Reflections: Wartime airfield made the ideal home for motor racing in the New Forest

NEAR Ringwood there is a large lake called Ibsley Water, which is on the site of what was once an airfield that played a part in the defence of Britain and postwar, was home to a motor racing circuit.

The airfield was the first one to be constructed in the New Forest in the Second World War and was built on low lying farmland alongside the River Avon. The aerodrome was completed by February 1941 and therefore saw no action in the Battle of Britain. Fighter aircraft were based at RAF Ibsley. By the end of 1941 three squadrons of Spitfire aircraft were housed there and formed the Ibsley Wing, which was involved in operations on the French coast and inland.

During the summer of 1942 the movie ‘The First of the Few’ starring Trevor Howard and David Niven was filmed at the airfield. This told the story of RJ Mitchell, the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire. Polish, Czech, Australian and USAAF squadrons flew from Ibsley during the course of the war. By October 1945 the last flying units had left and in 1946 the airfield was handed back to the land owner, Lord Normanton and his tenant farmer Mr W Sampson.

The Ringwood Motorcycle and Light Car Club (MC and LCC) which is still going strong, was founded on April 4, 1927. Initially it was just called the Ringwood Motor Cycle Club but soon had ‘Light Car’ added to its name. The club raced at the Mount in Ringwood which was a natural arena enabling the spectators to sit or stand on raised ground to watch the racing.

In 1951 the Ringwood MC and LCC negotiated with the landowner to be able to hold races at Ibsley airfield. It was at this time that the club adopted a logo which was similar to the RAF roundel.

These race meetings were held under the auspices of the Auto Cycle Union. The first race to be held at Ibsley was by the Ringwood MC and LCC on May 17, 1951.

The West Hants and Dorset Car Club (WHDCC) was founded in 1932. It ran several pre-war events including speed trials at Poole Park. The club restarted after the Second World War. They put on two road races at Blandford Camp but the site was deemed to be too dangerous to continue to use. They then moved to Ibsley and on August 4, 1951 started racing there on a closed circuit. The annual race day for cars at Ibsley was overseen by the Royal Automobile Club.

In the aftermath of the war there was a great public appetite for motor racing, with either cars or bikes. Racing events were a huge success and were well attended. It was inexpensive excitement and entertainment in an age of post-war gloom, austerity, and rationing.

The airfield was ideally suited for motor racing. The circuit was a little over two miles. Motor bikes used the perimeter track and made use of sections of the runway. This created a V shape in the course and added an extra bend in the middle of the circuit and turned a corner of the perimeter track into a hairpin bend. Cars raced around the perimeter track and along the main runway making their circuit.

Racing was only allowed on a Saturday. This was because the north west corner of the circuit was very close to a small church. That corner was named “Church Bend”. Holding races on a Saturday apparently reduced the number of spectators as many people worked a half day and struggled to get to the course in time.

The north east corner was named “Paddock Bend” as the paddock where the vehicles were parked up when not racing was on that portion of runway. Motorcycle racers knew this as the hairpin. The south eastern corner was known as “Court Corner” as it was close to Moyles Court, which is now a private school. The bend at the south western edge of the circuit was named “Samson’s Curve” after the tenant farmer.

The circuit was marked out with oil drums and hay bales as barriers. When the first races were held it had been some six years since the last aircraft had flown from the airfield. Tractors and other agricultural vehicles used the site every day of the year. Therefore, on the two days of the year when motor racing took place, one day for cars, the other for bikes, an army of volunteers had to sweep the track with brooms. The width of the track was between 45 and 145 feet and over two miles in length. This was quite some undertaking.

Entry to the site on race days was free, but the car parking charges of ten shillings were above average and raised some revenue to defray the costs of running the event. Collecting boxes were also passed around the spectators so that those who had not needed to pay for parking could contribute to the financial running of the day. The entry fee for those racing was fifteen shillings. If there was a small profit made at the end of the day, it was used to finance the following years race event.

The event would start at 2pm with between seven and ten races for different classes. There was usually a gap of about fifteen minutes between races. The races were held for sport, not for personal gain. In the official programme for the car races held on May 8, 1954, there is a page detailing the ethos of the day. It reads: “This is not Grand Prix racing. This is not Le Mans or Rheims or Monza. Great issues do not hang upon success or failure here. This is a peculiarly British form of motor racing wherein a small number of enthusiastic, and unpaid officials go to a considerable amount of work, and no little expense, to stage a race meeting for no better reason than they enjoy doing so. In turn a large number of competitors also go to a considerable amount of work, and no little expense to compete and for the same reason.”

Professional races took place at Ibsley. On April 19, 1952, event seven was a fifteen lap Formula Two race, although this did not count towards the championship. Not only were there heats for experienced racing drivers with purpose-built cars, but events were put on which enabled members of the public to race their personal road legal cars and some homemade racing cars. The races days were classed as “National Open” events meaning that competitors from anywhere in the UK could enter.

Motor racing at Ibsley attracted some very skilled riders and drivers, many of whom were celebrities of their day. John Surtees made his debut in 1952 at the age of 18. Riding for the Norton Team he competed every year of the Ibsley race days. John Surtees is the only person in motor racing history to have become the world champion on both motorcycles and cars.

Another famous racing driver of that time was Mike Hawthorn. He set a lap record at Ibsley achieving 77.20 mph in 1952 driving a Cooper Bristol T20. At the same event he won the non-championship Formula Two event at Ibsley. He would win three Grand Prix across seven seasons. In 1955 he won the 24 hour Le Mans race and the twelve-hour endurance race at Sebring in Florida. He became the Formula One World Champion in 1958. Sadly, he was to lose his life in a crash on the A3 Guildford bypass in 1958.

Roy Salvadori was another famous racing driver of the time. He competed against Mike Hawthorn at Ibsley. He enjoyed racing at former aerodrome circuits and became known as “The King of the Airfields”. In 1955 he set a lap record at Ibsley with a top speed of 88.05mph. Salvadori went on to win the 1959 24 hour Le Mans endurance race. His co-driver was the American Caroll Shelby who later went into car design and created a number of high-performance vehicles including the AC Cobra.

One of the professional teams to compete at Ibsley was the Ecurie Ecosse based in Edinburgh. They first competed at Ibsley in 1952 driving Jaguar XK120 motorcars. Some of the drivers for the team included Ian Stewart and James ‘Jimmy’ Stewart the elder brother of three times motor racing champion Sir Jackie Stewart.

Local brothers Derek and Don Rickman will forever be linked to motorcross racing and the manufacture in New Milton of their world-famous bikes including the Metisse. However, this newspaper reported in the May 7, 1955 edition that Derek and Don had both come second in their respective classes at Ibsley. Derek was driving a Triumph TR2 and Don drove an Austin Healey 100.

In the five years of car and motorcycle racing there was only one fatality and that occurred on the last lap of the last race of the last meeting to be held at Ibsley. Twenty-six-year-old Philip Hersey died of his injuries after coming off his motorcycle when the front tyre burst.

Motor racing came to end at Ibsley when the local authorities threatened to impose a considerable increase on the rates of the former airfield as it was being used as a race track or stadium instead of its intended use as a farm. Although racing only took place two days a year, the increase in expenses proposed by the authorities combined with the year on year increasing costs of running the events meant that it was no longer financially viable and ceased after 1955.

Later, gravel was excavated on the former aerodrome site and this created the lakes that can be seen today. The only reminder that this was a former airfield is the derelict control tower and some of the wartime buildings on the perimeter.

I am particularly grateful to the following who helped me in researching this article. Ted Marchant and Jim Burry who both raced at Ibsley in the 1950s. Tony Johnson who provided images and information. Bryan Thurston of Ringwood Meeting House history centre. Trevor Childs, whose private archive on motor racing at Ibsley and his local knowledge was of great value.

Trevor Childs has an exhibition on the history of motorcycle racing, at the former Ibsley aerodrome. It can be seen at the Meeting House History Centre during the month of May 2025. On May 3, Trevor will be at the exhibition displaying motorcycles of the period. It is hoped that motorcycle legend Don Rickman will be attending on that day.

The Meeting House is located at 22 Meeting House Lane, Ringwood, BH24 1EY. It is open Monday to Saturday 10am to noon. On Wednesdays - market day - it is open until 2.30pm. The centre contains an archive of local history in Ringwood and the surrounding area, including the history of the Ibsley airfield site. It is well worth a visit.

Nick Saunders MA is a local historian and chairman of the Milton Heritage Society. He is reachable via nick@miltonheritagesociety.co.uk