Monksmoor
Note: This map is only my estimation of the location. I would much appreciate confirmation that this is correct, or advice for a more exact position.
MONKSMOOR: Flying exhibition venue later military airfield later civil temporary aerodrome? (also known as MONK MOOR & MONKMOOR)
Military users: RFC/RAF Training Depot Station Aircraft Repair Depot and Storage Station
OSRAP (DH.4s, BE.2s, RE.8s, DH.9s & Bristol Fighters)
(It later become a RAF Maintenance Unit in WW2)
Civil users: It appears that the Berkshire Aviation Co, later called Berkshire Aviation Tours, held a display here. Presumably in the very early 1920s? In some circles it is claimed their ‘Second’ pilot was a WW1 veteran by the name of Alan Cobham! A name that should these days perhaps be rightly regarded as the ‘father’ of British civil aviation. Other records seem to show that Cobham resigned from Berkshire Aviation in May 1920.
The Holmes Bothers also used this airfield as a base for their ‘joy-riding’ flight operations moving here in 1927.
Location: Near Harlescott, alongside the A49 next to Shrewsbury Racecourse, NNE to NE of Shrewsbury. In the west sector of the ‘eye’ of the River Severn loop and W of Uffington. Roughly 1.5nm NE of Shrewsbury town centre.
The WW1 airfield is reported to have been 500 yards N of the original flying sites
Period of operation: 1912, , 1917 to 1919 (RFC mainly?) Then civil again from 1927/28 to 1937?
Runways: Grass landing area 914 x 457 (However, it does seem pretty certain flying also took place from a large field across the Monksmoor Road from the ‘official’ airfield)
Site area: In late WW1 listed as 106 acres 777 x 503 grass
NOTES: Gustav Hamel appears to have performed flying exhibitions at nearly every town in the UK from 1911 to 1913 and Shrewsbury was no exception!
His display here was on the 7th November 1912 and 6,000 people attended. Being a Thursday it seems the day was accorded Public Holiday status and the town even struck a Gold Medal to award Hamel. On the day gusty winds prevailed producing considerable turbulence but faced with such a large crowd Hamel performed his normal three flights routine.
The local paper carried the healines “Thrilling Moment! Aviator’s Narrow Escape”. What probably occurred was that he encountered rotor effect and the aircraft suddenly plummeted but of course in those days they didn’t even wear a seat belt let alone a proper restraining harness! I’d certainly call that a ‘Thrilling Moment’ but I’d use somewhat different language to describe it to my friends!
It’s well worth pointing out that by this time the Bléroit XI was proving itself to be a very robust flying machine and the 50hp Gnome rotary engine was very reliable.
ANOTHER ASPECT
According to Derrick Pratt & Mike Grant in their fbook of Wings Across the Border, “MONKMOOR would appear to have been one ofe few airfields that were split by a road and need simple ‘level crossing’ procedures and precautions as aircraft taxied from the hangars through the gap in the opposite hedge on the airfield, i.e. a man with a red flag held up such traffic as used this country track which gave access not only to Monkmoor Farm and Hall but also to the much-frequented passenger ferry across the Severn to Uffington”.
This is undoubtably true in respect of having two airfields or landing areas separated by a road but having traffic flow disrupted due to aircraft needing to manoeuvre or even land and take-off is quite common. Take BLACKBUSHE for example when traffic on the main A30 trunk road was often held up in the 1950s at least as aircraft were taken from maintenance facilities to the airport ‘proper’. Even today in west London traffic is often delayed on the busy A4180 West End Road, certainly by aircraft landing at NORTHOLT on runway 25.
JUST A NOTE
There are stacks of similar examples of course. On the other hand I have landed at several small airfields and private airstrips both in the UK and in Europe which don’t measure up to having traffic lights installed but where, when on short finals to land, the passing of a big truck, bus or large farm tractor with a trailer, for example, on a road just before the threshold - can create enough turbulent air to very seriously threaten safety!
In these cases it’s entirely up to the pilot to ‘go-around’ if they feel it desirable. Given that even highly turbulent air is invisible why can’t traffic lights always be installed? I have visited a highly popular airfield in Bavaria, (Germany), with a very short runway where exactly this applies. The person in the control tower activates them.
With private ‘farm strips’ of course very few rules apply and in many ways I have loved this type of ‘full on’ flying
THE BERKSHIRE AVIATION CO
Used by Berkshire Aviation Co for their ‘Flying circus’ venue in Sepember 1919. It must be recorded that, by 1929 and by then using at least three Avro 504Ks, (G-EAKX, G-EBKB and G-EBKX), there seems to have been a fourth too, they had carried aloft at least 55,000 passengers without injury!
In December 1927, (some say 1928), Berkshire Aviation Tours moved here from WITNEY in OXFORDSHIRE. It would appear from some sources that Berkshire Aviation probably used a field alongside the original WW1 Airfield.
ADVICE SOUGHT
Can anybody today offer advice on this?
Michael Holder
This comment was written on: 2020-05-11 12:58:03Britain from Above has several photos of RAF Monkmoor 34MU - EAW017235 and EAW012621 dated 1948 - show the hangars in great detail.
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