Cirencester Archaeological and History Society: RAF Brize Norton

A 29-Year RAF Career, Told Through One Airfield

Trevor Jackson spent three decades in the RAF, seventeen years in the ranks before he was commissioned, and Brize Norton is the base he knows better than most speakers who take this stage. His talk traces the airfield from a 1930s grass strip near Carterton to its current role as the RAF's largest station and the hub of Britain's strategic air transport fleet.

The story runs through construction that began in 1935 and an opening in 1937, wartime service through the Second World War, and a Cold War stretch when the United States Air Force took operational control in 1952 and stationed B-36, B-47 and B-52 bombers there through the 1950s. Jackson brings it up to the present day, where Brize Norton now houses the Voyager and Atlas aircraft that move British forces worldwide.

It's the kind of session where someone who wore the uniform explains what those changes meant on the ground, not just the dates.

Entry is charged for non-members and free for CAHS members and full-time students.

Wednesday 23 September 2026 · Ashcroft Church, Ashcroft Road, Cirencester GL7 1RA · Starts 7:30pm