Shortstown Heritage

Shortstown - A Village Standing Proud

(Shortstown part of the parish of Eastcotts )

Hello welcome to Shortstown Heritage website – my name is Jane Harvey, I live in Shortstown and have been researching my local history and this is very much a personal attempt to pull together some of the information I have found. The site concentrates mainly on the years 1917 to the late 1950’s and charts both the history of Shortstown and the camp opposite which became known as RAF Cardington
During these years residents were wholly dependent for work on the camp which took on many roles itself at the mercy of national governent policy. All of the services it provided could not function without the support of the civilian workers from across the road..........

When the R101 airship crashed in October 1930 the very close- knit community of Shortstown lost 16 brave men. These men left behind grieving widows and children most of whom left the village having spent many happy years living here. Other families remained in Shortstown after the crash and the village was by no means deserted. The people left behind had lived through the First World War, some would have known those men killed in the R38 Airship crash in 1921,and they would have certainly known most of the R101 crew members who perished. Less than a decade later in 1939 they would see the outbreak of the Second World War. We should salute these people too.

The Shorts Building restored to its former glory. Oct 2011

A rare sight - the two giant sheds open at the same time in August 2011. In 1930 the sheds were the homes of the R101 and R100 airships.

The R101 Airship - many of the crew and design staff lived in Shortstown.

This site hopes to bring to peoples attention the important role Shortstown has played in local and national history and the sacrifices its residents made in those early years. We should be very proud of our heritage and I hope that after looking at the following pages the reader will view our village with a renewed interest and respect.

The site is split into various sections:
Shortstown History - with separate pages for the various phases the village has gone through. The R31, R32, and R38 Airships – the early Airships built by the Short Brothers. The R101 and R100 Airships.The Camp – again with separate pages highlighting the various functions of RAF Cardington over the years.The Royal Airship Works Social Club – This section shows how the club dealt with its changing fortunes and was truly the backbone of the village.Modern Shortstown - Shortstown from 1955.Contact details - Ways to get in touch.

The farewell party thrown by The Royal Airship Works Social ClubÂ in Feb 1939.

(Original image Beds & Luton Archive Services Beds Times & Citizen Collection BP Box 491. Photography courtesy of John Day)

This photograph shows a farewell party thrown by The Royal Airship Works Social Club in Feb 1939 for some of it's members* who were called away to serve on other bases as the threat of war loomed. Very sad times indeed yet they are all smiling here! To me this one picture captures the whole spirit of the early residents in our village.

* Do you recognise anyone in this picture left? If so please get in touch. Email: jyh@shortstownheritage.co.uk

Barrage balloons on the camp May 1938

Although the road signs are the last visible link to the former RAF site it is hoped that the role this station played in the Second World War is never forgotten. Read about the history of the camp in the RAF Cardington section.

(Image Beds & Luton Archive Services Beds Times & Citizen Collection BP Box 227. Photography courtesy of John Day)

Nov 1940 Shortstown at War

The Bournemouth Airship outside the sheds in 1951

(The Bedford Record Nov 1940 source Beds & Luton Archive Services)

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