Little Coates Farm
LITTLE COATES FARM: Temporary Landing Ground
Location: Just SW of Grimsby town centre
Period of operation: 1st October 1929
AN UNFORESEEN SETBACK
This article, kindly provided by Mike Holder, was published in the Louth Standard on the 5th October 1929. This was one of very few events during his Tour, due to heavy rain, that prevented Sir Alan Cobham from completing his planned schedule of the normal proceedings.
In 1929 Sir Alan Cobham embarked on a six month tour of mainland Britain, called the Municipal Aerodrome Campaign. Starting in May and ending in October the original plan was to visit 107 venues, with two in South Wales and eight in Scotland. Due to a couple of crashes and other setbacks, he eventually managed to visit 96 venues, this being the 92nd. This of course still being a magnificent achievement.
The aircraft he mostly used was the ten-seater de Havilland DH61 Giant Moth, G-AAEV, named 'Youth of Britain'. The reason for that name was partly, if not mainly, due to a then anonymous donor offering to pay Cobham for taking selected parties of schoolchildren on flights throughout the duration of his Tour. We now know this was Lord Wakefield of Castrol Oil fame, and he had offered to pay for 10,000 schoolchildren having an experience of flying.
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
Note: The newspaper advert was published in the Lincolnshire Chronicle for Louth and Grimsby on the 28th September 1929.
Note: The sixth item, the area view, is from my Google Earth © derived database.
NOTES: There is something of interest here. A few towns did decline Cobham's offer to pay a visit, in which case of course, no visit was arranged. Another odd aspect is that in the advert it states that passenger flights were available from 11 a.m. However, as the newspaper article above explains, it was previous heavy rain that almost caused the cancellation of this event.
However, for one day visits, (which most were), Cobham would endeavour to arrive a close as possible to 11.00, to be greeted by local dignitaries who he would then take flying around the local area. The sponsored flights for schoolchildren would follow, and then he would take fare paying passengers, usually until dusk, presumbly to help offset the costs of the Tour.
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