Tewinbury Farm
TEWINBURY FARM: Temporary aerodrome
Note: Both of these pictures were obtained from Google Earth ©
Location: About 2.5nm SE of Welwyn at junction 6 on the A1(M), roughly 2.5nm NE of Welwyn Garden City centre
NOTES: Venue on the 26th April 1933 for Sir Alan Cobham’s No.1 Tour.
Up until October 2020 I had this venue listed as WELWYN, which is how it is listed in the itinerary. Then, out of blue Mr Graham Frost who is a great friend of this 'Guide' came up with chapter and verse - including an advert for the event giving the address - TEWINBURY FARM. (Today known as TEWIN BURY FARM - two words).
The event was reported in The Welwyn Times, and mentioned that it was part of a 300 town display circuit in 1933. If my arithmetic is correct, the itinerary listed 301 venues, which of course is, whichever way you look at it - a truly astonishing endeavour. Sir Alan Cobham's 1932 Tour had 174 venues and the 1934 Tour 159 venues, which is impressive enough. His last Tour in 1935 visited 244 venues. So, 1933 really was the year.
The Welwyn Times reported that the programme of events was watched by hundreds of people, including an exhibition of smoke-trail and wireless-controlled aerobatics, (whatever is that!?), wing-walking, a miniature Schneider Trophy race, speed and height-judging competitions and humorous and surprise items, including an exhibtion of "aerial pig-sticking".
The propensity for many English journalists to make things up as they go along, is nothing new of course. The standards of accuracy were, (perhaps still are?), far superior in Scotland. I only mention this simply because, in trying to produce this 'Guide' I do at least try to get the story correct. Which of course means donning an anorak and becoming a pedant - a price has to be paid! Even at the expense of sartorial elegance.
For examples relating to this, the Schneider Trophy was always, and only, for seaplanes or float-planes if you prefer. So what a miniature version looked like one can only imagine. I suspect it was just an air race - which were regular features at these events. As for "aerial pig-sticking" - I have no idea. Having looked into these events over the last twenty years, I have yet to come across this 'act' being featured at any display.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
The Airspeed AS.4 Ferry is a most remarkable aeroplane in several respects - not least because it defies the common notion in aviation circles that: "If it looks right - it is right." The Ferry is just about as ugly as an aeroplane can be - and yet it was just about perfect for its job.
Commissioned by Sir Alan Cobham for his Tours, (he was also a director of the company), and designed by Neville Shute, the Ferry was it seems an outstanding performer, with what today would be considered STOL performance.quite capable of taking ten passengers at a time for quick flips around the local area, hour in and hour out, day after day for months on end without any serious problems whilst in service. A major aspect of the design was placing the lower wing above the fuselage, therefore enabling passengers to have a pretty much unhindered view of the ground beneath.
Only four were built, and Cobham took the first two - G-ABSI and G-ABSJ. Without too much doubt the picture of G-ABSI was taken in front of the Airspeed hangar at SHERBURN-in-ELMET?
JUST A LAST COMMENT
I was rather surprised to find this venue listed as Welwyn rather than Welwyn Garden City. Perhaps the answer could be that the village of Welwyn on the A.1, (the Great North Road), had been around for centuries whereas Welwyn Garden City, founded in 1920 and the second 'Garden City' in the UK, was probaby still largely a building site?
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