ONE of the last links of an aerodrome to its wartime past was reduced to rubble yesterday.
A demolition firm is now clearing the remains of an old aircraft hangar, one of the last remaining reminders of Thornaby's role in the Second World War, when it was used as a base for Coastal Command.
The hangar, still in its faded green and brown camouflage pattern, predated the outbreak of war against the Nazis.
The RAF moved to Thornaby, near Stockton, in the 1930s and the base was home to 608 Squadron.
As the threat of war loomed closer, the grass field that was there was replaced with concrete runways, and a complex of aerodrome buildings was built to cater for the hundreds of men and women based there.
The base was bombed a number of times during the conflict. Buildings such as the barrack block, officers' mess and store will remain.
Geoff Bell, chairman of the Middlesbrough branch of the Royal British Legion, said the demise of the hangar, which was latterly used for car boot sales, was a sad moment for the area and its history.
He said: "I think people are sad to see it go."
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