Bouldnor Farm
BOULDNOR FARM: Private airfield (Aka YARMOUTH)
WARNING: The initial information below is incorrect. I have left it in place as a lesson to prove that assumptions made from text evidence can easily be very misleading despite having the best intentions. Plus, as I was taught when learning to fly , don't make assumptions - CHECK! Easily said of course, but in this case when I wanted to add this airstrip - check against what?
Note: These pictures were obtained from Google Earth ©
Operated by: Mr H M Kendall
Location: Just W of the B3401, just SW of Bouldnor village and about 0.5nm SE of Yarmouth town centre
Period of operation: Not known exactly. Apparently from the mid 1960s to ?
NOTES: We have Mr Graham Frost to thank, a great friend of this 'Guide', for pointing out this general location - which needed a bit of looking into to say the least.
There is a fair amount of info on the inter-web but I was not at all convinced that the correct location had been identified. Looking at Google Earth © images, I now think, (or hope?), that I have found the correct location. This said, the site I think might be the one used, appears to be on Thorley Farm.
If correct, the runways appear to have been:
08/26 450 grass 10/28 520 grass 01/19 290 grass
Note: The latter for use when very strong southerly winds were encountered?
END OF WARNING
SOME BACKGROUND INFO
Mr H M Kendall was a test pilot for Miles/Handley Page whilst at WOODLEY and had purchased the Jodel D.150 Mascaret G-ASRT from Rollasons at CROYDON, registering it on the 20th May 1964. He is also the 'Kendall' in the Somers-Kendall SK.1 jet powered air racer built at WOODLEY. See my entry for WOODLEY to see a picture.
In those days the Jodel Mascaret was, from a test pilots point of view, vastly superior to the incoming 'Spam Cans' the Americans were importing - but it did need to be kept in a hangar, which it was.
It appears that he moved to BOULDNOR FARM on the Isle of Wight, (which he describes as being YARMOUTH), in the mid 1960s, apparently for a job test flying the then new Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander which first flew on the 13th of June 1965. It seems he commuted from BOULDNOR FARM to BEMBRIDGE in the Jodel on a regular basis. A distance of just 16 or so miles, a few minutes by air, but something of a nightmare by road, especially in the holiday season.
As always in this 'Guide', if anybody can kindly offer advice and information, this will be much appreciated. See below.
THE PROBLEM SOLVED - WELL, ALMOST?
In February 2026 I was very kindly contacted by Mr Pete Turton. He purchased G-ASRT from Hugh Kendall in early 1992 and flew it back to Cheshire. The airstrip and hangar were on the north side of the A3054, and has noted that there was/is a Wing Cottage on the north side of the A3054, which may well be another clue? The strip was roughly N/S and about 200m long at best, and, uphill to the north. No problem getting out to the south but no chance of a go-around on short finals approaching towards the north.
As Pete also wisely points out, things can easily change quite dramatically over some thirty five years. Fields can be planted with trees for example, some now reaching maturity, so has added other options for the actual location.
The revised local area view is from my Google Earth© derived database.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Having seen my revised version of BOULDNOR FARM, Pete Turton contacted me once again, and had given the subject a lot more thought, plus using Google Earth©. He is now 90% certain that the field No.4 (above) is the actual field, and, although now extended, also still has the hangar. He had not realised that the original field (No.1) that he had selected was barely 200m long. Field No.4 has a maximum run, 02/20 of 340 metres, (according to Google Earth©), so much more sensible with a rise of around 40ft to the north.
NOTES: I have kept this story running as it is a very good example of so many problems I have had trying to produce a 'Guide' over the last quarter of a century. This said, almost from the start I realised that the 'Guide' should also be about posing questions, rather than always attempting to provide answers. Indeed, barely a week goes by without making amendments, or even a major re-write in some cases, as new information comes to light.
When I started this project the intention was to produce a book, which soon progressed into a series of books. If that had come about they could long ago been consigned to the recycling bin. Once having a web-site as an option, the solution became obvious as it could easily be amended time and time again. Traditionally historians I am told, or very many at least, love to pin things down and take the credit for doing so. Very often producing a fine book. I will never claim to be a historian of course, (don't have the qualifications), but this project, which I was kindly advised was impossible from the start, (how true!), certainly has taught me just how fluid the study of recent history can be.
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