Eccles Cricket Ground
ECCLES CRICKET GROUND: Temporary use for taking off
Operated by: Avro Aircraft Company
Location: S of Barton Lane, N of the Manchester Ship Canal and roughly 1nm W of Great Ancoats Street
Period of operation: 28th and 29th July 1912
SOMETHING UNUSUAL
This listing is somewhat unusual in this 'Guide' in that the aircraft operating location forms just one aspect - but I trust you will find the information of interest. The starting point came about when Mr Jon Horswell kindly contacted me in July 2022 with a query. "In Ken Ellis' excellent book Britain's Aircraft Industry, the following is mentioned as part of the extensive Avro story: 'In July 1912, the third Type 500 was taken from the factory at Brownsfield Mills to the cricket pitch at Eccles for its maiden flight'. How often was this cricket pitch used?"
My first response was to pass the query across to Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', because if anybody can unearth the information - he can. And indeed he could! Not only that, he came up with pictures, maps and articles, for the cricket pitch, the factory and the pilot. I did a bit of delving around too for information and the result is shown below.
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
THE CRICKET PITCH
Note: The article in Flight magazine was published on the 6th July 1912.
This design was considered to be, by Alliott Vernon Roe, his first 'proper' aeroplane - the previous designs being experiments. It first flew in March 1912, marking the start of the 500 Series, developed from the Type E. He made swift progress too, the Avro 504 making its first flight at BROOKLANDS on the 18th September 1913. That type, especially the 504J, 504K and 504N, became an all time classic, with some 8,970 being built during WW1. Used as trainers, fighters and bombers, production lasted from 1913 to 1932, with over 10,000 being produced.
Note: The book excerpt is from Avro Aircraft since 1908 by A J Jackson.
It appears that the machine, (as aeroplanes were called in those days), was transported from the factory by road to the cricket ground on the 28th June to be assembled. Lieutenant Wilfred Parke RN, flew the aircraft out, but decided not to land back, choosing a field in nearby Trafford Park instead.
THE FACTORY (BROWNSFIELD MILL)
This was situated in the heart of Manchester, in Binns Place off Great Ancoats Street. Perhaps not the most obvious location for a major aircraft manufacturing facility? But, Alliott Vernon Roe (1877 - 1958), was born in Patricoft, Eccles. So when he and his brother formed the A.V.Roe Aircraft Company in January 1910, (soon to be renamed Avro Aircraft Company), no doubt he was influenced by the huge amount of manufacturing going on in that area?
Plus of course, until the various components making up an aircraft start to be assembled into quite large sections, none of them look, (except to experts), to be much related to aviation. Still the case today, well over a hundred years later. In fact, Avro later built a large factory in Chadderton to the north east of Manchester - well away from any aerodrome. Their HQ from 1939. The major components, such as for Lancasters to Vulcans, being tranported by road to WOODFORD.
(See Personal Memory below).
Note: The magazine article was published in The Aeroplane on the 4th July 1912.
A SAD AND TRAGIC ENDING
As said, it was Lieutenant Wildred Parkes RN who flew the third example of the Avro 500 out of ECCLES CRICKET GROUND on the 29th June 1912. Clearly, at least some service pilots had a quite close relationship with various aircraft manufacturers, being often employed to do some of the test flying.
Parkes has the distinction, if that is an appropriate term, of being the first British Naval Officer to be killed in a flying disaster. This occurred on the 15th December 1912 near Wembley in north west London, when he was flying a Handley Page design.
Note: The article in Flight magazine was published on the 29th June 1912: The newspaper article in two parts, was published in the Nottingham Journal on the 19th December 1912. The picture of the wreckage was published in the Illustrated London News on the 21st December 1912.
A PERSONAL MEMORY
As you get older, it often occurs that the names of places, if you take an interest, can quite often hark back to times hidden in the mists of history - usually many centuries old. But, I have frequently found, even in recent times, locals still prefer to remember places by their previous names.
For example: When I first started my transport business back in the mid 1970s, with a 18cwt Ford Transit van, my first consignment was of fixtures and fittings to British Aerospace, Chadderton. I could find no other customers to make up a load, but felt committed by my obligation to make the delivery. In those days it was quite possible to deliver parcels to security 24/7. I took a friend along for this epic adventure and getting close at night we started asking directions. Nobody had a clue - incredible - nobody knew of the whereabouts of this major factory! Eventually somebody saw the aviation connection, "You want the Avro factory."
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