Landguard Common
LANDGUARD COMMON: Military aerodrome (Also known as FELIXSTOWE)
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
Note: The sixth item, the area view, is from my Google Earth © derived database.
Military user: RNAS (Royal Naval Air Service)
Home Defence Flight Station (1915 to 1916)
Day Landing Ground for RNAS/RAF FELIXSTOWE seaplane station (1916 to 1919)
Location: Adjacent to Felixstowe railway station (In WW1)
Period of operation: 1913 (One report says 1915) to 1919
Site area: 42 acres
A MOST NOTABLE VISIT
Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', has taken it upon himself to trace all the 96 venues Sir Alan Cobham visited during his Municipal Aerodrome Campaign in 1929. It now appears that LANDGUARD COMMON was the 85th venue, visited on the 20th September. The original plan was to visit 107 venues, mostly in England but with two in South Wales and eight in Scotland. Due to a couple of crashes and other setbacks, he ended up visiting 96 venues - which was of course still a magnificent achievement.
The aircraft he mostly used was the ten-seater de Havilland DH61 'Giant Moth' G-AAEV, named 'Youth of Britain'. As general rule he aimed to arrive at around 11.00 and then take local dignitaries for a flight. Following this he would take selected schoolchildren for flights, the costs being met by a then anonymous sponsor. We now know this was Lord Wakefield of Castrol Oil fame. He had offered Cobham to pay for 10,000 schoolchildren for flights during his six month Tour. Following this he would take fare paying passengers, usually until dusk, presumably to help off-set the costs of the Tour.
One aspect that intrigued me, was why on earth select Felixstowe as a venue? It didn't seem to make any sense. However, thanks to the interweb, the most likely reason soon became clear. Once the town was connected by railway in the 19th century, it soon developed into being a popular seaside resort. Indeed, it even had a pier, the hallmark of any self-respecting seaside holiday destination. And, it seems, remained a popular resort until WW2 - perhaps a bit beyond.
How things change. Today of course Felixstowe is associated with being one of, if not the largest, container ports in the UK.
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