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20-452: HMP Acklington was the most northerly adult prison in England, and was built on the site of the former RAF Acklington airfield. Acklington Prison opened in 1972, and was soon branded a holiday camp by the local media due to lax security and comfortable conditions for inmates. When the prison's security problems were at their worst, there were 14 escapes in one year. A review of security

40-527: A vote of no confidence in governor Peter Atkinson, citing safety concerns over job cuts at the prison. In November 2004, three prisoners were involved in a disturbance which caused extensive damage to a wing of Acklington Prison. The inmates were protesting about being recently jailed, and were segregated after the incident. In July 2011, it was announced that Acklington along with several other publicly operated prisons, would be market tested, allowing private operators as well as HM Prison service, to tender for

60-540: Is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station located 3.2 miles (5.1 km) south west of Amble , Northumberland and 8.8 miles (14.2 km) north east of Morpeth , Northumberland, England. The airfield was operational initially from 1916 being used by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and from April 1918 its successor the Royal Air Force (RAF) before being closed in 1920 however it

80-673: The Battle of Britain , No. 13 Group also provided reserve squadrons and pilots to the more beleaguered No. 11 Group , and provided quieter bases for squadrons to recuperate from operations. No. 13 Group also contributed to pilot education by producing its "Forget-Me-Nots for Fighters" brochure, that included a foreword by Air Vice-Marshal R. E. Saul. During the Battle of Britain, the Germans had faulty intelligence indicating that No. 13 Group had next to no fighters in operation (they believed that

100-625: The Second World War , it was seen that a new Group was needed to command the air defences of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the north of England. 13 Group was duly reformed in September 1939. During the initial stages of World War II, No. 13 Group was Commanded by Air Vice Marshal Richard Saul . Like the other groups into which fighter command were divided, No. 13 Group operated the Dowding system of fighter control. The 13 Group HQ

120-666: The 20th century. It is most famous for having the responsibility for defending the North of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain . No. 13 Group RAF was first formed on 1 April 1918 within No. 3 Area . It was quickly transferred to Midland Area on 8 May of that year. On 18 October 1919 the Group's first existence came to an end when it was disbanded by amalgamating it with No. 3 Group . As Fighter Command expanded prior to

140-402: The contract to operate the prison. On 31 October 2011 HM Prison Acklington merged with HM Prison Castington to form HMP Northumberland and on 1 December 2013 management of HMP Northumberland passed from Her Majesty's Prison Service to Sodexo Justice Services . Acklington is a category C prison for adult male prisoners, with many being sex offenders . Education and vocational courses at

160-473: The main camp became the site of Acklington and Castington prisons. These have since been amalgamated and transferred into private ownership and are simply known as H. M. P. Northumberland. The airfield is virtually unrecognisable today having been subjected to open cast coal mining. No. 13 Group RAF No. 13 Group RAF (13 Gp) was a group in the Royal Air Force for various periods in

180-427: The next day, and visited him again in 1968 when Townsend was writing his highly-successful book about the Battle of Britain, "Duel of Eagles," which recounts the incident in detail. On 21 October 1942 well known test pilot Gerry Sayer departed from RAF Acklington in a Hawker Typhoon to test a gunsight during gun firing into Druridge Bay Ranges, and was accompanied by another Typhoon. Neither aircraft returned and it

200-495: The only reason why No. 11 Group was still holding out was that No. 13 Group had been sending them down their available aircraft), so they had thought that any attacks made on Scotland would not face any serious resistance. This proved to be a costly mistake for the Luftwaffe , as their bombers were intercepted by a large number of fighters. The bombers could not be escorted all the way to Scotland from Occupied Europe because of

220-710: The prison include: Woodwork ; Tailoring and Textiles ; Industrial workshops; Engineering workshops; Painting and Decorating ; Bricklaying ; Amenity Gardening ; Market Gardening ; Laundry ; Physical Education ; Waste Management and Catering , all of which include accredited qualifications. The prison also offers accredited Offending Behaviour programmes which include Drug Rehabilitation facilities, Sex Offender Programmes, Enhanced Thinking Skills, and Healthy Relationships programmes. 55°17′46″N 1°38′04″W  /  55.29611°N 1.63444°W  / 55.29611; -1.63444 RAF Acklington Royal Air Force Acklington , simply known as RAF Acklington ,

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240-407: The school moved to RAF Warmwell and the airfield was handed over to RAF Fighter Command as part of 13 Group where it became a sector airfield. The following squadrons were at some point posted or attached to RAF Acklington: On 3 February 1940 three Hawker Hurricane fighters from 43 Squadron at Acklington intercepted and shot down a Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111 bomber at Whitby. The formation

260-548: The short range of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aircraft, so the attacking bombers proved to be fodder for Saul's Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane fighter squadrons. On 15 August 1940 the Luftwaffe attempted its one and only daylight flank attack on Northern England. North East England was attacked by 65 Heinkel He 111 bombers, escorted by 34 Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters, and RAF Driffield

280-503: Was assumed that they collided over the bay. Sayer was replaced as Gloster's chief test pilot by his deputy, Michael Daunt. RAF Acklington was home to the following squadrons during the Battle of Britain : The following squadrons were at some point posted or attached to RAF Acklington: The following squadron were at some point posted or attached to RAF Acklington: The following units were at some point posted or attached to RAF Southfields/Acklington: RAF Acklington closed in 1975 and

300-473: Was at Kenton , near Newcastle upon Tyne with the Filter Room at nearby Blakelaw Quarry. The sector airfields were: Besides the sector airfields, between 1940 and 1944, No. 13 Group used the following assets in its operations. The letter A after a station name denotes an airfield, and a R denotes a radar site that fed information into the group headquarters. As well as guarding the north during

320-527: Was attacked by 50 unescorted Junkers Ju 88 multirole combat aircraft. Out of the 115 bombers and 35 fighters the Luftwaffe sent, 16 bombers and 7 fighters were destroyed. After the Battle of Britain, 13 Group squadrons helped RAF Coastal Command in patrolling for U-boats and providing air cover for convoys. New pilots would usually find themselves posted to a 13 Group squadron initially so as to gain experience with lesser risk of getting shot down. In June of 1943, No. 32 Wing of RAF Army Cooperation Command

340-577: Was led by Flight Lieutenant Peter Townsend . It was the first German aircraft to fall on English soil in the Second World War (although it was not the first to be shot down in the United Kingdom, that having occurred in Scotland). The intercept was based on a plot by operators at RAF Danby Beacon , a radar station about ten miles west of Whitby. Townsend visited the German rear gunner in hospital

360-612: Was reopened in 1938 being used by the RAF until 1972. After 1972 the site was turned over to Her Majesty's Prison Service for the creation of two new prisons. Acklington was an aerodrome during the First World War and known as Royal Flying Corps Station Southfields. The airfield was reopened on Friday 1 April 1938 being renamed to RAF Acklington where No. 7 Armament Training Station was formed which on 15 November 1938 transformed into No. 2 Air Observers School. During September 1939

380-521: Was transferred to 13 Group, and so brought with it three further airfields to operate from; Macmerry , Kirknewton and Findo Gask . In July 1943, No. 14 Group was disbanded, and its assets and the area it covered, were absorbed into No. 13 Group. In August of the same year, the headquarters element was moved from Newcastle in England, to Inverness in Scotland. In November 1945, the headquarters moved again to RAF Dalcross in Scotland. At that time

400-400: Was undertaken in 1990 after a spate of escapes, including one in which a jogger trotted away from a supervised group and scaled the fence. Several weeks later two inmates hijacked a milk float and used it to dodge security. Acklington came in for further criticism in September 2002 when prefabs were constructed at the prison to house inmates due to overcrowding. A month later staff passed

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