HMS Oakington

OAKINGTON was built by Harland and Wolff, Belfast; Yard Number 1584, She was transferred to the South African Navy in September 1959 and re-named ‘MOSSELBAAI'. She served as a minehunter until Nov 1981, when she was placed in reserve at Simon’s Town, SA. She was listed for disposal in Dec 1985 and broken up in Table Bay harbour during 1989.

VILLAGE

Hamlet 7 miles North West of Cambridge.

Discovery of Stone Age hand axes and Roman pottery indicate early occupation of teh area, as does an Anglo Saxon graveyard discovered in 1938.

Mentioned in the Domesday Book, the name derives from the Saxon "Hocca's Estate".

In the 17th Century Oakington was considered to be "a hotbed of religious dissent". Two ministers who formulated Non-Conformist views were dismissed from their parishes.

From 1940 to 1975 the RAF operated a bomber airfield here which hasnow become an Immigration Reception Centre.