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Report - - RAF Upper Heyford Commissioned Officers Club Oct '11 | Military Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - RAF Upper Heyford Commissioned Officers Club Oct '11

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mookster

grumpy sod
Regular User
This is by far and away the crowning glory of the RAF Upper Heyford 'communal' buildings. And I didn't even know it existed until a few months back when a few photos surfaced on another forum and I instantly realised I had to see it by any means neccessary.

It was one of the first buildings to appear on the airbase as it stands today being built in 1925. It was home to the commissioned officers, with two wings on either side of the vast and grand building given over to accomodation and the rest of the space housing no fewer than three dancehalls including a stunning main hall which wouldn't look out of place in an asylum of the same era. There was a more intimate VIP hall called the Kingscliffe room named after a town in Northamptonshire where various people happened to be based, as well as a more modern bar/disco hall added later by the USAF. Many big name bands and artists performed on the main stage over the years

It passed through the hands of the Flying Corps into the RAF and then the USAF before closing for good with the rest of the base in 1994. In 1996 there were plans afoot to incorporate it into an international sports event as accomodation for the athletes but this got overruled at the last minute by Mr. Prescott who moved the whole thing up to Sheffield. There are currently plans to convert it into a school for the new houses to be built where most of the communal side now stands, which is due for demolition early next year. However most people feel it would be much more suited to conversion to a hotel, as all of the accomodation already has plumbing in each room and is the perfect setup.

Visited on a wet and miserable day with klempner. Many thanks to Don and those at Heyford Park for allowing us access. Some photos are a bit iffy because of the almost zero light levels in some of the areas.

The main entrance. Accomodation wings situated on either side of this.

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The more modern dance hall.

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...and the crowning glory.

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After closure, dry rot took a serious hold on a lot of the downstairs flooring, so a large quantity has been removed.

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The main entrance lobby

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Spectacular mirror which rivals the one in Lillesden...

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Money kiosk added later by the Americans

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The VIP room...

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...not looking so special nowadays. This was the hardest room to take a decent shot of, it was pitch black and I could feel the floor giving way underneath me by an alarming amount!

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Up into the accomodation, looked exactly like a hotel. All the rooms were stripped bare.

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...and back down again. Fake aged wooden beams galore.

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So there we have it, one of, if not the best bit of Upper Heyford ticked off my list! More photos can be seen on the link below...

RAF Upper Heyford Commissioned Officer's Club
 

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