# RAF Kenley Officers Mess - April 2015



## Gromr (Apr 29, 2015)

This is a real local one for me. The Aerodrome used to be my old stomping ground when I was younger, so seems apt I give this place a shot despite what seemed to be a difficult explore ahead with layers of barbed wire fence.

As it turns out, this place was one of the easiest places to get into I've been. So all good there.


So some History:

'The former Royal Air Force Station Kenley, more commonly known as RAF Kenley was a station of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I and the RAF in World War II. It is located near Kenley, London, England.'

The Officers mess was used through out WW1 & WW2. Sometime after (Can't find the exact date) It was sold to OFCOM. In 2005 OFCOM stopped using the site, and it was sold to developers. Its has sat dormant ever since.




The back and side of the building can be seen clearly from the Aerodrome, so some caution was required to get in without being seen by a jogger or dog walker.

From the front you would expect inside to have the same characterful features as the exterior. However Ofcom did a reasonable job a modernising the interior. It is mostly completely stripped out, so there isn't a whole lot to see apart from empty office rooms. There was a loft accessible via a sketchy ladder, but there nothing up there except two pigeons.

Towards the back of the building there was a garage and a large hall.

The stairs in the central are half missing due to bad fire damage. This was a common theme through-out. The building has suffered from a lot of vandalism. There was only a handful of windows that hadn't been smashed.

Overall a decent explore.

I want to visit the NAAFI building that is just off Victor Beamish avenue too, however it seems to have security lights and CCTV all over, so perhaps not 
I believe its actually owned by the Plymouth Brethren who have been wanting to turn it into a school for years.

Anyway, thanks for reading!













































































Full set here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/grahamr123/sets/72157652118275441/


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## HughieD (Apr 29, 2015)

Fab set there...thanks for sharing.


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## flyboys90 (Apr 29, 2015)

Great collection,thanks for sharing.


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