Ibsley Battlefield Headquarters

Hidden amongst the trees on the edge of Ibsley Common, behind Moyles Court, overlooking the quarry lakes which were formally the runways and dispersals of RAF Ibsley (one of the forests World War Two airfields) is RAF Ibsley's Battlefield Headquarters and associated defences. An airfield's Battlefield Headquarters were a hardened position, an observation and command bunker surrounded by defencive works, from which to mount a defence and counter attack if the airfield was compromised by the enemy (paratroopers/gliders).  The forest had 4 major airfields, Ibsley, Holmsley, Beaulieu and Stoney Cross, although only Ibsley's Battlefield Headquarters remains intact and accessible, and from other Battlefield Headquarters's I've seen, is unique, having 2 observation cupolas. In fact, in my experience, the whole site is uniquely preserved. The main Battlefield Headquarters, although seasonally wet and full of modern rubbish, is solid, with all rooms accessible; though it's the survival of the surrounding defencive works which are most impressive. The hilltop is defended by several simple circular concrete (sections of pipe?) machine gun positions, lengths of zig-zag trenchworks with corrugated iron revetment and sandbagged positions, as well as individual 'foxholes' dotted about. Some damage was done when the hillside was planted with conifers, though more has been done since the plantation was harvested 10 years or so back. That said, but for the barbedwire entanglements, the position remains nearly complete.  I see the overall neglect and subsequent destruction of nearly all the New Forest's Wartime Airfield structures/features as a heritage crime, or at least a reckless waste of a heritage resource, making the survival of the few remaining intact features even more important. Our complacency, based on the idea that 'there's loads of World War 2 stuff about, has let to the point where most of what we thought we had has gone, and we've only recently woken up to what we've lost. If you dig military archaeology or history, you could do worse than pay this site a visit