Chertsey Meads
CHERTSEY MEADS: Private manufacturers airfield (Aka ADDLESTONE MOOR)
Operated by: Saunders-Roe, later Fairey Aviation
Location: Just SE of Chertsey, (south of the River Thames), NW of Weybridge and NE of Addlestone Moor
Period of operation: 1941/2 until 1945 perhaps?
NOTES: After the Cowes factory on the Isle of Wight was bombed, Saunders-Roe set up another factory SW of London.
Some think it was in Addlestone whereas others say it was in Weybridge, the two districts being adjoining. It might be thought fairly obvious that the aircraft produced by Saunders-Roe would have been assembled and test flown from nearby BROOKLANDS, and indeed it appears that this was the original intention.
I am inclined to let Ron Smith in his book British Built Aircraft Vol.3 have the verdict on this, from which I quote: “Saunders-Roe Ltd had a factory at Weybridge during the Second World War. This was used for production of the Supermarine Walrus, the last example to be built being HD936, which was delivered at the end of 1943. About 150 Walrus aircraft are reported to have been built at this factory, which also manufactured other components for assembly at COWES, (ISLE of WIGHT) – [my capitals of course], including wings and floats, and hulls for both the Walrus and the Sea Otter.”
But, this said, I am in 2016 more inclined to think the factory was actually in Addlestone, pretty much adjacent to CHERTSEY MEADS, rather than in Weybridge.
HOWEVER
This is the bit that interests me of course. “Walrus aircraft were flown from CHERTSEY MEAD, (this appears a slight mistake as the area is known as CHERTSEY MEADS), between Weybridge and Addlestone, an area of open ground about ¾ mile from the factory. BROOKLANDS was not used, because the factory did not adjoin the airfield, and the few early production aircraft that were flown at BROOKLANDS were found to be prone to damage en route to BROOKLANDS by road.”
“Having completed production of the Walrus, the factory was transferred by the Ministry of Aircraft Production to the control of The Fairey Aviation Co. Ltd, after which production consisted of Firefly fuselages, wings and tailplanes and the repair and salvage of Swordfish and Barracuda components.”
Julian Temple
This comment was written on: 2017-11-12 22:22:23Having been researching and recording the history of aviation at and around Brooklands for many years, I can confirm that the Saunders-Roe factory in question was actually located on the edge of Addlestone but in an industrial area long and still known as the Weybridge Trading Estate. Chertsey Meads is located north of the main Chertsey-Weybridge road and is of course more part of Chertsey than of Addlestone.
Reply from Dick Flute:
Hi Julian, Many thanks indeed. I shall keep this information posted. Best regards, Dick
Michael Ray
This comment was written on: 2020-06-23 21:00:22I’ve just been for a walk on the meads and has a look afterwards on The Apple maps app. The sat view was taken in the summer and the outlines of various roads and possibly even a runway are quite clear, who knows. I then stumbled on your site. All the best.
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