Quarry Lodge Field
QUARRY LODGE FIELD: Temporary aerodrome (Aka TAMWORTH ROAD FLYING FIELD)
Note: It has often been quite a problem in compiling this 'Guide' to determine exact locations. However, in this case we feel fairly certain that the QUARRY LODGE FIELD used in 1922, and the TAMWORTH ROAD FLYING FIELD used in 1933, are most probably the same? Advice on this will be most welcome.
Operated by: Berkshire Aviation in 1922, Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Day No.1 Tour in 1933
Location: Just S of the A51, and just SSE of Lichfield city centre
Period of operation: Berkshire Aviation, 3rd to 12th November 1922. Cobham, 2nd June 1933
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
We have Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', to thank for investigating this location.
The advert was published in the Lichfield Mercury on the 3rd November 1922.
The article was published in the Rugeley Times on the 20th May 1933. The short article was published in the Lichfield Mercury on the 2nd June 1933.
The article in two parts was published in the Lichfield Mercury on the 9th June 1933. The area view is from my Google Earth © derived database.
NOTES: Sir Alan Cobham was, perhaps oddly, rather slow in getting involved with the new fangled craze - now known as the 'Flying Circus' era. Perhaps this could be explained by the creation of The Great Depression, which started in the USA in late 1929 and soon engulfed most developed countries throughout the world, lasting until 1939 when WW2 broke out.
We should remember that Sir Alan Cobham had, in 1929, embarked on an epic tour of the UK, exhorting town and city councils to become air minded and construct municipal aerodromes. It may seem counter-intuitive but when faced with the prospect of widespread economic hardship, many if not most people crave some kind of relief. In the USA Hollywood responded by producing the most extravagant, glittering, flambouyant musicals ever seen.
In the UK, by 1931, we saw the emergence of the Flying Circus, with a fleet of aircraft performing air displays with no end of novelty 'acts', followed by offering people passenger rides, often with an airliner, (or sometimes two), to supplement the light aircraft usually carrying just one or two passengers. The leaders in 1931 were Aviation Tours Ltd, C D Barnard Air Tours Ltd, Modern Airways Ltd (Crimson Fleet) and the North British Aviation Co. Ltd.
When in 1932 Sir Alan Cobham decided to get involved, his first Tour blew the socks off the opposition with a planned 174 venues. In 1933 he and his company surpassed this by a considerable margin, with two Tours. The No.1 Tour, which included two visits to Ireland, was planned to visit 116 venues. His No.2 Tour, staying on the mainland, was planned to visit 161 venues. Both of these Tours started in April and ended in October. Incredibly it seems, the vast majority of venues were visited on time.
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