Grange-over-Sands
GRANGE-over-SANDS: Temporary Landing Ground
Operated by: Golden Eagle Aviation
Location: Just E of Grange-over-Sands village, about 8nm E/ENE of Ulverston town centre and 10nm N of Morecombe town centre
Period of operation: 21st February 1920
NOTE: It appears that further visits were planned by Golden Eagle Aviation but to date, (December 2025), no evidence has been found. If anybody can kindly offer advice, this will be much appreciated.
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
We have to thank Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', for both discovering this venue and providing the following items to illustrate the listing.
As Mike points out, the landing location was certainly not in the southern or south-west part of the golf course, as this is covered by drainage ditches in 1920.
This article, together with the illustration, was published in the Barrow News on the 28th February 1920, and were clearly conflating two entirely different operations.
Golden Eagle Aviation were operating eight Airco DH.6s converted to carry a pilot plus two passengers from their base at SQUIRES GATE, Blackpool. Assuming that the artist doing the illustration was supplied with accurate information (?), the Avro 504K G-EAIB (ex D9303), was at that time registered to J D V Holmes Aviation Company, who was also a director with the Berkshire Aviation Company. He resigned from the latter in 1923. It all gets very complicated but it seems likely that G-EAIB was, at that time, mainly employed doing joy-riding flights when this promotional venture was offered?
The two excerpts are from Amounderness.
The advert was placed in the Accrington Observer and Times on the 10th July 1920, and was clearly keen to announce this venue as an 'aerodrome' of sorts.
NOTES: The area view is from my Google Earth© derived database. Regarding the advert above I was interested to see that a 'Landing Ground' was on offer. In compiling this 'Guide' it has long been a constant problem trying to define with any accuracy, what so many locations can best be described as. The answer being that it has been, usually, more a question of a hunch, or guesswork. Problem being that these terms, over time, overlap, and often defy a clear definition. Like for example, what exactly differentiates, these days, an aerodrome from an airfield?
The term 'aerodrome' is French, and goes back to the start of powered aviation when it was a defined area in which flying took place. The term 'airfield', unless I am very much mistaken (?), came from the USA.
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