Stratford-upon-Avon racecourse
STRATFORD-upon-AVON RACECOURSE: Temporary aerodrome
Operated by: Mr R E Brian Hunt and Mr Dukinfield Jones
Location: Roughly 1nm SW of Stratford town centre
Period of operation: From the 9th May 1914 to ? (Also the 10th, perhaps even the 11th?)
Small note: In those days Stratford-upon-Avon was known more simply as Stratford-on-Avon
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
We have Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', to thank for both discovering this venue and for providing the following items.
The two adverts were both published in the Stratford-on-Avon Herald. The first on the 1st May and the second on the 8th May.
Note that in the first advert the second pilot was Mr V Gaskell Blackburn, but, on the second advert he had been replaced by Mr Dukinfield Jones. Why this change came about is not known, but we need to remember, in those days flying was still a risky business in all sorts of ways.
The article in two parts was published in the Stratford-on-Avon Herald on the 15th May 1914.
The local area and area views are from my Google Earth © derived database. Please note that a great many of the locations listed in this 'Guide' are not 'pinned' on the database.
NOTES: When I started this project now over a quarter of a century ago, (this being in 2025), I thought I knew a thing or two about our aviation history - and, I was quite correct. I did indeed know a thing or two, but nothing more! It has been an amazing voyage of discovery, and still hasn't let up. New locations are still being added nigh on every week. This being a fine excample.
Perhaps the biggest revelation was just how much flying was going on in the U.K. prior to WW1. The British were late in getting going, especially compared to the French who were then world leaders in powered fixed-wing aviation by 1909. But, as I hope this 'Guide' is helping to prove, once we really got going, with a lot of help from French aviators leading the way in most repects, such as Henri Salmet especially being the 'super-star' from 1912 to 1914.
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