Site #9
Wendling Station 118, USAAF
Ben Jones - Wendling researcher
This was a former living quarters site to airmen assigned to the 392nd. It is located right on the edge of Beeston village and is just over a mile north of the airfield. It sits hidden from view tucked away off the main road behind local homes. Today this site is a overgrown with weeds and trees and is home to some horses which live in the few remaining huts that still stand. A few concrete air raid shelters also litter the site, but due to the high water table, still remain flooded just as they were during the war!
 Two livings huts are amoung the few buildings still standing today and to the right can be seen a latrine hut. The building on the left was a shower facility. |
 Looking SE at the huts. These are now horse stables. Behind the latrine building, in the right of the picture, remains an underground air raid shelter. |
As with most of these sites nowadays, the few remaining buildings are giving way to the housing developers and the site is slowly becoming more built up. Many of the pathways still lie just below the grass and weeds that cover them and can be easily distinguished.
 Pathways still litter the site and one can imagime how busy these were bussling with airmen over 50 years ago. Today many seem to lead to nowhere as the buildings are long gone. |
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These buildings proved great play areas for us children growing up and as can be seen on one of the huts, somebody had painted 'Youth Club' on the outside of it.
This one bunker still lays intact on the site. One or two of these were usually found on each site but were rarely used at Wendling. Only on two occasions during Wendling's operational life were these shelters used. Both were when lone German aircraft straffed the field late at night.
Across the road from this area was Site 8 where the main MP guard post was for personnel entering these two sites.
These various views of the few remaining huts on this site are being overtaken by nature. Stinging nettles blocks the doors to several while blackberries grow on another. Ivy has virtually hidden another.