By Laura McBride, Past Writer
Cramlington is, to many of us, an insignificant part of the landscape of England - it’s a big town, certainly, but not a city, nor somewhere of particular cultural interest. Nonetheless, it was useful in the fight against the Triple Alliance powers in the First World War.
Cramlington is, to many of us, an insignificant part of the landscape of England - it’s a big town, certainly, but not a city, nor somewhere of particular cultural interest. Nonetheless, it was useful in the fight against the Triple Alliance powers in the First World War.
Cramlington is ideally situated; not too far from the coast to be prone to large bouts of fog, but close enough to reap the benefits of the rich coastal coal deposits under the surface, creating industry based on this essential fuel. It is at a useful intersection of rural and urban life, not quite halfway between where the Firth of Forth cuts into Scotland’s eastern coast, and a town just south of Hartlepool called Seaton Carew. Despite it being not a precise halfway point, Cramlington’s close proximity to Newcastle made it ideal for the defence of the North of England from the enemy.
This ideal location was acknowledged by the wartime government, Army and Navy. The first Home Defence Squadron was set up and an aerodrome constructed at Cramlington, just west of the Seaton Burn-Bedlington road - which we now know as the A1068. 36 Home Defence Squadron was officially named and designated on 18 March 1916, just a few months before the Battle of the Somme began away on the front lines in France.
On April 1st, 1916, the first Zeppelin raids on the region began, at Seaham near Sunderland, and two planes from Cramlington were sent to ward them off with little success. The next day, Zeppelin L16 dropped 11 bombs on Cramlington, on and near to the aerodrome.
Over the course of the next few months, Cramlington’s squadron was scattered all throughout the region, aiming to defend the industrial heartlands of the north from other, smaller airfields, with Cramlington remaining as a helpful base to ensure aerial defence.
However, the aerodrome reduced in size as the operation spread out, so it was instead used as a testing centre for wireless transmission of information, which helped improve the technology as it produced promising results at short range. Cramlington also served as an important training base, helping train up pilots for light bombing raids during the day, while serving as a night landing base for those returning from flights. It was used by the newly-formed RAF in 1918 to house more aeroplanes and trainees, until it became overwhelmed by the two units stationed there and one group was sent to Lincoln.
The aerodrome closed before the Second World War could break out, so Cramlington was not involved majorly in the conflict against the Nazis. Nonetheless, 57 men from Cramlington were killed or missing in fighting during the Second World War, and are commemorated on the town war memorial in the Village alongside the 153 victims of the First World War.
As well as soldiers coming from Cramlington, Parkside Middle School - which was demolished to make way for a housing estate in 2014 - was used in the war effort during WW2. All but 2 of the male teachers were conscripted to fight, while the school served as a military hospital from September 1939, complete with air raid shelters on the school field. Cramlington also hosted a training colliery, which trained coal miners who had been called up to fill the gap of experienced coal miners that were sent off to the front lines.
Although to us, Cramlington just seems like an ordinary town, it was a significant point in the defence of the North East, and suffered losses during the wars much like any other small town in the UK. Far from being an unforgotten dot on the map, Cramlington’s location and resources made it ideal to help the Allies in the two most devastating wars of the twentieth century.
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