at RAF Oakington for many years, making the regular journey to Waterbeach and back, which was used by the stations Varsity aircraft as a relief landing ground. During the latter half of 1978 two further Thorneycroft / Sun appliances were obtained from the British Airports Authority, one being a Foam Tender, SXT 107 and the other a Water Tender (Foam), SXT 115, which was broken for spares. The Foam Tender was totally rebuilt by the fire crews and following a re-spray by one of the members, became operational late in 1979. Other fire appliances were acquired over the years, two most notable being donations, one from Cambridgeshire County Council, and the other by the States of Jersey. The crew members grew over the years also with over 30 DAS Fire Service personnel at its peak, during the early to mid 1990’s. The heyday of the DAS Fire Service was most definitely the mid to late 1980’s. During this time some of the volunteers decided it might be a good idea to have a Fire Engine Category in the annual Military Vehicle display. The first event took place in 1981, and continued to eventually become a stand-alone venue. These events proved to be extremely popular, and grew ultimately too big for the DAS Fire Service to handle, proving to be a huge strain on staff and resources.