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Whiteburn

Major
Also known as: Grant's House / Grantshouse / RAF Whiteburn / RFC Whiteburn / Whiteburn Aerodrome
County: Scottish Borders
Current Status: Farmland
Date: October 1916 - 1919
Current Use: Disused
Used By: RAF / RFC
Landing Surface Types: Unpaved
Aircraft Roles: Fighter

One of Britain’s more deceptively isolated World War One airfields was Whiteburn in the Scottish Borders. Various Flights of No 77 Squadron operated from here on Home Defence patrols, employing at first a mixture of Royal Aircraft Factory BE2 and BE12 variants before switching to Avro 504Ks at the beginning of 1918. An aeroplane shed and some support facilities were situated on the south-east side of this Flight station.

Surviving information is scrappy but it appears Whiteburn often had to operate under frequent adverse conditions due to its exposed and high location. It nevertheless remained busy until the Armistice of November 1918, after which activity soon ran down prior to the airfield closing during 1919. This place quickly faded from memory once all the buildings were sold on site at public auction in January 1920, though acknowledgement of immediate area public road improvements to assist the airfield and associated personnel lasted at least a little longer.

 

The following organisations are either based at, use and/or have at least potentially significant connections with the airfield (as at 01/07/2013):

  • Cockburnspath Community Council

Main unit(s) present:

  • No 77 Sqn

Whiteburn Farm memorial cairn on western edge of airfield alongside the Southern Upland way, incorporating ABCT’s Whiteburn Airfield memorial plaque, 26 June 2019.

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View from the south-east of Whiteburn, 26 June 2019.

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Looking south across Whiteburn, 26 June 2019.

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Looking south-west across Whiteburn, 26 June 2019.

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East side of Whiteburn, 26 June 2019.

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Looking west across north side of Whiteburn, with farm in background to the left, 26 June 2019.

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Plans of Whiteburn, c. 1918. Courtesy of Ed Andrews

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