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WW2 Training Areas
On a recent visit to the Hangingstone Quarry, Ilkley Moor, the strong sunshine helped to pick out evidence of a shooting range that had been set up inside it during WW2. This was long after it had been abandoned but behind the area where the targets once stood the exposed rock surface is pitted with bullet holes. It probably wasn’t in use for very long and might only have been used by local members of the Home Guard, but it is another reminder of a different time when the country was at war.
Evidence from different areas of Rombalds Moor continue to show that the open moorland was used for infantry training. There are no official records as to exactly what took place, but it is understood that much of this was in preparation for the D-Day landings and the liberation of Europe. Cartridge cases and the tail fins from 2” mortars, used for close infantry support, have been found scattered across Ilkely, Bingley, and Harden Moors. On Baildon Moor the training even included tanks, and some areas of open ground were defended against possible landings by German gliders. There are also a number of known military plane crash sites across the South Pennines. At a time of great national anxiety, it is clear that the open moorland provided a useful space for training, but just how widely was it used ?
With no official records, and only a few scattered remains to help, we must now rely on people’s memories to get a wider understanding of what took place and where. A few residents of Baildon who were children at the time, still remember what happened there, and I am sure that will be the case in other areas. Already there are so few who will have first-hand experiences of that time, but if you have any information, or know someone who does, please get in touch I would be very interested to hear from you as we would like to tell the bigger story.
