Tea, cake and colonial bloodletting: Guardian whimsically reports RAF Fairford plane spotters

The Guardian took a whimsical tone in its coverage of plane-spotting families at RAF Fairford on 6 April. The base is being used as a hub for the US heavy bombers raining death on Iran. Declassified UK co-director Mark Curtis was among the first to highlight the Guardian‘s strange approach:

This is how the Guardian reported US warplanes mass bombing Iran from a UK base. pic.twitter.com/nBt6EBQYYW

— Mark Curtis (@markcurtis30) April 8, 2026

The article described how one family got up at 4.40am to watch bombers at the base, one of a network of US military colonies in the UK — in this case, disguised as a Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Gloucestershire:

They packed their car with gear you might take on a trip to the seaside – folding chairs, blankets, a picnic. But instead of heading to the coast, they drove 80 miles from their home in Hampshire to Gloucestershire and set up camp close to the perimeter fence of RAF Fairford to watch American warplanes take off and land.

The father, Jonathan Wilkinson, told the paper:

It’s definitely cheaper than a trip to a theme park. The sights and sounds are impressive. But it’s a bittersweet thing. These planes are only here because of war. We have to keep that in mind.

The Guardian reported that the “biggest fan in the family was the oldest boy, Josh”

who wore a Red Arrows cap and said he liked planes because his grandad was in the RAF. “I love the noise of them. They are so cool.” Katie Wilkinson [Mum to Josh] was enjoying the community spirit. “Everyone is friendly and welcoming,” she said.

Rubbernecking a war crime

Estimates of those killed and injured in the unprovoked US/Israel attack on Iran vary. Reuters reported on 3 March:

U.S.-based rights group HRANA said 3,636 people have been killed since the war erupted. It said 1,701 of those were civilians, ‌including at least 254 children.

Reuters carried other figures too:

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that at least 1,900 people have been killed and 20,000 injured in Iran in the U.S.-Israeli strikes so far.

Adding:

It was not clear if those figures included at least 104 people who the Iranian military said were killed ​in a U.S. attack on an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka on March 4.

Over 100 legal experts warned the US attack on Iran was illegal on 2 April.

RAF Fairford — Family day out with a slice of cake

The Guardian described the scene around Fairford in jolly terms:

A bank holiday jaunt in the Cotswolds is probably most closely associated with a visit to a picture postcard village and, perhaps, a cup of tea and slice of cake.

But hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people on Monday opted instead for the fringes of the RAF base, where American planes are flying missions to Iran.

One passage describes how, just after three warplanes took off heading south, a man:

who had brought his seven-year-old daughter along, and made sure she kept her ear protectors on as the planes flew away, told her they could now go to the park.

And a woman described as “Sally, 59, from Hampshire” told the paper:

I can’t help but be drawn to them, especially the B-1s and B-52s, which for me are cold war big beasts.

Adding:

But the thought of what they are doing gives me the ick, as the kids might say. We must never forget that.

Normal Island (aka Britain) produces all manner of bizarre spectacles. In this case, an apparent mix of ambient imperial and WW2 nostalgia, deep-seated racism and weekend boredom had families queueing up to watch high-tech warplanes set off to bomb Iran. The Guardian — true to form as the left-wing of the British establishment — leaned into the story, producing one of the strangest and most reality-detached pieces of journalism you’ll see — for a little while at least….

Featured image via Twitter