Harbury Lane
HARBURY LANE: Civil private aerodrome
WARNING: If you value your sanity, please do not do what I have attempted to do. Very often trying to pin down the location of a flying site can easily drive you absolutely bonkers - and this is a very good example. Hopefully now pretty much resolved (?) in mid 2023, this location has been referred to as: On Harbury Road, Harbury Lane Aircraft Park, Bishops Tachbrook Aerodrome, Leamington and other variations. It was also listed as an A.A. (Automobile Association) approved Landing Ground), at Leamington. A town which itself can be found listed as Leamington, Leamington Spa and Royal Leamington Spa.
WW2: RAF LEAMINGTON SPA
Operated by: Major Boniksen (Also sometimes spelt Bonniksen)
Location: Just E of Bishops Tachbrook village, about 2.5nm SSE of Leamington Spa town centre
Period of operation: Early 1930s to around 1946
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
We are so fortunate to have very generous people kindly offering to provide help to this 'Guide', and Mike Holder has been a great friend.
The local area view is from my Google Earth © derived database.
THE FLYING CIRCUS ARRIVES
This location was used as a venue by Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Day tours during the early to mid 1930s. The first visit was on the 13th May 1933 by his No.1 tour. In 1934 that tour, (not divided into two tours), displayed here twice, on the 21st April and later on the 24th June. The next year, before the Tour divided on the Ist July into two Tours, they displayed here on the 8th June 1935.
Notes: The article was published in the Coventry Evening Telegraph on the 12th May 1933. The notice was published in the Birmingham Daily Gazette on the 13th April 1934. The first advert was placed in the Coventry Evening Telegraph on the 22nd June 1934. The second advert was placed in the Evening Despatch on the 1st June 1935.
NOTES: It does appear likely that Major Boniksen, the CFI of the Coventry Aero Club at WHITLEY, used the club DH.60 Moth to commute from here?
PERHAPS WORTH A MENTION?
Today renowned as the 'King', the 'Supremo' etc of the Flying Circus era in the early to mid 1930s, Sir Alan Cobham detested the term 'Flying Circus' being applied to his displays, which were by far the biggest tours of aerial displays organised. Nothing even remotely like them had been seen before or since in the U.K. at least, or, as far as I know, anywhere else in other countries around the world.
Ironic is it not? But of course the people in the press, and latterly the media needless to say, so often appear to care nothing regarding the haphazard and usually thoughtless way they decide to label the subjects being reported on.
RAF LEAMINGTON SPA
The group photo in front of an Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was obtained from Our Warwickshire. Designated a RLG, (Relief Landing Ground), the aerodrome was expanded in WW2, and, with two hangars, served as a repair facility for Handley Page HP.52 Hampden and Whitley bombers. The aerodrome was expanded NE as far as the railway line and SE as well. It appears that trains were stopped when aircraft were taking off or landing in that direction.
Alan East-Jones
This comment was written on: 2020-09-24 21:42:12There are still the remains of the airfield control tower at the rear of where Mr karting had his go kart track in the old hangars , about a mile towards leamington from the harbury fosse way crossroads
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