Caldecote
CALDECOTE: Temporary aerodrome? (Used several times)
Operated by: British Hospitals Air Pageant, Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Day No.1 Tour, Sir Alan Cobham’s 1935 No.1 Tour
Location: Weddington Lane just SE of Caldecot, just S of the A5, about 0.5nm SW of RAF NUNEATON, (now the MIRA test facility),roughly 2nm N to NNW of Nuneaton town centre
Period of operation: Cobham 31st July 1933, BHAP 16th August 1933 and Cobham again 16th September 1935
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
Note: The advert for the British Hospitals Air Pageant on the 16th August was published in the Leicester Evening Mail on the 15th August.
Note: The newspaper article was published in the Midland Counties Tribune on the 4th August 1933. The advert was also published in the Midland Counties Tribune, but on the 21st July 1933.
NOTES:
It might seem quite surprising, but these were major public events lasting nearly all day and sometimes passenger flying continued after dark. Also, although many of these venues were used for just one day, they were officially licensed aerodromes, and indeed in the early days an inspection of the site was carried out by men (usually two arriving by car) from the Air Ministry.
Sir Alan Cobham's 1933 No.1 Tour started at CENTRAL PARK, Dagenham on the 14th/15th April and ended at CHERTSEY Lane, Staines, on the 8th October with 116 venues planned to be visited. CALDECOTE, listed as NUNEATON, was the 63rd venue in the schedule.
The British Hospitals Air Pageant 1933 tour, organised by Barker and McEwen King, started at LUTON on the 1st/2nd April and finished at WOOLWICH on the 8th October with 150 venues planned to be visited. CALDECOTE, listed as NUNEATON, was the 108th venue in the schedule.
Sir Alan Cobham's 1935 tours started as one tour from TITCHFIELD ROAD, Fareham on the 12th April and ended at The Aerodrome, GRAVESEND on the 30th June with 72 venues planned to be visited. This tour then split into two on the Ist July, the No.1 tour starting at PENSHURST aerodrome, Tonbridge and ending at PHOENICE FARM, Bagdon Hill, Dorking on the 29th September, with 88 venues scheduled to be visited. CALDECOTE was listed as CALDECOTE, Weddington Lane, Nuneaton, and was the 75th venue in the schedule.
The No.2 Tour started at the Old Racecourse, PORTHOLME MEADOW, Huntingdon, also on the 1st July, and ended at OLD BARN, Hildenborough, Tonbridge on the 29th September with 84 venues planned to visited. This making a planned total of 244 venues to be visited in 1935. This compares with the 1934 single tour having 159 venues in the schedule, the combined 1933 tours having 277 venues in the schedule, and the 1932 tour having 174.
The emergence of the great 'Flying Circus' period began in 1931 and was pretty much over by 1936. All this was taking place at the height of the Great Depression, commonly referred to as 'The Slump' in the U.K. which seems today as being counter-intuitive? But of course, an economic depression or recession mainly hits the working classes hardest, the middle classes to a greater or lesser extent, and the wealthy by and large not at all. Indeed, many of the latter tend to do very well in these circumstances.
We'd love to hear from you, so please scroll down to leave a comment!
Leave a comment ...
Copyright (c) UK Airfield Guide
