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HOMES being built in Thornaby are to be dedicated to the town’s role during the Second World War.

A development of 15 apartments is being built on the former site of Thornaby Aerodrome, which was a base for Hudson bombers during the fight against Hitler.

Now Maineside Developments Limited is recognising the heritage by naming the development Lancaster Lodge – and giving the different style of apartments names on a war theme.

Homeowners will be able to buy one-bedroom apartments called Hudson or Mountbatten and two-bedroom apartments called Montgomery or Churchill.

“The history of the Lancaster Lodge site was in our thinking from the outset – but at times it’s been hard to escape it,” says Maineside’s commercial manager Kevin Slade.

Lancaster Lodge is being built on a site off Martinet Road and the development was temporarily halted when engineers stumbled on a large buried concrete block, thought initially to be an unchartered bunker. Investigations, including checking Luftwaffe photographs from 1940 and Russian spy satellite images from the Cold War, as well as information from local war historians, proved it to be an underground operations centre in case of air raids.

Adds Mr Slade: “Thanks to the air base, Thornaby still has strong associations with the war and, thanks to actions like ours to record those links in new developments, we are helping to ensure that heritage is kept alive for generations to come.”

Thornaby Aerodrome came into existence in 1930 when the Auxiliary Airforce 608 Bomber squadron was formed. Early in the war, the station transferred to RAF Coastal Command and, famously, a Lockheed Hudson aircraft flying from Thornaby discovered the German Prison Ship Altmark, off Norway, enabling the Royal Navy to capture the vessel and release all the prisoners.

The “Thornaby Bag”, an early development for dropping supplies to ditched aircrew was named after RAF Thornaby, where it was developed. It consisted of a container of food and first aid supplies. The aerodrome finally closed in 1958.

Apartments at Lancaster Lodge are expected to go on sale in mid-August.

For further information contact Dave Muir on 01642 579859

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