Site #12
W.A.A.F.
Ben Jones - Wendling Researcher
As Wendling was initially planned for the Royal Air Force, this site was designated to be used by the WRAF. When the USAAF moved in, it became the site where the women of the W.A.A.F were billeted. This included mostly American Red Cross girls.
The site can be found right off Herne Lane, a short distant from the main airfield site. Compared to the others on the field, it was a relatively small site, due mainly to the designation of the site as female billeting.
This site was the Wendling HQ for the American Red Cross, where girls like Birdie Schmidt operated from. Birdie had an aircraft named after her which can be found in the Aircraft listing link.
Today the site remains fairly much intact with most of the original buildings still standing. The brick buildings have had many uses over the years. Right after the war, they were used for housing for families bombed out of their homes. Then, they were storage buildings and in the 1980's a kit car company operated out of them until vacating them in the early 1990's. Today they sit abandoned and are used once again for storage.
 Huts as they appear today. Standard living quarters for the W.A.A.F. personnel. |  These living huts still survive today. The steel building on the left is now a storage shed. |
