Waterloo Crossing
WATERLOO CROSSING: Temporary aerodrome
Operated by: Berkshire Aviation Company
Location: Just SE of Wokingham town centre
Period of operation: 6th to 15th December 1922
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
We have Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', to thank for discovering this rare and little known venue.
The article was published in the Reading Observer on the 15th December 1922.
The Notice was published in the Westminster Gazette on the 13th December 1922.
NOTES: Without too much doubt Berkshire Aviation stationed just one aircraft at this venue, which was common practice for the company. The newspaper short article simply refers to, "The aviator".
Almost certainly one of their Avro 504K types, converted, almost certainly by Avro (?), to carry two passengers in the front cockpit. The Avro 504K was the main choice of aeroplane for Berkshire Aviation, and between 1919 and the 1930s are known to have operated twenty four examples.
It is not known if just the one pilot, Mr Woods, carried out all the displays and joyrides? In this 'Guide' it has been quite important to try and get peoples names correctly spelt. The Notice above refers to a Mr Sidney Woods, but, another highly respected source of information states that he was Mr Sydney F Woods. Any advice will be much appreciated.
We do not know exactly which field was used at W T Shefford's farm, and this has often been a constant problem in compiling this 'Guide'. The two Google Earth pictures that Mike has provided amply illustrates, even in recent years, just how dramatically the nature of just a small area can be transformed.
We'd love to hear from you, so please scroll down to leave a comment!
Leave a comment ...
Copyright (c) UK Airfield Guide
