Witney
Note: This map only shows the location of Witney town within the UK.
WITNEY: Military aerodrome in WW1
Note: These four maps and pictures were kindly provided by Mr Michael T Holder
Military users: RFC/RAF Training Squadron Station and Training Depot Station
Types: (Avro 504Ks, de Havilland DH.5s and Bristol F.2Bs)
Location: Now an industrial estate, just S of the B4047, about 0.5nm N of the modern A40 bypass, about 1nm E of Minster Lovell and about 1.5nm WNW of Witney town centre
Period of operation: 1917 to 1919
Site area: 215 acres 1006 x 823
Note: There is a major problem today in that almost everybody ignores, on the internet, copyright law. These pictures have been sent to me with the very best of intentions, and indeed might well be free of copyright. This said, it could well be, after a bit of asking and searching around, that the original pictures are in the Witney Museum?
NOTES: According to information kindly provided my Colin Taylor, ('Culham Ticket Office' website), Berkshire Aviation Tours moved their operation from YEW TREE FARM, East Hanney in BERKSHIRE) in 1926. They were amalgamated with Northern Air Lines to form Northern Air Transport in 1929. This firm was based at BARTON (LANCASHIRE) and operated more than twenty Avro 504Ks which were all painted red and silver.
In December 1932 the site was taken over by Universal Air Services. The Witney & Oxford Flying Club was formed in 1934 and had its official opening on the 8th June the following year. Also based at WITNEY was the Witney Aeronautical College which was a residential flying school offering practical training in flying, navigation, wireless and engineering - which, they said, would lead to 'an assured career in commercial flying or engineering.
The aerodrome became a de Havilland repair facility during WWII. Notice to close the Witney Aerodrom was issued on 11th March 1949 and de Havilland left the site in the August which marked the end of flying there.
Operated by: 1930s: Universal Aircraft Services
Aero Club: Witney & Oxford Flying Club
Note: This picture from a postcard was kindly provided by Colin Taylor.
My notes: Ex-F8865 in RAF service, G-EBOB was first registered to 'Fred' F G V Holmes at WITNEY on 10.05.26 and was WFU (Withdrawn From Use) 03.03.29. For some odd reason the registration doesn't appear to have been cancelled until December 1931. It therefore appears that G-EBOB was purchased at almost the same time that Berkshire Aviation moved in.
Other users: Berkshire Aviation Tours, de Havilland (during WW2)
Location: On the west side of Witney, just outside the old town limits, S of the A40 in those days, N of the A40 present day by-pass
Period of operation: 1926 to 1949
Runway: 1930s: 795 grass
FLYING CIRCUS VENUES
Venue (2nd May 1933) for Alan Cobham’s No.1 Tour of the UK
Venue (16th April 1935) for Alan Cobham’s Tour of the UK
MORE NOTES
Listed in Flying – The Light Aeroplane Weekly as a Landing Ground in their compilation of UK Flying Clubs & Landing Grounds 1933-34.
The first flight of the Chilton (misspelt by me initially - see 'Comment') DW1 G-AESZ was made here, flown by Ranald Porteous, (later of Auster fame), in April 1937.
WITNEY was listed as a civil aerodrome in an airfield guide published in 1939 by the Reading Aero Club and kindly shown to me by the Museum of Berkshire Aviation.
A SPIFFING YARN
During WW2, at least in the earlier stages, de Havilland had a contract to repair Spitfires here. In his most excellent autobiography A Willingness To Die Brian Kingcome describes being detached to nearby BIBURY whilst in 92 Squadron, (based at LLANELLI), and making contact with an old family friend, Philip Gordon-Marshall who was ‘running the show’ at WITNEY. Kingcome used to often fly in for a visit in a Spitfire. Being a de Havilland affair there were a few ‘Moths’ around the place and Philip managed to get one appropriated for Brians personal use. In 1940 fighter pilots had enormous ‘street-cred’.
I’ll quote: “The aeroplane was a Puss Moth, tiny, but with an enclosed cabin seating three, and capable of landing on the proverbial sixpence. We used it for pub crawling. From the air we would spot what looked like a likely pub with a field adjacent, make a few passes to move any sheep or cattle and clear a landing space, then set down as close to the pub as possible. Once on the ground we would tether the the Puss Moth to the handiest fence.”
“Almost invariably we would hardly have finished tying the knot before an air-raid warden or Home Guard member appeared from nowhere and offered to stand guard over our machine for us. Accepting these offers always made me feel faintly uneasy and embarrassed. It hardly seemed the correct use of His Majesty’s forces, even if they were from a volunteer sector. Had the plane been a Spitfire, and had I been on a mission to sink something more war-worthy than a few pints, the case would have been different. It seemed most unlikely that any self-respecting spy or fifth columnist was going to risk his neck hijacking a toy aeroplane that was already in widespread use throughout the Continent, including Germany. However, these impromptu guardians seemed to derive genuine satisfaction from the job and it would have seemed churlish to tell them not to worry. No doubt it relieved them the boredom of staring at nothing but sheep.”
Today of course the notion that you’d fly off in a Puss Moth, sink a few pints, and then fly back, is utterly outrageous. As is the notion of flying any aircraft after sinking a few pints of beer. But, please do bear in mind, Brian Kingcome was one of our finest fighter pilots during WW2. And, let’s face it, after mastering flying a Spitfire in combat during the Battle of Britain, flying a Puss Moth when half-pissed is hardly going to be a problem - is it? Plus, quite possibly, he then climbed into his Spitfire to fly back to Bibury?
It must be also borne in mind that a large number of fighter pilots (and other aircrw members on bombers etc) would often go on a bender when flying had ceased for the day, knowing full well they may well have to up at dawn the following morning - so 'well over the limit' as we see it today. One favourite method of clearing a hangover was, before taking off, to have a good snort of oxygen through the face-mask. Apparently this worked wonders. It might seem incredible to younger readers, but in those days this was viewed as totally acceptable behaviour.
Jane De Swardt
This comment was written on: 2018-01-22 12:09:52My mother worked at Witney during WW2 repairing Spitfires
Gordon Clack
This comment was written on: 2018-03-05 18:13:22de Havillands did not take over the airfield until the Second Word War when it became a Civilian Repair Organisation. Their role was to repair and overhaul war-damaged Spitfires, Hurricanes and all DH types. At one time it had there a DH95 Flamingo R2766, reserved for the King and Royal Family to escape if Germany invaded. The first De Havilland Canada Chipmunk arrived there in crates which were unloaded and the Chipmunk assembled for its first flight. The Flight Shed Foreman, Fred Dawson, had the wood from the crates to make his garage doors and to the best of my knowledge, they are still there at his former house at nearby Minster Lovell. Fred emigrated to Australia, came back to Witney for a visit and I took him to see if his ex-Chipmunk crate garage doors were still there. They were! It was the CHILTON DW.1 which first flew at Witney, not the Chiltern. I was the "gopher" in the Flight Shed at 15 and after Flt Lt Richard Jones, the RAF pilot left at the end of the war, the planes were test flown by pilots from DH HQ at Hatfield, who often flew down in a DH94 Moth Minor. It was often Peter de Havilland and I always hung about to cadge a ride if there was a spare seat. Eventually, I didn't have to ask and he would say: "Come on, then!" I remember flying DOWN Witney High Street with him in a Tiger Moth. Little did I know that a few years later I would be flying the DH100 Vampire in the RAF.
Reply from Dick Flute:
Hi Gordon, Many thanks indeed. All great stuff and some lovely memories. Best regards, Dick
Pete Dorward
This comment was written on: 2018-09-23 16:35:50You might like to see my (now rather old) website called WW2 Airfields of Oxfordshire. Also, I have been collecting/posting items about 'Witney Aerodrome' - search Facebook for more.
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