Selsey
SELSEY: Advanced Landing Ground
Location: Just E of Manor Road
Period of operation: 1943 to 1945? (Might have been a shorter period)
NOTES: In June 2019 I was very kindly contacted by Martin Humphry. As a young lad he lived in a house, now The Pink Cottage Nursery on the B2145 Chichester Road. This can be seen on the Google Map.
In those days none of the buildings we see today existed and they had a clear view of the airfield. Martin told me he has vivid memories of watching the light aircraft operating. These were without too much doubt, USAAF Piper L-4 Grasshoppers, although they might have been Stinson L-5 Sentinels - or a mixture of both.
This is not to be confused with RAF Selsey which was further to the NW.
David Crowhurst
This comment was written on: 2020-03-06 17:43:01Hi there, I was birdwatching in Pagham Harbour with a group earlier this week and someone reminded me that there was an ALG in the area so I looked at my copy of "Action Stations, Vol. 9 - Military Airfields of the Central South and South-East". In that volume the ALG is described as being where you have placed RAF Selsey, i.e.between the B2145 and Rectory Lane, Church Norton. I don't think there was a second airfield and I can only think that Martin Humphry's memory must be playing tricks on him. As there were far fewer buildings in the vicinity during the war he probably could see right across to the airfield which I have just described. However, I should be interested to hear your thoughts. Regards, David Crowhurst PS - The Action Stations series give a very good account of this country's military airfields even though those airfields which were still operational when the books were published in the 1980s are, in many cases, now no longer operational.
Dick Flute
This comment was written on: 2020-03-06 21:20:58Hi David, I am quite happy that Martin's memories are correct. 'Action Stations' does not cover airstrips, (British and U.S.), and aircraft storage sites. Best regards, Dick
Martin HUMPHRY
This comment was written on: 2020-03-29 21:53:31Martin would like to reassure David that that his memory is very much intact despite his advancing years. Selsey ALG was situated between Rectory Lane and Chichester Road to the west , ‘Blythe Cottage’ however, (his grandmother’s house) which stood opposite, what is today, the ‘Old Piggery and Farm Shop’, on Chichester road, was demolished as it was considered a safety hazard for aircraft take-offs and landings. Before the decision was made, Martin remembers seeing, from an upstairs easterly window, Spitfires dispersed on the airfield nearby. When ‘Blythe Cottage’was pulled down, his grandmother moved to ‘The Elms’, now the ‘Pink Cottage day nursery’ opposite the entrance of ‘Golf links Lane’. From his new ‘upstairs bedroom easterly window’ Martin could plainly see the ‘Grasshoppers’, mentioned by Dick, operating from a grass strip to the SSE. The strip would have been approximately where Mountwood road is today. Martin also witnessed, from the same viewpoint, the P47 Thunderbolt crash, as well as the Halifax which went down in flames, out to sea, off the east beach. He would be delighted to provide other details (in writing or over the 'phone),should one so wish.
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