Radlett
RADLETT: Private company aerodrome
(Sometimes mistaken for being LONDON COLNEY or COLNEY STREET WW1 airfield)
Note: Pictures by the author unless specified.
Note: These four items were kindly provided by Mr Michael T Holder. The photo of the opening ceremony was published in Flight on the 11th July 1930.
Manufacturing: Handley Page factory from 1929 to 1969/70
Location: Park Street on east side of A5183 (once the A5 trunk road)
Period of operation: 1929, (some say 1930), to 1969/70?
(see Notes for Toucan flights in 1972)
The first image, a map, is kindly reproduced with permission from Pooleys Flight Equipment. Copyright Robert Pooley 2014
Runways: RADLETT was originally a 154 acre ‘all over’ grass airfield.
1929: N/S 1274 grass E/W 670 grass
NE/SW 1274 grass NW/SE 938 grass
The original hard runways are: 03/21 1383x46 hard
(later extended to 1753x46, then to 1862x46 and later still an extension of 244x30 was added at one end )
15/33 1186x55 hard
(There was also a roughly E/W hard runway of 814x64 but it seems this was disused after WW2?)
1965: 03/21 1862x46 (with a 244x30 extension at the NE end) 15/33 1186x55 hard
NOTES:
SIGNIFICANT FIRST FLIGHTS (Once again I have to thank Ron Smith whose excellent book British Built Aircraft Vol.3 has helped me fill in many gaps). But, obviously, still more work needs to be done.
Type Reg/Serial Date Notes
HP.38 Heyford J9130 12.06.30 The type that entered service with the RAF was the HP.50 Heyford and 124 were built
HP.42 G-AAGX 14.11.1930 For Imperial Airways
HP.52 Hampden K4240 21.06.36 502 built by Handley Page, 770 by English Electric plus 160 built in Canada
HP.53 Hereford ? 01.07.37 The Hereford was a Napier Dagger powered version of the Hampden of which 152 were built by Short & Harland in Belfast. It appears this original prototype had Bristol Pegasus engines
HP.54 Harrow K6933 10.10.36 100 built of this bomber/transport
HP.57 Halifax L7244 25.10.39 For some reason the first flight actually took place at BICESTER in OXFORDSHIRE. It is claimed over 6,000 Halifax were built in twenty-six versions. The principal versions being the HP.57, HP.58, HP.59, HP.61,
HP.63, HP.70 and HP.71
HP.67 Hastings TE580 07.05.46 Also for some (obscure?) reason the first flight took place from WITTERING in NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 150 were built, two prototypes, 144 for the RAF and four for the RNZAF
HP.68 Hermes I G-AGSS 03.12.45 The first flight ended in a tragic fatal accident
HP.74 Hermes II G-AGUB 02.09.47 The Hermes I and II were tail-wheel types
HP.75 Manx H-0222 25.06.43 Experimental flying-wing design. Why does the HP.75 designation appear way out of sequence?
HP.80 Victor WB771 24.12.52 Here once again, for some equally obscure reason (?) the first prototype Victor B.Mk.1 was transported to BOSCOMBE DOWN in WILTSHIRE for its first flight.
HP.81 Hermes 4 G-AKFP 05.09.48 This was radically changed from the original versions and, much lighter and longer with a tricycle undercarriage 25 were ordered for BOAC.
HP.82 Hermes 5 ? ? Two Hermes 5 were built it seems.
HPR.7 Dart Herald G-APWA 17.12.58 It appears this wasn’t the first ‘Dart Herald’ to fly but attempts to discover ‘the first’ seems clouded in confusion. The very first ‘Herald’ version was piston powered of course and flew from WOODLEY in
BERKSHIRE? So presumably with much imput from the Miles company? Other sources say the first Herald with four Alvis Leonides flew from RADLETT on 25.08.55
HP.137 Jetstream ? 18.08.67 The history of this type is long and complex.
A POINT OF CONJECTURE?
It is sometimes claimed the original Handley Page factory airfield, having moved from CRICKLEWOOD in LONDON, operated from LONDON COLNEY or COLNEY STREET and as this factory expanded and developed it moved to RADLETT. I now think this is probably incorrect? The LONDON COLNEY/COLNEY STREET site being a WW1 airfield close to but quite separate from RADLETT.
A BIT OF HISTORY
After their success in WW1 producing large bombers, the Handley Page company failed to make much impact despite some quite extraordinary and advanced designs during the 1920s and 30s. The Bombay and Heyford bombers were, when regarded today, to have been to some extent a bit of a joke, and the Hampden/Hereford utterly abysmal. However, when you compare the Hampden with the typical German He.111 H.6 operated by the newly formed Luftwaffe, another picture emerges. The Hampden had a maximum speed of 247mph against the 273mph of the HE.111. But, the Hampden had a range of 1,720 miles compared to 1,429 miles. The He.111 had a superior service ceiling, but only byjust over 2,000 feet. The Hampden had a bomb load of 1,814kg and the He.111 2,000kg. Defensive armament was similar, and utterly inadequate in both. As can be seen the much maligned Hampden compares quite favourably to the top German equivalent.
THE FOUR ENGINE BOMBER
When it was realised that only a large four-engine bomber could make enough impact to severely damage Germany, the company came up with the Halifax which, it needs to be remembered, was much superior to the Short Stirling, the first four-engine bomber to enter service with the RAF. Typically they failed to get it right and tinkered about producing twenty-six versions. A few of which were actually very successful. Unfortunately the reputation of the other versions drags the historic inheritance way down compared to the Avro Lancaster. In many ways perhaps a re-run of the Spitfire versus Hurricane whereby the Spitfire remains the chosen type of the ‘Battle of Britain’ although far more Hurricanes took part, and, were highly regarded by their pilots. We must remember that seventy-six RAF bomber squadrons were equipped with the Halifax towards the zenith of the bombing campaign. I have still to discover how this compares to squadrons equipped with Lancasters. Perhaps you know?
HALIFAX BOMBER PRODUCTION
Here again it was only by doing this research that I discovered the truth about the manufacturing of aircraft in the UK. But, as said before I was brought up with Airfix kits so automatically believed the name on the packet indicated who actually built the type. Not so of course and Halifax production is a fine example. Typically there is some dissent about the actual total built but I think it can be agreed it comfortably exceeds 6,000 – 6,135 quoted by one source:
Presumably these figures are more or less correct?
Handley Page = 1,564.
English Electric = 2,145.
Fairey Aviation = 662.
London Aircraft Production Group = 710.
Rootes Securities = 1,070.
This comes to 6,151 built. Another source quotes 6,177. As a Ground Instructor told us when I was learning to fly and making calculations arriving with a similar amount of error or more - “That’s close enough for government work.” Being ex-RAF I now realise he really did know what he was talking about!
IS THE HANDLEY PAGE REPUTATION DESERVED?
For some rather strange reason the Handley Page name still appears highly regarded today but I find it hard to fathom why? The majority of their designs were not very good. Indeed, they often struggled to make good the few designs that did eventually get into production.
THE SBAC AIR SHOW
I was quite surprised to discover that the first post-war SBAC show was held here in September 1946 and 1947, and this time the public were allowed in. It appears the show moved to FARNBOROUGH in 1948. As more than one author/historian has pointed out, these were, in their way, quite remarkable airshows, especially because they featured the first jet aircraft. It is perhaps difficult to imagine today the quite remarkable effect these jets made on the viewing public - with no engine visible and no propellers! And yet, zooming around the sky at speeds nothing they had seen before could possibly attain. Plus, the noise they made – nothing like this had been heard before. Jet noise is of course today considered by most as being utterly unacceptable. In those days jet noise was, for youngsters especially, incredibly thrilling – and the louder the better. Noise equalled power and sheer power impressed us no end.
HANDLEY PAGE GLIDING CLUB
In the 1957 The Aeroplane directory, the 'fleet' was given as: One T.31B two seater and one Tutor (intermediate), one Rhônbussard (advanced). The latter type was, I imagine, quite a rarity in the UK in those days (?). First flown in 1933 in Germany the majority of the more than two hundred built were constructed by Schleicher - at their Wasserkuppe factory I think(?).
In Germany it was regarded as being an intermediate type for competitions and training. Somewhat oddly it seems, the entry gives the German name, when its English name was the Rhön Buzzard.
THE HASTINGS ERA
There are many tales of the HP.67 Hastings four Bristol Hercules engines being notoriously unreliable and the aircraft itself not being nice to fly, and yet it stayed in RAF service from 1948 to 1968. Presumably the early problems were resolved? Perhaps interesting though that no civilian, (typically charter operator), decided to wring out a few more years as they did with the Avro York for example, and, lets face it, some even took on the Avro Tudors! This history makes an interesting comparison, I think, with the development of the HP.81Hermes?
THE 'V' BOMBER ERA
The 1st flight of the Victor ‘V’-bomber occurred on Christmas Eve 1952 and eventually with later versions being converted air-to-air refuelling tankers the type stayed in operation with the RAF until 1993. The Victor was arguably the most aerodynamically advanced V-bomber according to some experts, in sheer performance though surely the Vulcan, (which first flew four months previously), was the supreme “V” bomber? The design also offered several advanced features over the other V-bombers. This said, despite how wonderful the Victor design was, I really don’t think it can disguise the fact that by and large, since WW1, the company failed to produce more than a couple of truly successful designs?
In fact they really didn’t do too well with the Victor, initially at least. The first Victors were badly designed in so many ways and very unreliable. Looked at today, if it wasn't for the pressures of producing a 'deterrent' for the 'Cold War' it seems unlikely the first Victors would have been allowed to enter service.
One of the prototypes fell apart in mid-air on the 14th July 1954. Serious miscalculations were blamed. Pretty obviously Handley Page had some brilliant people, and also some highly questionable employees? I can only imagine how incredibly difficult it can be to try and establish an entire design team of equal ‘flair’ and exceptional capabilities. An impossible ‘ideal’ I suppose in many respects, and exactly the same problem still exists in aviation manufacturing – and quite probably will always remain.
But of course, and in fairness, the Victor along with the Vulcan especially, were radical departures from proven design concepts. They were entering, by and large, into a totally unkown field of aviation endeavour, and consequently it can, I suppose, only be expected that unforeseen glitches would appear. The problem being, and this applies to all three 'V' bombers, that when these glitches did occur, they quite often resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft as they crashed, quite often with the loss of everybody in the crew.
However, when the heavily redesigned and re-engined Victor B.2 came along - it was a game changer - vastly superior. Indeed, it is claimed that at medium fuel loads the Victor K2 tanker could out-climb a fully loaded Mc Donnell Phantom, and in some circumstances out-accelerate in level flight.
THE FIRST PROTOTYPE VICTOR
As it happens, the first prototype Victor, did not make its maiden flight from RADLETT - the airfield was simply too small. It was built at CRICKLEWOOD and transported by road to BOSCOMBE DOWN. Later on, many a tale is told of very senior people in aviation, civil and military, who were astonished that the Victor could use such a small airfield. But it could and did.
In fact the Victor production line was at RADLETT (in "Fred's Shed"), and it is said that a visiting US General was highly impressed with the production lines, but couldn't understand why they were "being built in a barn".
IN PRAISE OF THE VICTOR
In his excellent book Avro 607 Rowland White gives this account of the Victor: “Designed to the same 1940s Air Staff Requirement as the Vulcan, she was the last of the V-bombers to fly. Sir Frederick Handley Page, a giant of the British aviation industry, was stung by the superiority of the Avro Lancaster’s performance over his own wartime four-engined heavy, the Halifax. The company that bore his name didn’t let it happen again. The Handley Page Victor could carry nearly twice the bomb load of the Vulcan and she was faster too – in 1957, test pilots took her through Mach 1, much to the annoyance of the team developing the Vulcan. At the time she was the largest aircraft ever to have broken the sound barrier – and the Observer, sitting in one of the rear-facing crew seats, was the first man to 'break it' travelling backwards.”
“Rivalry between Avro and Handley Page was intense. Crowds at Farnborough were the beneficiaries as the two bombers slugged it out, performing rolls, loops and high-speed Immelman turns – manoeuvres never before seen in aircraft of their great size and weight. Sir Frederick – or HP as he was known – left nothing to chance in competing for the affections of the public and Ministry of Supply. (Note: See my remarks above). He even chose a special colour scheme. The Victor prototype was painted in a striking matt black finish, set off with silver wings and tail. A distinctive red cheatline ran from nose to tail. His futuristic new bomber looked stunning.”
“The Victor was built to slice through the sky at 60,000 feet – twice the height of today’s commercial airliners, (My note: A bit of an exaggeration as heights up to nearly 40,000 feet are common enough), untroubled by the fighters of the day. But when Gary Powers’ U-2 spy plane was shot down by a Soviet Sa-2 surface-to-air missile ‘above 68,000 feet’ over Sverdlovsk, Russia, in 1960, it was obvious that altitude alone no longer offered the V-force and security.
The decision to switch to low-level operations was quickly taken, and it was a decision that would have major consequences for the Victor.”
THE RAF AND THE AIR MINISTRY SCREWED UP
They, and the Air Ministry had been advised that low lovel versions had to be designed and tested. Just like the Vickers Valiant the Victor could not withstand the incredible battering very low-level operations inflicted. Only the Vulcan, apparently built on Victorian cast-iron bridge building engineering principles – or so it seems to me – could take it over a lengthy period.
A USEFUL PERPECTIVE
In their excellent book Victor Boys, Tony Blackman and Garry O'Keefe provide this valuable insight: "After the war, Handley Page turned its hand to the production of the Hastings military transport, already somewhat obsolete with its tail-wheel undercarriage at a time when the much more capable nose-wheel-configured Douglas DC4 had been giving wartime service with the USAF for some years. By the time the Hastings had evolved into the Hermes civil airliner for BOAC it was, yet again, behind the times." My note: The Hermes was a nose-wheel version.
"Douglas was by then producing the larger and more capable DC6." My note; And Lockheed the Super Constellation. It seems odd that British manufacturers could produce bombers which could carry twice the bomb-load of American designs, but none of them could design a decent airliner with real sales appeal. The Vickers Viscount being the exception of course, but that was only for short and medium distance routes.
"HP's last civil airliner was the 40-passenger Herald which could not match the Avro 748 or the Fokker F27 which, between them, went on to capture the whole of the 1,000 aircraft DC3 replacement market throughout the world." My note; except in the USA, although Fokker made some sales.
"It was against this somewhat modest background that Handley Page produced, out of the blue, what was undoubtedly one of the most aerodynamically advanced and highest performing four-engine jet aircraft in the world at that time."
They also added: "That the resulting HP proposal would come to fruition was both a remarkable and a colossal achievement, despite causing later bewilderment to one visiting American General who, while praising the later Victor production line at "Fred's Shed" asked why 'they had to be built in a barn'."
I suppose it should be mentioned that many components for Handley Page aircraft were being built at their CRICKLEWOOD factory, although the aerodrome had long been closed. That aerodrome was, at one short period after WW2 the first 'proper' international airport. See CRICKLEWOOD for more info.
A WORD PICTURE OF RADLETT
I came across am interesting description of Handley Page production facilities at RADLETT in British Midland Airways by Captain B G Cramp. This concerned the first turbo-prop airliner acquired by British Midland, the second-hand ex-Sadia Airways Herald G-ASKK. “The Company Directors and Senior Management attended the handing-over ceremony at the Handley Page factory at Radlett. It seemed a strange production line for a civil airliner, if the term production line applies, for the Heralds under construction were being built in between Handley Page Victor V-bombers which themselves were either being built or were being modified or overhauled. It all sounds a ‘bit knockabout’ but perhaps the truth is that a flexible plan was in place to exploitevery square foot of available space?
THE TOUCAN
Handley Page closed down in 1970 but almost incredibly a band of employees, known as the Hertfordshire Pedal Aeronauts stayed on at the site. This group had been enthusiastically supported by Handley Page, and, having been provided with their own building, this enabled them to keep working on the Toucan man-powered aircraft. This had been developed to compete for the £50,000 Kremer prize, awarded to the first man-powered aircraft to complete a figure of eight over a mile in distance.
On the 23rd December 1972, ‘powered’ by crew member Derek May and pilot Brian Bowen, the Toucan flew. Just 70 yards on that first flight although they eventually achieved 700 yards with the later version Toucan II. It was a most remarkable aircraft with a span of 123ft, and when the wings developed enough lift for take-off the tips flexed upwards by 16ft! On that first flight the Toucan became famous for being the first ‘two-seat’ man-powered aircraft in the world!
Note:Even though by then basically a gravel extraction site, the runway layout can still be discerned.
In 2006 it was reported that the last architectural remnants of the Handley Page era were due for demolition.
AN INTERESTING STORY
In November 2021 I was kindly contacted by Mr Tony Gomersal who sent this account of his father, Sgt Arthur Morton, who crashed his Harrow into a train. The accident report states:
"Took off from RAF Feltwell, Norfolk, carrying pilots to Handley Page Aircraft at Radlett Aerodrome, Hertfordshire, where they were to collect Harrow aircraft that had been assigned to 214 Squadron. On approach to the airfield, Sgt Morton's Harrow clipped a train and crash-landed in a field near Napsbury, West of London Colney, Hertfordshire. K6940 hit the 10.25 a.m. LMS express train from St Pancras to Manchester which was travelling at 60 m.p.h. and most of the kitchen car's roof had been ripped off. The Harrow was carrying six passengers at the time, the pilot and an officer on board suffered severe cuts to the head, while the remainder escaped with bruises and shock. The dining saloon staff were uninjured. Wreckage recovered to Radlett, K6940 was later broken down to spares."
Seems a story well worth telling, as, as far as I am aware, this is the only account in the U.K. of an aircraft colliding in flight with any sort of train?
AND YET MORE HISTORY
I have been very kindly supplied by Grant Peerless author of UK Airfields Past and Present (A directory of airfields from 1908 to 2018), much more information regarding Sir Alan Cobham's visit in 1929 during his Municipal Aerodrome Campaign. There are some doubts today about just how many venues he succeeded in visiting, but the original plan was to visit 107 locations.
SIR ALAN COBHAM’S VISIT TO ST ALBANS 19 SEPTEMBER 1929
Sir Alan Cobham’s 1929 tour of the British Isles in DH61 Giant Moth G-AAEV Youth of Britain, set up in order to encourage Local Authorities to provide municipal aerodromes, visited St Albans on 19 September, but he actually landed at Radlett aerodrome, 2.5 miles south east of the City Centre. The event was reported comprehensively in the local press both before and afterwards, as referred to in the following reports. In the days leading up to the event Cobham’s 1928 film ‘Round Africa with Cobham’ was shown at the local Chequers cinema and a public meeting was held on the actual day, as mentioned in the newspaper report.
Unfortunately no municipal aerodrome for St Albans was established as a result of Cobham’s visit, but a short-lived private aerodrome at St Julians operated by the Hertfordshire Flying Club was in use from January 1933 to July 1934.
SIR ALAN COBHAM’S PROPOSED VISIT TO RADLETT AERODROME
Sir Alan Cobham, the famous English pioneer of long-distance flying, is to visit the aerodrome which is in course of erection by Messrs Handley-Page Ltd at Radlett next Thursday, in pursuance of his tour of the aerodromes of the British Isles, in his airliner “Youth of Britain”.
The main object of Sir Alan’s tour is to give flights to the civic authorities and to a number of local children, in order to promote a better understanding of the possibilities of aviation, for the future population of the country. It is the firm belief of the aviation company, with which Sir Alan is connected, that the future of the British Isles is wrapped up in the development of flying activities, and it is Sir Alan’s personal opinion that the chief cause of our backwardness in aviation is the lack of landing grounds. To expect civil flying to develop without landing grounds, he says, is similar to experiencing the development of major transport with no roads, or trade by sea with no harbours. Sir Alan Cobham expects to visit over one hundred towns altogether, and as at all the previous centres he has visited, he hopes to have the honour of taking the Mayor and Mayoress of St Albans, the Town Clerk, the Borough Surveyor, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, the Chairman of the Rotary Club and the Chairman of the Education Committee, for flights in order that he may show them something of their town from the air and demonstrate to them the usefulness and practicability of flying.
Free flights for school children have been made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor*, 10,000 flights having distributed between different centres throughout the country. After the flights for the civic authorities and the school children, an opportunity will be given to the public if there is sufficient demand.
Building operations have started this week on the aerodrome at Radlett, and the landing ground itself is cleared and ready for use. As regards the general scheme of the aerodrome, the “Herts Advertiser” was informed by Messrs Handley Page Ltd, that this is still rather “in the air”, but there is no doubt that it will be an important centre of the firm’s activities.
Members of the St Albans City Council have been invited to form a civic party for the first eight by Sir Alan from the Colney Street Aerodrome. Officers of the Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, together with selected school children and representative teachers will also go up with Sir Alan, the “Herts Advertiser” is informed. The Mayor of St Albans (Mr W S Green) has arranged to invite the members of the City Council to supper at his Mayor’s parlour at 8pm, on Thursday, when Sir Alan and Capt. Stewart, his manager, will be the guests of his Worship. After supper, a public meeting, arranged by the St Albans City Council, will be held in the Assembly Room at the Town Hall, at 9pm, when Sir Alan will speak on “Civil Aviation and Municipal Aerodromes”.
*Sir Charles Wakefield, founder of the Castrol Oil Company
ARTICLE ONE: Herts Advertiser Friday 13 September 1929
THE FUTURE OF FLYING
The passage of Sir Alan Cobham’s luxury air liner, “Youth of Britain” over St Albans and district yesterday and the fact that it contained, as passengers, representatives of the various public bodies and other representative citizens, proved a very effective means of stimulating public interest in the campaign upon which Sir Alan is now engaged. The primary object of that campaign is to arouse interest in civil aviation, particularly to induce Municipal Authorities to take a definite part in providing municipal landing grounds for aviators. Men and women who have reached middle age are able to recall the wonderful advance that has been made, within their comparatively short memory, in means and methods of transport. With the rapid progress of scientific and engineering knowledge, it is practically certain that still greater strides will be made in the years that lie immediately ahead, and that aviation will become more and more popular as a means of everyday travel, not alone for pleasure but for business purposes where speedy transit is advantageous. It is a privilege not to be lightly valued that this “Prince of Aviators”, whose remarkable feats will always loom large in the history of aviation, should have included Hertfordshire in his present tour, and should have given its people an opportunity of testing for themselves the experience of a flight over country familiar to them from everyday acquaintance and of acquiring a better understanding of the possibilities of flying for the future prosperity of this country. Members and officials of St Albans City Council and others, including one of the proprietors and representatives of this journal, who were “taken up” by Sir Alan, certainly had a most exhilarating experience and those who were novices at flying – as the majority of them were – disembarked without the slightest misgiving as to the safety of such means of travel. Rather they were impressed by the ease and absolute comfort of this journey as the giant Moth circled gracefully over St Albans, affording an altogether novel view of its time-honoured landmarks, leaving the impression of a clean, picturesquely- set town, girdled by far-stretching fields and enriched by luxurious trees, the whole bathed in genial sunshine. Fortified by ripe experience of flights of his world-wide extent, including his recent twenty-thousand miles journey around the Continent of Africa in the flying-boat “Singapore”, for the purposes of surveying the possibilities of the development of British aviation there from a flying-boat point of view. Sir Alan is a convinced believer that the future of Britain is wrapped up in the development of flying activities. If he is able to convince the Municipalities with whom he has come into touch in the course of his present tour that he is right, and to prevail upon them to consider the possibility of providing the necessary landing grounds, he will have rendered another significant achievement to his already worthy record.
WILL ST ALBANS HAVE A MUNICIPAL AERODROME?
It may be truthfully stated that the civic representatives of St Albans who flew with Sir Alan Cobham , the famous airman, yesterday, and saw their city from the air are now thoroughly convinced of the pleasure and comfort of flying, and will be willing to give, at least, due consideration to the possibilities of developing civil aviation.
Sir Alan Cobham’s tour of the British Isles this summer, with his air-liner “Youth of Britain” is with the object of giving flights to the civic authorities and the children in order to generate a better understanding of the possibilities of aviation for the future prosperity of the country and to make the younger generation “air minded”. Sir Alan is personally convinced that the chief cause of the backwardness of aviation in this country is the lack of landing grounds without which, naturally, civil aviation is responsible. If Local Authorities throughout the country co-operate in providing suitable municipal aerodromes – which is what Sir Alan is desirous of bringing about, the whole of the transport system of the country, in regard to both passenger and goods traffic, will be revolutionised and the possibilities opened up are, indeed, vast. Sir Alan inspected hundreds of possible sites to act as temporary landing grounds before deciding the programme of his tour, and St Albans, one of the main traffic routes to the north, was among the centres included.
THE SEVENTY- SEVENTH TOWN
St Albans is the seventy-seventh town that Sir Alan has visited, up to the present, and it is stated that so far he has been successful in getting the municipal authorities of those towns to set aside a sum of money for the purpose of providing municipal aerodromes. Free flights for the schoolchildren have been made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor*, and, 10,000 tickets - 8,000 of which have already been used – have been distributed between the different centres throughout the country. Sir Alan’s flights yesterday took place from the Handley Page Aerodrome, which is in the course of construction at Colney Street, and which was lent for the occasion by Messrs Handley Page Ltd.
The all-British de Havilland Giant Moth aeroplane “Youth of Britain” – very much like a monster blue and grey moth in appearance – landed on the aerodrome shortly after 11am with Sir Alan and his mechanics, who had left Wolverton at 10.45 am, and followed the line of the Watling Street, passing over Dunstable, Luton and St Albans en route. Sir Alan was introduced to the civic authorities by the Town Clerk (Mr W G Marshall) and immediate arrangements were made for their flights by Sir Alan’s capable officials. Among the first to go up were the following members of the St Albans City Council – Alderman W Hitchcock, Councillors F Watson, H S Gibbs, F P Sparrow, F W Denham and J Baum, the Dean of St Albans the Very Rev F L Henderson, Mr M Sizer? (representing St Albans Local Education Sub-Committee, Mr M J White (Chairman of St Albans and District Chamber of Commerce, Mr F C Strofton (representing St Albans Rotary Club), The Town Clerk, City Surveyor (Mr F T Negus), Medical Officer (Mr R R K Paton), Mr H H Carrington (Editor, “Herts Advertiser”) and Miss Baum (St Albans Education Office)
CHILDREN’S JOY
The schoolchildren – boys and girls- representative of each of the elementary schools in St Albans, who were lined up, preparatory for their flights, in charge of Mr F Carter (Assistant Master of Fleetville Schools and Miss Grindley (Headmistress of Alma Road Schools) – who also accompanied them on their flights – were bubbling over with excitement, and Sir Alan could certainly have had no greater admirers. After their trips, which followed on those of the civic authorities, every one of them was determined to become a pilot! Twenty children took part in the flights, as that number of tickets had been issued to the Local Education Authority. With the consent of their parents, six or seven children from each school were chosen, and their applications sent to the Education Office, where the final selection was made by drawing the names out of a hat.
The machine, which has a 72ft wing span, attracted much interest. de Havilland built, it is fitted with a 500hp Armstrong Siddeley “Jaguar” engine, an exact replica of the one which took Sir Alan on his historic Empire flights in 1924, 1925 and 1926. It is capable of attaining a speed of 120 miles per hour. The cabin of the liner is fitted with wicker arm-chair seats and is as comfortable to ride in as a modern saloon or motor-coach. It is over ten years ago, writes a “Herts Advertiser” representative, who was an observer in the RAF during the War, and who accompanied a party on their flight, since I had been in an aeroplane, and to sit in a modern airliner after the old Bristol Fighters of War days was as novel an experience to me as to those who had never flown before.
A CHEERY PARTY
We were a cheery party, and whatever trepidations we may have felt were quickly dispelled, when, after the one quick rush across the aerodrome, we found we were no longer on the ground. Within a few minutes, we were at a height of a thousand feet and speeding smoothly towards St Albans. We might have been seated in a luxury motor-car, travelling at 20miles per hour for all the sensation we felt, in fact, it was more pleasant and comfortable than being in a motor-car, because there were no bumps and nothing to stay our course. It was difficult to realise, however, that instead of at 20 miles per hour- or even “road hogging” at forty – we were travelling at 95 miles per hour, and that within ten minutes we had covered more than fifteen miles, Sir Alan having made a detour round St Albans and back to the Aerodrome.
Looking down, we saw the panorama of the city spread out before us, with all its salient features easily distinguishable. Visibility was good, here the Cathedral, there St Peter’s Church; the cluster of house tops, and the ribbon-like roads radiating between them, with the traffic reduced to the size of children’s toys. Tennis courts looked no larger than billiard tables and the gasometers like inverted thimbles with flat tops. We saw the River Ver winding its torturous course and perhaps a river, more than anything else, looks more imposing from the air than from the ground, especially the Ver! St Albans from the air, with its wide streets and neat compactness, certainly looks a place of which the City Council may be justly proud.
HURRIED IMPRESSIONS
These were of course all hurried impressions, and we should all of us have liked to stay up much longer. Sir Alan, as usual, made a perfect landing, and there was not one of our party who did not wish to go up again. Only one of the party which preceded ours came down looking and feeling ill, but fortunately he had no need to go to a doctor! Alderman W Hitchcock, the oldest member of the party, told me that he thoroughly enjoyed his flight. “It is really fine”, he remarked with enthusiasm, and his colleagues on the Council unanimously endorsed his opinion.
THE MAYOR’S GRATITUDE
Sir Alan, who continued to give flights until dark, took up many parties of the general public, at a fee of 10 shillings a head. Among those who flew in the afternoon were the Mayor of St Albans (Mr W S Green) and Councillor F Cherry. At 6pm, Sir Alan and Lady Cobham and the members of the Corporation were the guests of the Mayor of St Albans at supper in the Mayor’s Parlour. The Mayor, who was accompanied by the Mayoress, presided, and in toasting Sir Alan and Lady Cobham, said he was profoundly grateful that all this colleagues had arrived safely, and apparently in great form. For that, they owed Sir Alan a great debt of gratitude – (laughter)
He thought it would be no exaggeration to say that Sir Alan must be “sick to death” of all the speeches he had heard delivered by Mayors of all sorts and conditions, but he had never heard one before from the Mayor of St Albans, so, in that respect, at least, the occasion was unique. The Corporation of St Albans was a very ancient one; the history of the town went back for more than 2,000 years, and they were very proud of it. The town was noted for its fighting spirit, and had witnessed stirring scenes and welcomed many distinguished men, but he ventured to say that few had reached this amazing position - the national position that Sir Alan had reached by his feats in the sphere of flying. They were very grateful to him for honouring the Corporation of St Albans by his presence at their humble feast, and their presence had been greatly added to by the presence of Lady Cobham (applause).
In reply, Sir Alan Cobham exaggerated appreciation of the reception accorded him since his arrival at St Albans. Of all the towns he had visited, he could not remember having been given a more hearty reception than he has received there.
PLEASURE IN GIVING PLEASURE
“It is a great pleasure to be amongst you, continued Sir Alan. People often say to me ‘aren’t you tired with giving flight after flight ‘, but I can tell you now there is an enormous amount of pleasure in giving pleasure to others, and I am simply lucky. “There is also great fun in reassuring people who are not sure about flying - to watch them go up with a certain amount of trepidation and to see them come away with beaming faces (with rare exceptions, he added”, amid laughter) “It has given me great pleasure to come here today, because I really have had such a hearty reception from the civic authorities. The Mayor, unfortunately, could not get down to the aerodrome this morning, but he came this afternoon and made up for the time, because he entered so heartily, and with such a wonderful spirit into flying”
The Assembly Room at the Town Hall was crowded long before nine o’clock, when Sir Alan addressed a public meeting on ‘Civil Aviation and the Establishment of Municipal Aerodromes’ The Mayor, who presided, said that , in the past, he had said very hard things about flying machines, and that nothing would induce him to go into one – that terra firma was the proper place for all sane and reasonable human beings, but that afternoon he felt - not literally , because he flew up and a very exhilarating experience it was. He was now present publicly to say that he wanted to withdraw all the hard things he had said about the dangers of flying and the inconvenience it caused to the individual. “The only regret I have”, he added “is that it ended much too soon”
FUTURE TRANSPORT
He was positive that flying would be one of the greatest means of transport in the future, and so far as his own experience went, it was a most delightful way of getting from place to place. St Albans had had the honour of welcoming one of the great pioneers of flying in Sir Alan Cobham. His wonderful achievements were well known and as English people, they were proud of them and of the part Sir Alan had played. They were grateful to him too, for the amazing spread of knowledge of the remote places which he had visited, and which he had passed onto them through the medium of a London newspaper.
Sir Alan’s name would go down in history as one of our greatest pioneers. Unlike many of the pioneers, he had lived long enough to reap some of the rewards of his magnificent efforts, and they hoped that the future would see for Sir Alan even greater rewards than he had reaped in the past (applause)
Sir Alan said he was present to urge the necessity of providing landing grounds in every town and village throughout the British Isles. That was the main object of his tour. The whole trouble today in British civil aviation was that we had no facilities for flying. Even if I had an aeroplane, it was no use, because there was nowhere to land.
“FLYING AS COMMON AS MOTORING”
He was firmly convinced, from his own experience during the past eight or nine years, that if there was a landing ground in every town and village throughout the British Isles, flying would become as common as motoring in five or six years. He spoke of his own experience in the development of air survey work, and of how it had now become a science which enabled vast areas to be surveyed in a few months, which would, in the ordinary way, have taken many years.
He described in a bright way his pioneer experiences in air-taxi work in Europe, and of the immense strides that had been made on the Continent during the past eight years in civil aviation. Old, disused aerodromes which he visited then were now flourishing airports, with aeroplanes arriving and departing like clockwork. Today they were to be found in every capital and town throughout Europe; and in Germany, in nearly every village, there were air services running in all directions as a recognised means of transportation.
“Then I came to England, and find it is in practically the same state, so far as practical facilities for air services are concerned, as it was eight years ago” added Sir Alan Cobham. Sir Alan went on to speak of his difficulty in convincing the authorities of the practicability of our air mail route to India, and of how that had now been accomplished, with aeroplanes flying to scheduled times. Similarly, he spoke of his endeavours to convince the authorities of the practicability of an air route from London to Cape Town – a journey which he accomplished in fifteen days – and which still remains a record. He was confident, however, that by this time next year it would be possible for a person in St Albans to fly to Croydon, step into an air liner and fly on a direct air-map route across Africa to Cape Town.
Turning to the scheme for the development of civil aviation in England, Sir Alan pointed out that, with a landing ground in every town and village in the British Isles, it would be possible to fly in a straight line from anywhere to anywhere, and what a vast possibility for speedy transportation would thus be opened up!
When he started the scheme, two years ago, he wrote 1,500 letters to municipal authorities, and received two or three hundred replies. He had been amused to read in the local press of the criticism levelled at his suggestion for the establishment of aerodromes when his letters were read in open Council.
This year, he had written to seven hundred municipal authorities, and had received seven hundred replies. Everybody was interested, and thanks to the generosity of the anonymous donor, who had made it possible for 10,000 children to fly, the rising generation was becoming greatly interested and ‘air-minded’ “I want to get one hundred landing grounds in the making by the end of this year” continued Sir Alan “and I want to see five hundred in the making by the end of 1930; and then we shall be reaching our goal in respect of flying facilities”.
NATION OF TRANSPORTERS
He strongly appealed to the public to support this enterprise, and added “We are a nation of transporters, and have been for centuries. All the great air-routes of the world pass over the British Empire, and if we don’t run them, somebody else will. We have a good start in this country with light aeroplanes and private owners, and we want to force the issue and create a gigantic demand for aeroplanes”.
“An aerodrome for St Albans can do no harm”, professed Sir Alan “it can only do good by putting you in touch with every other town in the British Isles, under the Air Transport scheme, and in direct touch with the Continent. It is not an expensive matter; it is purely the purchase of land and the levelling of it - and after that I think the job is done , because all the rest can be done, as a rule, by sub-letting part of the site to light aeroplane clubs, air-taxi services, and private owners. I feel sure that, in a few year’s time, with rents from sites on the aerodrome and sites round the aerodrome, the money collected would at least defray the interest charges on the capital expenditure”
In conclusion, Sir Alan said the public would be interested to know ‘what he was getting out of all of this’. All he desired was to become the professional consultant to the municipal authorities establishing aerodromes, as the selection of an aerodrome site was a highly-specialised work. Sir Alan was thanked by the Mayor for his address. After the meeting he was besieged by autograph collectors, but pleaded to be excused.
Three photographs taken at Radlett Aerodrome captioned ‘To Promote Civil Aviation’
1.Sir Alan Cobham, the “Prince of Aviators” yesterday was in St Albans in connection with his scheme for the promotion of civil flying and the establishment of a chain of municipal landing grounds. Sir Alan, with representatives of other public bodies with whom he took for flights in the Giant Moth airliner “Youth of Britain”
2. 12 lucky school children who were invited to participate in the flights
3. Sir Alan Cobham arriving at the landing ground
Herts Advertiser Friday 20 September 1929
Again I would just like to extend my thanks to Grant Peerless for providing such content and amazing information!
Rob
This comment was written on: 2018-07-04 15:31:54Always remember peering through the fence as a kid and seeing the occasional Victor
Kirsten
This comment was written on: 2020-06-02 19:02:59Hi do you know if the airfield was ever co_owned by a Tommie Morgan?
Dick Flute
This comment was written on: 2020-06-02 19:59:18Hi Kirsten, Not as far as I know. But I shall keep this posted as Handley Page must have acquired from somebody. Best regards, Dick
Rob
This comment was written on: 2020-06-28 12:56:52The Handley Page name lives on. Several Bricket Wood streets were made for workers there and there are signs up referring to the "Handley Page" residential area.
Richard Graham
This comment was written on: 2020-11-27 11:32:33Great read, thanks. C1966 four of us ATC cadets (RAE Llanbedr) were attending an ROC day at Valley. There was a Hastings giving flights round Anglesey for ROC members and we entered the line, boarded the aircraft and bingo! On landing we were met and escorted to the guardroom where the senior cadet, a corporal, was demoted on the spot. Dim regrets as we say in Wales. stay safe
Aleks
This comment was written on: 2021-01-14 02:19:15Cricklewood was after WW1 (not 2) Colney Street is the southern end of Radlett Airfield where HP's later admin block was built London Colney different place was a WW1 RFC training field, also a micro-light field is nearby and close to the site of the Mosquito prototype assembly and first flight. Now the DeHavilland museum at Salsbury Hall.
Colin Bowles
This comment was written on: 2021-02-12 16:14:06I was in the HP drawing office between 1956/66, first at Cricklewood and then Park Street from 1958. Two, among several, incidents that I recall involved the Herald. One was the filming of a ‘Big Fry’ chocolate bar tv ad in the Park Street hangar, using a test plane. Models as cabin crew were seen smiling out of the windows, as son to James Bond, George Lazenby, was filmed descending from the rear port exit carrying a small packing case branded with the product. The second viewed from the D O windows involved a Herald that had been sold and delivered to St Helier in Jersey. On final approach the port side undercarriage leg had failed to deploy. Rather than attempt a landing, and subsequent repairs remotely, the Herald returned home. We observed the plane approach over St Albans and touch down on the grass between the main runway and the railway, using the nose and starboard wheels only. The ferry pilot feathered the port prop and managed to hold the wing aloft until something approaching walking pace was achieved. Apart from a bent prop and minor wing tip scuffing, little damage was involved.
Colin Bowles
This comment was written on: 2021-02-14 15:16:42I worked in the HP drawing offices between 1956/66. My understanding from those days was that The Vale, between Claremont Road, and the Hendon way had been the original HP runway. Sir Frederick, seeing the potential for residential development instructed his Test Pilot, a Major Cordes, to fly a route following the adjacent London to Bedford railway line north(ish) to locate a suitable site fir a new airfield. Reasoning that components could be manufactured in Cricklewood and transported by rail for assembly. Hence the Radlett facility came into being.
Ian O'Connor
This comment was written on: 2026-01-11 18:08:53Sometime in the 2000's I past the end of the runway on the A405 between Park Street and London Colney Roundabout and the was something like a Twin Beech at the end of the runway Not to my hope a re-opening of the Field but this twin had performed an emergency landing after a door had come partly open In my very early life there was a kids playground where you could glimpse Victor tails from the top of the slide. In later life working on the for site a James Bond film was made on the site as we worked next door.
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