Slough Trading Estate
SLOUGH TRADING ESTATE: Temporary aerodrome venues
Operated by: Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Day display tours
Periods of operation: 25th April 1933, (No.1 Tour), 23rd September 1934 and the 24th September 1935, (No.1 Tour)
Location: Just N of Edinburgh Avenue in the Trading Estate, itself then being just N of the A4 Bath Road, roughly 1.5nm NW of Slough town centre
NOTE: Slough Trading Estate was founded in 1920, and was one of the first business parks in the U.K. Much larger now than it was in the 1930s. Today claimed to be the largest industrial estate in single private ownership in Europe. Became nationally famous, at least, in 1937 when the poet John Betjeman published his still much quoted poem 'Slough'. With the unforgettable opening line - "Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough." A great poet he was, without doubt, but not much up on geography, the Trading Estate being roughly a mile and a half away from Slough town centre. And who would want to bomb that? Answers on a postcard please.
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
Although I had some scant records listed for these Cobham visits to Slough, we have Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', to thank for the following:
Note: The advert was published in the Windsor, Slough & Eton Express on the 21st April 1933.
Note: This advert was published in the Windsor, Slough & Eton Express on the 21st September 1934. The short article is from the same newspaper, but this time published on the 28th April 1933.
Note: This article, divided into three parts to make it easier to read, was published in the Windsor, Slough & Eton Express on the 28th April 1933.
Note: This advert, the third example, was also published in the Windsor, Slough & Eton Express, this time on the 20th September 1935. The local area view is from my Google Earth © derived database.
NOTES: The hey-days of the 'Flying Circus' era in the U.K. occurred between 1931 and 1936, roughly around the height of the Great Depression, commonly known as 'The Slump', which lasted from 1929 until 1939 - and even longer into WW2. It is common knowledge of course that when confronted with severe economic hardships, (and pandemics), much of the population being hardest hit crave diversions, to indulge in escapism of some form. In the USA, one form emerged in fabulous, extragavent and hugely popular movies - which migrated to the U.K. of course.
Without any doubt, the 'Flying Circus' operation which surpassed all others, was Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Day display tours which lasted from 1932 until 1935. The 1932 tour visited 174 venues, but not Slough. This changed in 1933 when Slough became the 9th venue for the No.1 tour, this and the No.2 tour commencing in April. In total both tours were planned to visit an astonishing 267 venues, without any rest days in the schedule! Needless to say sometimes the schedule did go awry, but, they did manage to display at most venues.
For the 1934 tour the schedule was for a single tour, again commencing in April with 159 venues planned, and this time with one rest day, on the 19th July. Slough was one of the last venues, the 152nd, and it goes to show just how well the schedule was maintained because they displayed spot on time on the 23rd September. And, this 1934 tour made its way as far north as Wick in Scotland.
Once again in 1935, the tour was split into two, except that the split occurred on the 1st July after 72 planned venues had, (it seems likely?), been visited. Of the 88 venues planned for the No.1 tour, Slough was the 83rd venue, and here again they arrived on time to display on the 24th September. The No.2 tour was planned with 84 venues, giving in total 244 venues scheduled. It seems worth mentioning that Cobham detested the term 'Flying Circus', and therefore is it not, so ironic that history will mostly record his long carreer in aviation as being the 'King' of the 'Flying Circus' era.
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