Airfield histories

There must be some statistical errors such as double entry four decades after the event however the author makes the point he is counting Landing Surfaces and not Aerodromes or Airfields.

Bradshaw spoke of a top down directive being issued in the 42/43 time period where planning and construction started under an Aerodrome title however they became Airfields before they becoming fully operational.

The first significant difference I've found between what they term a Landing Surface and an Airfield is the later had to graded less than 1 in 80 while a Landing Surface could be 1 in 80 or greater ( Suspect that this may be related to some Air Ministry Specifications ? )

One point they agreed on was that less than 10% of the suitable locations identified were subsequently constructed.

I believe that we can be confident in the official numbers being slightly less that what was commissioned at the time so 444 should be a sound number.

I only stumbled across this article while researching the Geology of WW1 trench construction.

How many WW1 period Take Off & Landing Surfaces have been recorded ?

Result from a quick search indicates we could be looking for numbers in the region of 250 ?

www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritag...-world-war/art456167

My understanding of Flying Circus Events from listening to people who attended them in the 20's & 30's were that they occupied a suitable field for two or three days and then moved on when the income from trips dropped off or reduced. They are worth recording however from my recollection of conversations with Bradshaw they were not appreciated by the professional flying community and they were viewed only as a revenue generating stream that did not aid the forwarding of aviation. They estimated these Circus Events could be numbered near to a hundred.

I located another possible stream of Landing locations that were made available for the Horse Racing Community in the interwar years and it appears that they were either located near to the racing location ( either on or near the turf ) or on the cricket ground of a local country estate owner.

Bradshaw recalled during his time at the Air Ministry having to locate, procure and facilitate what he termed as a ' Landing Strip ' near to or in the grounds of a country estate that had been requisitioned by the war office and that it would not appear in any official Air Ministry records.

The only Landing Strip that I've located to date by independent article record had been near to the Rothschild Manor ~ A paper compiled by Country Life during the late 1990's estimated that over 500 Estate Homes were demolished following WW2 due to the Houses being degraded by requisition occupation or lack of funds to refurbish them or their ownership custodians did not survive the conflict aided by post conflict government taxation etc. A few of these may have had a Landing Strip which is now be lost in the mists of time.

Paul's research contained in his World War One thread appears to indicate over 200 locations with specific purposes under an identified title.

An additional challenge for WW1 records must be the involvement of the Senior Service ~ In the early 60's I worked for a Rear Admiral who shared his understanding of the official position " 99.99% are not interested and the rest don't need to know "

I know Alan Cobham had many 'Circus ' trips to my region and another fellow by the name of 'Black' (cant remember the details right at this moment), but they certainly inspired many a young lad to take up the flying bug with great enthusiasm.
The whole aim of the circus displays was to encourage the next generation to participate in aviation.
It wasn't all about gaining money !

Cobham had apparently called them some thing like a National Aviation Day according to Bradshaw's little group and it was only the general public that referred to them as being a flying circus.

The point Bradshaw's group were I believed making related to the perceived class differences during this prewar period ~ where you had one group from the University Air Squadrons and the other from the Flying Circus experiences days ~ A fact they reminded me of on several occasions ~ By being a product of the post conflict generation I would have no practical experience of prewar class perceptions.

Cobham had been a very highly regarded individual by the group as being an ex RFC flyer who had worked for de-Havillands and then went on to form York Air Services with a designer from the Cardington Air Ship Company and Amy Johnson ~ later I asked Mr Jones who claimed that he received his injuries while being an RFC airman and he told me how Cobham had been shot at while departing Bagdad during a long distance flight killing his flight engineer in the process.

Bradshaw's little group of ex Air Ministry men became quite agitated when his second wife ( My Aunt ) joined the group and started remembering her experiences at his aviation days and would keep referring to them as Air Circus events.

It must have been one of this group who expressed his dislike of William Morris ( Lord Nuffield ) for failing to engage fully in developing the shadow factories and the actions resulting from their fallout with the Wolesley Engined Nuffield Air Speed program.

I recall everything appeared to be interrelated and recounting a conversations 45 years later must be subject to memory creep errors etc ( Corrections Appreciated )

Heres an interesting promotional film from the 70s showing how wimpey no fines were constructed from begining to end. Health and safety was clearly irrelivant back in the 1970s!!

www.haughtonhub.co.uk/local-history/phot...ll-estate-1970s.aspx

Additionally, i have microfilm drawings/text of some standard system build house types for BISF,Gregory,Smiths and Hills Preswick system builds if there of any use to anyone.