Visit to Danesfield House, Medmenham/England

June 2019, for our research as to the aerial reconnaissance and the “REIMAHG”’, we headed for Danesfield House near Medmenham,

 Buckinghamshire/England.

The luxurious, 1750 constructed, rural castle, was the seat of the Allied Central Interpretation Unit between 1941 – 1946 (ACIU, Allied Central Interpretation Unit).  As this location 1.700 experts worked in different sections around the daily intake of 25.000 aerial photos, from the development to the interpretation and 60.000 prints.

By the end of the war the total amount of photos was five million and 40.000 interpretation reports.

One of the best photo interpreters was Constance Babington Smith. She discovered not only the Me-262 production in Kahla but also the V1 site in Peenemünde. For her work, she received numerous commendations and medals. 

One of the other female photo interpreters was Sara Oliver, the daughter of Winston Churchill.

The current castle, in it’s neo-Tudor style (1899 – 1901) is since 1991 a luxurious country hotel with the typical atmosphere and flair of a old and decent mansion.  All building that were constructed 1941 within the area, have been disassembled and the large park has returned to its old shape.

Many photos and a memorial plaque remind us of the special history of this house.  The present staff was very kind to pass the information and gave us a flyer.

We had the possibility to visit the entire house and installations, for which we are very grateful.