A Midhurst Flying Field
Tania Pons
During the Second World War, RNAS Cowdray Park (1941-1945) was a well-kept secret. Deliberately left off aeronautical chart, it appeared to be a working farm, yet it was a place where up to twenty-five Fleet Air Arm aircraft (including the Fairey Swordfish and Supermarine Walrus) were stored and serviced at any one time, hidden from the prying eyes of the Luftwaffe. After the conflict the site was returned to the Cowdray Estate, and today polo is played there during the summer months.
Drawing on interviews with Cowdray park veterans, former Air Training Corps cadets and wartime residents, this meticulously researched book explores the all but forgotten story of a most unusual naval air station and the impact it had on the local community during the war.
A Midhurst Flying Field is available from Wheelers bookshop in Red Lion Street, Midhurst and from their online shop: