housing AT WHEELUS

The housing on Wheelus was initially very limited, consisting of barracks, and tents for the newly arriving crew and staff.

As the base began to develop, more barracks were erected along with the addition of trailers, which were used for what was known as ‘dependent housing’, this being for families with children.

In the early years, many of the staff and crew lived on the outskirts of Wheelus, in villages and areas such as Giorgimpopli, Garden City, Tajura, and Adana. They mainly resided in houses and villas, rented either from Libyan nationals or Italians, who were still resident in Libya after WW2.

A very popular area for base staff and crew was on the ‘Castiglione Farm’ which was situated near the east gate of the base, and was considered a very safe place to live due to its proximity to Wheelus. The Italian owned farm consisted of clean modest bungalows with electricity, with the biggest bonus being that the residents received their drinking water from the base supply. There were also a number of animals on the property, including sheep, goats and camels, which were enjoyed by the families and their children.

As Wheelus grew, more trailers and houses were built on base to accommodate the ever growing population and these were allotted through registering with the Base Housing and Billeting Office ¹.