Lilbourne
LILBOURNE: Military aerodrome (Aka DUNSMORE)
Military users: RFC (Royal Flying Corps) & RAF (Royal Air Force)
Originally an air depot station laid out in 1913 for the Army Exercises. This being the aerodrome for the 'White forces', the Exercises commencing on the 22nd September.
Home Defence Night Landing Ground
38 Sqdn 1916 to 1917 (Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c's & F.E.2b's)
RFC/RAF Training Squadron Station and Flying School
55 Sqdn 1916 to 1919 (Avro 504s, Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8s, Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s and later, as a bomber squadron, Airco DH.4s)
Note: Needless to say, I cannot be at all certain if all these types made an appearance here.
73 Sqdn 1917 (Sopwith Pups)
Home Defence Night Landing Ground for 90 Sqdn 1918 (Avro 504s)
Location: On the County border between WARWICKSHIRE and NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. It appears the Landing Ground was in WARWICKSHIRE but the ‘settlement’ in NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. This places the site today as about 1nm SSW of the M1/M6 junction, 2.5nm NNW of junction 18 on the M1, and roughly 3.5nm ENE of Rugby town centre
Period of operation: 1913 to 1919
Site area: 115 acres 731 x 549
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
We have Mike Holder to thank for pinpointing this location which has caused me a great deal of trouble to locate in the past. Mike also wishes to point out that the aerodrome boundary lines given on the maps are approximate. All the newspaper information relates to its use in the September 1913 Army exercises.
Note: The second item, the newspaper article, was published in the Northampton Mercury on the 19th September 1913. The pictures of the wrecked aeroplane were published in the Rugby Advertiser on the 27th September 1913.
Note: The newspaper article above was published in the Melton Mowbray Mercury and Oakham and Uppingham News on the 25th September 1913. The third picture of the Sopwith Pup, A6231 of 73 Squadron, is dated 1917.
Note: These pictures, including one of the King and Queen paying a visit, and the other of a Blériot monoplane, were published in the Daily Mirror on the 27th September 1913. The newspaper article was also published in the Rugby Advertiser on the 27th September 1913.
Note: The short article in Flight magazine was published on the 4th October 1913. The last item, the area view, is from my Google Earth © derived database.
NEW INFORMATION
In June 2023 I was kindly contacted by Mr Giles Smith, who has kindly provided this map. As can be seen it places the aerodrome just a bit further southeast of where we had thought it was. Which, considering the hill just to the northwest on the A5, makes complete sense.
NOTES:
As you can see, I have two entries for LILBOURNE, (the other being in NORTHAMPTONSHIRE).
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