Aylestone Lane
Note: Many years ago I made this comment: "This map only shows my guess as to roughly where this venue was located. Aylestone Lane, now the B5418, is quite a long road and has, without any doubt, changed in character considerably since 1919. If anybody can kindly provide advice on the subject, this will be most welcme." It took a while, but eventually I got the answer?
AYLESTONE LANE: Temporary aerodrome
NOTE: The first mention of what might well be this location, given that the options seem rather limited, is in this advert, placed in the Leicester Daily Mercury on the 4th May 1914. B C Hucks, the first British pilot to perform a loop at HENDON in the UK, giving exhibitions on the 6th, 7th and 9th May.
Location: About 2.25nm SSW of Leicester City centre
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
I only had just one set of dates for the Berkshire Aviation Company operating here in 1919. So, we have Mike Holder, a long term friend of this 'Guide' to thank for researching this subject - with surprising results. It now appears that three visits were made in quick succession.
Period of intended operation:
Ist visit: 23rd to 28th July 2nd visit: 1st to 6th August 3rd visit: 1st to 7th September, then extended to 12th to 14th
It should also be noted that in the adverts, although the walking distance time to the venue varies, it must most probably (?), be the same location.
Advert One was placed in the Leicester Daily Mercury on the17th July 1919.
Advert Two was placed in the Leicester Daily Mercury on the 29th July 1919. Advert Three was placed in the Leicester Evening Mail on the 1st August.
The Advert Four was placed in the Leicester Evening Mail on the 30th August 1919.
The Notice was published in the Leicester Daily Mercury on the 11th September 1919. The short article was published in the Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal on the 12th September 1919.
The local area and area views are from my Google Earth© derived database. The Wikipedia excerpt shows how diligent Mike Holder is in trying to pinpoint this venue, given a clue in Advert Three.
NOTES: In the account given by Colin Cruddas in his excellent book Those Fabulous Flying Years, he says that the first example of ‘wing-walking’ in the UK took place on August Bank Holiday Monday in Leicester 1919. Both Jack Holmes and Mr R Graham-Wolland, (a member of the Berkshire Aviation ground support team), very daringly volunteered to undertake these duties. They had so support frames and harnesses in those days!
For me, standing on the top wing of a biplane hanging onto a single wire or rope seems both incredibly brave and downright stupid. But they didn’t have Health & Safety officials breathing down their necks in those days and the stunt was a huge crowd-puller, the main reason for doing it of course.
We'd love to hear from you, so please scroll down to leave a comment!
Leave a comment ...
Copyright (c) UK Airfield Guide
