England Travel Forum

I've been given a family snap shot taken in 1944 of my parents about to fly off on their honeymoon (it was a WW2 aircraft). They were both in the navy and dad was a pilot. On the reverse of the photo is an inscription that they were heading to Cleve Airport in the Cornwell/Devonshire area and the photo was taken at Yeovilton, where dad was stationed.

There would have been hundreds of airstrips and landing areas for aircraft in UK during WW2 and I'm sure almost all would no longer exist (Yeovilton is still there and a training base for naval aircraft today as well as a major museum that I'd love to visit).

Can anyone please identify where Cleve is in the Cornwell/Devonshire area as I've tried various searches, including Google Earth and just can't find anything that "could" be the area/town in question.

Thanks in advance,

David

Hi David,

Greetings from sunny Cornwall. As far as I can remember, Cleave Camp is/was near the Cornish/Devonshire coast, just North of Bude. I'll look harder later, but we are just off out. I seem to remember that it's just a collection of old buildings now, probably arable land.

Geoff

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Cleave

If you google "cleave camp" you will find all sorts of info. It is now called something else, as you will discover.

Thanks a lot for all the information - although it doesnt sound like a very good honeymoon destination and certainly not in the same league as Hawaii.

Thanks again and next time the Poms are up against the Aussies in cricket, I might have to clap the Poms - well sometimes - LOL

hawkhead wrote:

>It is now called something else, as you will discover.

While doing some internet looking on the subject, there was a web site that showed photos of various pill boxes, remains of gun implacements etc and some great scenery too. Then there was a note to say they couldnt get too close and photography was forbidden, which sounded more like the old Soviet restrictions. Then I went to Google Earth and found the place complete with radar domes etc. Just wondering if someone with an airbrush paints out all the really sensitive stuff before it gets onto Google Earth.

You may not find it on a map, or Google, but the domes and dishes are clearly visible on the coast north of Bude! The site was (is?) the subject of an EU enquiry a year or three ago, as someone in Europe complained that the Brits were using the site to help the Americans! Well I ask you, would we ever do such a thing? LOL!