CULLINGWORTH’s lost airfield is remembered on a new plaque in the village’s memorial gardens.

The plaque commemorates the Manywells Height airfield that was used by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War.

The grassed airstrip was on the hill above Cullingworth, next to what became the Manywells Tip landfill site, and is now on private land not accessible to the public.

Cullingworth Village Council was approached by the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust who wanted to provide a plaque to preserve the disused airfield’s memory in time for the centenary of the Armistice.

It was considered unsuitable to site the plaque within the airfield site, where it could not be seen by the public, so the Village Council arranged to mount the plaque on a plinth within the memorial garden.

Manywells Height was first used as a landing strip when Captain Maclean landed his Royal Aircraft Factory BE2A aeroplane en route to Montrose in 1913.

The Royal Flying Corps created a 40-acre airfield on the site in 1916, using it as a relief landing ground for two Home Defence squadrons based at Ripon and Lindsey.

The facilities were basic, just were one wooden and canvas hangar with a surrounding grass landing strip.

Although the airfield was designated for night operations when combatting German airships, there is no evidence it was ever used in that capacity.

Before its decommissioning in 1919 Manywells Height was considered as a civilian airbase for West Yorkshire, but was considered a poor location due to its hilly area, height above sea level and often inclement weather.

Yeadon was instead chosen, eventually growing into Leeds Bradford International Airport.