flights from its headquarters at Thornaby to strategic points near the coast from Scotland down to the south of England. In January 1956 No. 533 (Field) Squadron disbanded at Thornaby and, on 10 March 1957 numbers 608 and 2608 Squadrons disbanded too leaving only 275 and 3608 Squadrons on the station. In September 1957 Hawker Hunter F6s of No. 92 Squadron temporarily re-located here from RAF Middleton St George while the runways there were being extended. No. 275 Squadron departed for Leconfield in October 1957 and a year later on 1 October 1958 No. 92 Squadron moved back to Middleton St George leaving only 3608 (North Riding) Squadron who disbanded shortly after. The last entry in the station diary was made on 13 October 1958 and stated that the station had been reduced to a Care and Maintenance level as from that date, the entry was signed, Flight Lieutenant H.J. Grant, Camp Commandant, C and M party, Royal Air Force Thornaby. Motor sport Motor Racing took place at Thornaby on only four occasions, the organisation being in hands of the Darlington & District Motor Club, who ‘discovered’ Thornaby and sought Air Ministry approval to race there. The first meeting was held on 6 September 1959 on a 1.9 mile circuit; for the meeting on 18 April 1960, the length of the track had been reduced to 1.45 miles. At one of these meetings Jimmy Blumer was the star, driving the ex-Stirling Moss bob-tail Cooper. There is evidence that race meetings were organised by Middlesbrough & District Motor Club; they produced at least three of the race programmes, Sunday 9 August 1959 at 2:30 pm, Whit Monday 6 June 1960 at 2:30 pm and Sunday 20 August 1961 at 1:30 pm. Today RAF Thornaby closed to flying in October 1958 when the Hawker Hunters of 92 Squadron left for RAF Middleton St George, the station was reduced to a care and maintenance level until being sold to the then Thornaby-on-Tees Borough Council for redevelopment in 1962. It became known to the council in 1958 that the RAF were to abandon the airfield and, after a period of negotiations with the North Riding County Council as local planning authority, the various land uses for the area were agreed upon and in 1961 an amended town map was approved by the Minister of Housing and Local Government. Most of the airfield now lies