Monument Business Park offers business parks and business premises (serviced offices / virtual offices / business premises) near Chalgrove in Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK.
The business park at Monument Business Park and it's business premises and business accommodation include Hampden House which also offers conference facilities (conference venues / meeting rooms / training rooms) for hire to both residents / tenants of its offices and serviced office accommodation (workshops, units and business environment) close to the M40 in Chalgrove and Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK.
Second World War
During the Second World War, the government needed level ground for airfields; Chalgrove was one of many sites in Oxfordshire selected. The standard three runway airfield was constructed in 1943, and in February 1944 the Americans moved in with a photo reconnaissance squadron of Lockheed Lightning P-38s. Three more squadrons joined in March to bring the station to full strength. These squadrons performed many low-level operations over France to provide valuable information prior to, and shortly after, the Normandy landings in June 1944.
In March 1945 the nearby USAAF PR squadrons at Mount Farm, Berinsfield, moved to Chalgrove with their P-51s and F-5s. PR work over peacetime Europe continued in order to assess damage. A large campsite was built up around the airfield which housed the American airmen and associated staff, which included a dance hall and cinema!
The Americans left at the end of the year, and Chalgrove became a satellite of Benson airfield, until an agreement was reached with Martin Baker to use the airfield for testing their new ejector seats. The first live ejection from a Martin Baker ejector seat, fitted to a Meteor, was made over Chalgrove airfield in July 1946. Martin Baker, now the worlds leading supplier of ejector seats, still use the airfield for testing. The Meteor is still used, and is a regular, sight over the business park.
There were eleven sites to the east and north of the airfield, which were spread out to minimise bomb damage. Monument Business Park is built on the remains of two of these sites, the two entrances to the Park being roads originally constructed by the USAAF.
For more information, the book by John Godfrey can be purchased.