Modern air force demands a lot of Leeming

RAF Leeming has a distinguished history – built just in time for the Second World War and fully operational by 1940, it saw a succession of heavy bomber units stationed there, notably Lancasters from the Royal Canadian Air Force. Post-war it became a training base and, following the Cold War thaw, Tornados operated from the North Yorkshire base as part of the nation’s fighter defences until 2008.

With the modern Royal Air Force in number terms, if not potency, a shadow of its former self, air bases are expected to house a variety of different units and in this, RAF Leeming is no different.

Its main flying unit is 100 Squadron, an unusual unit even for the RAF. Known as aggressors, these highly experienced pilots fly sinister-looking black painted Hawks and act as the enemy to the air force’s younger top guns. Locals will be well used to seeing them in the skies above North Yorkshire, although confrontations tend to take place over the North Sea in a specially monitored area away from the public.

Being close to the electronic warfare range in Cumbria, RAF Leeming is attractive to visiting aircraft. These supersonic flyers travel at eight miles per minute and can reach the Lake District in the time it takes to find a parking space on a busy market day.

The station hosts regular exercises. Recently, aircrew from Turkey and Germany spent three weeks there. Exchanges within Nato are common; presently 100 Squadron has a US pilot who normally flies an F-15 Eagle.

The station commander is a former Harrier jump jet pilot Group Captain David Bradshaw. His father, Geoff Bradshaw, now approaching 90, flew Spitfires, and son David always wanted to be a pilot.

Gp Capt Bradshaw says the operational tempo is as high as ever. He makes the point that the RAF does not just consist of aircrew and provides a vital service in support of air-power operations with 90 Signals Unit having a home at Leeming. Required to maintain a high state of readiness at all times, they also have a member of the USAF on staff.

Made up of soldiers, Marines and RAF personnel, the Joint Forward Air Controller Training and Standards Unit is a further highly important team resident at the station. Acting as forward controllers in a given conflict situation, its members instruct aircrew on what needs to be done – a low flypast to scare the enemy, dropping bombs or firing rockets, all to ensure the safe use of air power among our troops.

The 2 Force Protection Wing, 34 Squadron RAF Regiment, 609 (West Riding) Auxiliary Squadron and the Northumbrian University Air Squadron all operate from Leeming. There is also an RAF mountain rescue unit, one of several throughout the country on permanent call out to assist the civil and military authorities. The base is parent to 100 other scattered units such as Air Training Corps, RAF Fylingdales and RAF Linton on Ouse. Station medical personnel often work alongside the National Health Service.

As the largest RAF unit in the North-East and seventh largest RAF base in the UK, Leeming is like a small town. Together with civil servants and dependants, 3,000 staff, mostly Royal Air Force men and women, make up its resident working population.

Highlighting the ready-response RAF of today, one of Gp Capt Bradshaw’s vital roles is to set-up when necessary an Expeditionary Air Wing, as they did last year as part of the Baltic Policing Mission.

He said: “We essentially do what we do, just somewhere else.

“The station is on a constant state of high readiness to respond anywhere in the world.

“ It is a part of the job we do and, yes, it does leave the base short, but the operational mission comes first.”

Gp Capt Bradshaw insists his main priority is to ensure all his personnel are well looked-after. He said: “I believe they are what is important about the RAF – our staff are at the heart of what we do.”

Keen to emphasise the base personnel's community and charity work, integration locally is a high priority. They entertain 2,000 schoolchildren annually for the Crucial Crew event and recently hosted a dinner for St Teresa's Hospice; local pilots and air traffic controllers are often invited onto the base.

As station commander, getting out and about and meeting people is a preferred aspect of his role. In alleviating any problems he prefers persuasion to formal military orders; he is, however, ultimately responsible for discipline, although he says his staff are "well-behaved" lot.

On the need for high levels of security, Gp Capt Bradshaw empathises with his army counterparts at Catterick Garrison. The base has its own RAF Police who work in conjunction with the local force providing both policing and security. He said: “It is a balance between guarding against complacency and the rights of the people who live and work here, many of whom are not military personnel, but their families.”

Gp Capt Bradshaw has served in Germany, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. He regards the pinnacle of his flying career as operating his Harrier from HMS Illustrious, of which he is rightly proud.

His previous posting was as part of the F-35 Lightning development team at High Wycombe. Presently in the United States, the joint US/UK new aircraft is expected to enter service with the RAF in 2018.

Optimistic about the future, Gp Capt Bradshaw sees the Royal Air Force as an attractive career and hopes to attract recruits from all walks of life into a new reserve squadron – 607 County Durham. Early indications are that there is a real interest in the RAF Reserves.

Married to Olivia, with two children, Gp Capt Bradshaw enjoys living in North Yorkshire and cycling across the Dales. As a pilot, flying is his passion and he gets airborne at least twice a week, often taking ATC cadets aloft for instruction.

Asked if he is jealous of Major Tim Peake, the UK’s astronaut currently on the International Space Station, Gp Capt Bradshaw gives a wistful smile. Slowly, he replies: "Yes, of course I am. I’d love to be up there.”