Netheravon Camp

[petet]

Can anyone advise on whether demobilisation was carried out in the East or West Camp at Netheravon in 1919?

Regards 

PeteT

Preserving the history of No 35 Squadron

 

[Moonraker]

Did you mean demobilisation (as of men) or disbanding of operational units?

I'm happy to be corrected but I had thought that RAF men may have returned to civvie street via the same demobilisation centres as soldiers. I don't know how it was decided which centre they might have gone to, but in Wiltshire there were two, at Fovant and Chisledon army camps.

(A few years ago, I got very annoyed with an American eBay dealer who was listing several cards of Chisledon Camp posted by an RAF officer. The dealer therefore assumed that it was an RAF base. I pointed out that the photos were taken before the RAF was formed, the men pictured were not wearing RFC/RAF uniforms and that the book on the camp history and various airfields books made no mention of it being an airfield. When I read a message on one card it said something to the effect that "this was the camp where I left the RAF".)

Rod Priddle in Wings over Wiltshire says that Netheravon was "used as a station for disbanding operational units, He mentions "No.35 Sqn arrived as a cadre on 3rd March 1919 from Ste-Marie-Cappel and disbanded on 26th June".

Which does raise the question as to what happened to the officers and men on the 26th: were they demobbed at Netheravon (issued with discharge papers and civilian clothes) or did they have to go to a dedicated demob centre?

Casual Googling revealed no relevant info, but did lead me to this Hansard report.

[petet]

Thanks for the response .... As you say, the squadron was posted to Netheravon, but I am not sure what activity took place in  order to "disband" it in that three month period

Whether the airmen were "processed" there, or sent to one of the army camps, I do not know (I believe officers followed a slightly different route), but there is no specific reference to RAF personnel in the demobilisation documents that I have seen 

 https://cdm21047.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/tav/id/3398

An interesting subject though for my enquiring mind, so if anyone can provide any further information, I would be most grateful

Regards

PeteT

 

Edited 12 August , 2022 by petet