Just to be clear. The three RCAF Squadrons I mentioned in my previous post are by no means the only ones to ever fly the Halifax Mk III. Several were equipped with the Mk III prior to transferring to other theatres and at least one was a training unit somewhere in Yorkshire. It is interesting, however, that most Canadian Halifax Squadrons spent some time at bases in Yorkshire.
On that note, I looked into the licence plate on the photo Dennis posted. In the pre-1951 British Registration system, the 'BV' Plates were issued in Preston, Lancashire, just North of Manchester and not far from the Yorkshire border. Tholthorpe, Yorkshire was a common RCAF Halifax Base and underwent a large rebuild in the early 1940's which the RCAF was involved in. Also, if you look the base up on Wikipedia, there is a photo there of some of the abandoned buildings. One is a long, low brick structure that is a good fit for the ones in the Bedford photos. And Tholthorpe is not that far from Manchester.
David
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