A house that was built for a squadron leader serving at RAF Watton in the Second World War – who had his own ‘batman’ – is for sale.
This batman was equally heroic as the famous Caped Crusader superhero but perhaps not quite as invincible.
This was the name given an airman orderly assigned as a personal servant to the squadron leader who would do duties such as prepare his uniform, drive his car, run errands and act as his bodyguard.
And ultimately the batman was expected to die for his boss in combat. But he did get his own bat cave in the house.
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The house for sale for £425,000-£450,000 is the largest in Trenchard Crescent, an address also with a military connection, named after ‘father of the RAF’ Hugh Montague Trenchard, a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the air force. All the houses in the crescent were built for RAF staff and later sold off for private use.
The house for sale was built in the Georgian style made to reflect grandeur for the squadron leader. However it was actually built in the 1930s and has been beautifully restored since by its owners.
There is a hall, sitting and dining rooms with high ceilings and the kitchen has retained features such as a renovated original kitchen dresser, a tiled and wooden floor and a walk in larder.
Providing further reception space, the family room, with an open fireplace and now with sliding patio doors to the garden after being extended in 1985, provided batman’s quarters where the airman would have come in for duties, by the tradesman’s entrance, which still retains the original doorbell.
Upstairs are four bedrooms and outside, gardens, including a vegetable patch and garaging.
The house is for sale with Sowerbys.
Opened in 1937, RAF Watton was used primarily as a bomber airfield, being the home of RAF Bomber Command squadrons. At the outbreak of the Second World War, two squadrons of Bristol Blenheim bombers were stationed there. In early 1940 one of them claimed the first Nazi U-boat destroyed during the conflict. But later in the same year, 11 of the 12 aircraft from 82 Squadron were shot down.
After the war, the base was used by the army in the early 1990s. It was closed then sold off for housing.
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