Bibliography and attributions
BIBLIOGRAPHY, REFERENCES & TRIBUTES
I am not totally certain this is the case, but I cannot recall seeing any bibliography published with a WARNING that the books or other material used should not be fully relied upon to contain historically correct information. Even after many years of research I will not point a finger at any publication even though I have on occasion found some very basic errors in many. However, I soon became reasonably adept at identifying material from people who really do know their subject and now feel quite confident in recommending the list provided. Needless to say it is in the very nature of producing a Guide such as this that errors will occur and I will gladly accept all responsibility.
The reason being that despite every attempt to provide accurate information this is often simply not possible. Time alone prevents most attempts to thoroughly investigate every mention, ostensible fact or statement made often from one persons memory and so on. This is exactly why I have tried to take the widest choice of reference material in order to gain what should be, and hopefully is, at best a fairly balanced picture? I would however sincerely like to thank the designers of my computer keyboard for deciding to include the question mark ‘?’
As a photographer all I can say is a most sincere thank you to those who pioneered and developed this means of providing historical records. Without photographic proof much of what is contained in this Guide would often amount to little more than guesswork given so many conflicting written accounts available. In fact photographs often provided proof when some ‘so called’ authors on the subject of aviation history didn’t even bother to do the most basic research. Fortunately right from the start I decided to take the attitude that reasonable visible proof was much better than trying to establish the veracity of written facts. When it comes to aviation history, and probably any other history, I suspect it is often nigh on impossible to really establish “the full truth” in any detail? But a fairly good and reasonably accurate account can be given and at best this is what I have tried to provide.
Compared to so many exemplary individuals, who really do know their subject and to whom I owe a great debt, l will certainly not pretend to be an expert in any shape or form. To make a very obvious point I know beyond doubt that many aerodromes exist simply because I have been there, indeed have landed and taken off sometimes many times. Doing this has not of course given me any idea about the history and for that I needed to rely on many other people. Along the way I received much very helpful advice in order to sort the ‘wheat from the chaff’ and the following list is, I honestly believe, of people dedicated to providing accurate information. It is of course a fact of life we all have to live with that people regularly make mistakes and despite my very best efforts surely I must have made many too. In this respect, especially to the authors and/or producers of the following publications listed, if I have misquoted or in any other way misrepresented their work, all I can offer is my most sincere apology. I trust they will understand and be compassionate in their forgiveness.
And, whilst on the subject, if anybody who has helped me on this quest discovers their name isn’t listed - please accept my sincere apologies, but also sincere thanks of course. They are of course very welcome to contact me so that their name can be included. As you will see my quest has not been undertaken in a sensible and structured way because as I soon learnt, a ‘Guide’ to this subject cannot be compiled as a serious attempt at an authoritative 'History’.
AAIB BULLETINS
ACTON AERODROME Produced by Ealing Public Library
AFE 2001 UK VFR Flight Guide
A HISTORY OF AVIATION IN CUMBRIA, DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY Peter Connon
AIR BRITAIN “AIRPORT MOVEMENTS REVIEW” 1961. Prestwick by D Reid and P M Corbell
AIRFIELD FOCUS GMS Enterprises
AIRFIELD INFORMATION EXCHANGE: www.airfieldinformationexchange.org
AIRFIELD RESEARCH GROUP for a huge amount of indispensable help, advice and information
www.airfield-research-group.co.uk
AIRFIELD REVIEW the magazine published by the Airfield Research Group which has proved to be a superb source of information
AIRFIELDS of BRITAIN CONSERVATION TRUST www.abct.org.uk
AIRFIELDS AND AIRSTRIPS OF NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK (PART THREE) Huby Fairhead & Roy Tuffen
AIR FORCES UK by Graeme and Brian Pickering (Midland Publishing)
AIRLINES OF THE BRITISH ISLES SINCE 1919 by Maurice J Wickstead. A CD available from Air Britain. Without any doubt the most complete listing ever.
AIRPLANE (Part 161) Orbis Publishing
ALAN HARTFIELD for details regarding the various landing sites in the flying history of G-AEXT
ALAN SIMPSON for advice and information about southern Essex flying sites
AMY JOHNSON - ENIGMA IN THE SKY by David Luff (Airlife Publishing)
ANNALS of BRITISH & COMMONWEALTH AIR TRANSPORT (1919-1960) John Stroud
AOPA GENERAL AVIATION magazine
A TIME TO FLY by Sir Alan Cobham (Shepheard-Walwyn)
AVIATION in BIRMINGHAM by Geoffrey Negus & Tommy Staddon (Midland Counties Publications)
AVIATION in ESSEX Southend Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society, edited by K A Cole 1967
AVIATION IN LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND by Roy Bonsor (Midland Publishing)
AVIATION PICTURE LIBRARY Austin J Brown For pictures and much else of course but also as a true friend with endless support for this project providing masses of help, contacts, information and so much more. This also taught me just how unfair compiling a list of acknowledgements can be. A small listing like this cannot possibly do justice to the huge and generous effort Aussie has given me. The same remarks apply to so many others of course
AVRO ONE Wg Cdr J A ‘Robby’ Robinson (Old Forge Publishing) 2005
A WILLINGNESS TO DIE, Brian Kingcome (Tempus)
BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD Allen Andrews (David & Charles) 1977
BARRA AIRPORT Michael…? (Airport manager 2004)
BARRY ABRAHAM He was my lead into the Airfield Research Group who introduced me into a huge fund of knowledge and personally helped enormously in so many ways to make this guide so much better and accurate than I could ever have achieved working on my own as I did initially. To be invited to become a member of the ARG when roughly half-way into this project was very rewarding. To know that this project had now become regarded very seriously in such circles was a significant milestone. Sadly Barry died in 2005 and I really have missed his good natured advice, help, knowledge and encouragement for this project
BATTLE of BRITAIN Patrick Bishop (Quercus Publishing)
BATTLE of BRITAIN MEMORIAL FLIGHT Jarrod Cotter (Pen & Sword Books) 2007
“BEACHCOMBER” the story of a Sandringham by Vic Hodgkinson
BILL GOLDSMITH for information regarding some NE England aviation history
BKS History gleaned from the web. Apparently compiled by Jim Shield
BOMBER BOYS, Kevin Wilson (Cassell Military Paperbacks)
BOMBER COMMAND, Max Hastings (Pan Macmillan) 2010
BOMBER CREW, John Sweetman (Abacus) 2005
BRIAN STAFFORD regarding N Lincolnshire aviation history
BRITAIN’S GREATEST AIRCRAFT, Robert Jackson, (Pen & Sword 2007)
BRITISH AIRWAYS ARCHIVE
BRITISH AVIATION - THE PIONEER YEARS, Harald Penrose (Cassell)
BRITISH BUILT AIRCRAFT Vol1 to .5, Ron Smith, (Tempus Publishing 2005)
BRITISH INDEPENDENT AIRLINES since 1946, by A C Merton Jones 1976
BRITISH MIDLAND AIRWAYS, B G Cramp. Airline Publications and Sales 1979
BUILDING FOR AIR TRAVEL by John Zukowsky
CARIBBEAN VOLUNTEERS AT WAR, Mark Johnson. Pen & Sword Aviation
CIVIL AVIATION IN NORTHERN IRELAND, Guy Warner & Ernie Cromie, Colourpoint Books
CLIFF HODGSON for information regarding Middleton Sands activity near Heysham
CONCORDE - THE INSIDE STORY By Brian Trubshaw and published by Sutton Publishing Ltd
CROSS & COCKADE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL Various volumes which have provided a huge amount of detail regarding WW1 sites www.crossandcockade.com See also: Mick Davis
DARTFORD TOWN ARCHIVE, (from the web) for Joyce Green and other Vickers Co information
DAVE SCOTT & IAN SIMMONS for substantial info regarding the history of flying in and around High Wycombe
DENIS RIDLEY regarding some NE England aviation history
DORSET FLIGHT – THE COMPLETE HISTORY by Rodney Legg (Dorset Publishing Company)
EAMONN FOGARTY for airstrip information
EAST KENT AT WAR, Derek Collyer (1994 by Alan Sutton Publishing)
ED WHITAKER for maps and pictures
ESSEX: A Hidden Aviation History, Paul Bingley & Richard E. Flagg (2020 by Amberley Publishing)
FALLING UPWARDS, Richard Holmes (HarperCollins 2013)
FASTER THAN THE SUN, Peter Twiss (Grub Street 1963, 2000 & 2005)
FIGHTER BOY, Barry Sutton (Ambereley Publishing 2010)
FIGHTER HEROES OF WW1, (Joshua Levine, Collins, 2008)
FLIXTON MUSEUM, Pam Vale for information regarding the North Norfolk Flying Group
FLYER magazine
FLYING BOAT HAVEN, John Evans (Paterchurch Publications) Apart from information regarding PEMBROKE DOCKS John also provided me with other information regarding aviation history in South Wales
FLYING and BALLOONING, John Fabb, (The Anchor Press 1980)
FRANK WHITTLE: Invention of the Jet. Andrew Nahum
GEOFFREY ALINGTON (A Sound in the Sky) For the Marylebone Cricket Ground forced landing incident
GOOGLE Time and time again I used this facility to check out or double-check various facts, mostly accurate I’d say. And, in more recent years I have found GOOGLE MAPS and GOOGLE EARTH to be especially useful
GRAHAM FROST For a huge amount of help and advice, both in finding new sites and so much extra information on existing entries.
HAMPSHIRE AVIATION web site….a lot of valuable information, well worth a visit
HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY, Lettice Curtiss, (Red Kite 2004)
HISTORY OF BRITISH AVIATION 1908 to 1914. By R. Dallas Brett, Late Honorary Secretary of the Cinque Ports Flying Club, Lympne. Published by John Hamilton, Ltd, London W.C.1, around 1933
HISTORY OF BRITISH EUROPEAN AIRWAYS, Charles Woodley
HISTORY OF USWORTH AERODROME, Dave Charles, (North East Aircraft Museum), from the web
HURRICANE, Leo McKinstry, John Murray (Publishers)
IAN ALLEN ‘LIGHT AIRCRAFT RECOGNITION’ (2nd Edition) by Peter R March 1995
IKE STOW regarding NE England aviation history
IMPERIAL TIMES, published by Club Imperial c/o The Aerobook Company
I NEVER KNEW THAT ABOUT THE ENGLISH, Christopher Winn, Ebury Press, 2008
IN THE SHADOW OF THE EAGLE’S WING Peter Connon (1982 St Patrick’s Press, Penrith)
JANE’S ‘ALL THE WORLD’S AIRCRAFT’ 1917 (8th Edition)
JANE’S ‘AIRCRAFT RECOGNITION GUIDE’ by David Rendall 1999
JIM McKERCHER who gave me many insights and information about aviation history, plus many highly amusing stories from his own flying career. It was Jim who sent me a copy of Wings Over Scotland by James Allan
JIM McTAGGART for info regarding Scottish sites
JIM ROLAND A very good friend and senior BA Captain, who has helped me enormously especially regarding Scottish aviation history
JOHN ASHBY by providing many ORDNANCE SURVEY ‘Aviation Maps’ published in 1930 for inspection
JOHN F HAMLIN Account of UK military airstrips (Airfield Review December 1999)
JOHN KENDRICK (For information about LANGLEY especially)
JOHN LATIMER for info regarding flying history in/near Carlisle
KAREL ADAMS for a huge amount of help and advice - including correcting my typos.
KEITH HAYWARD Hon. Consultant Archivist, British Airways Archive and Museum Collection for much help including many old aerodrome maps and advice for books and photographs
KEN HYDE who has long been associated with the Shuttleworth Collection at OLD WARDEN and indeed, when I met him, was also their archivist/librarian. Ken proved to be a good friend for this project and has supplied a huge amount of detailed information
LAAS INTERNATIONAL, a quite phenomenal web-site which has been a great source of information
LAST OF THE FEW by Max Arthur (Virgin Books - A Random House Group Company)
LEWIS GREAVES: A very kind hearted and highly accomplished nephew in the matter of I.T. Who, over the years has most generously solved so many of my 'confuser' problems both large and small. It would be no exaggeration to say that without his unstinting advice and help this 'Guide' would be nothing like as good, and indeed, the project might well have had to be abandoned.
LIGHT AVIATION magazine (Previously POPULAR FLYING)
LIGHTPLANES AT WAR (US Liaison Aircraft in Europe 1942-7) by Ken Wakefield
LISA KINGSCOTT for historic and current information
LOCKYEARS FARM STRIPS and PRIVATE AIRFIELDS in ENGLAND & WALES (Vol 1)
MAD ABOUT FLYING by David Marshall and Bruce Harris published by Global Book Publishing Pty in 2003
MALCOLM FILLMORE for info regarding Kingsbury Green and Arkley
MAURICE J WICKSTEAD Another true friend who has provided masses of information regarding aviation history in Devon, airline history and much more
MEN OF AIR by Kevin Wilson (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
MICHAEL T HOLDER For a huge amount of help and advice, especially regarding flying sites from bygone days. Michael was a RAF navigator serving on Vulcans, Comets and Nimrods and his skills have been much appreciated.
MICK DAVIS The Managing Editor of the Cross & Cockade International Journal. Mick most generously loaned me his ‘master’ reference list for early and WW1 airfields etc, (the result of some twenty years research), and this proved to be an invaluable source of information. Not only this, but Mick fielded endless queries to help me establish what should hopefully prove to be a very accurate ‘Guide’ to early military flying sites in the UK. His offer to help this Guide was yet another significant milestone in my quest to discover as much as possible about all the sites which form our unique aviation heritage and without whose help this Guide would be so very much poorer.
MIDLANDS AIR MUSEUM Coventry Airport
MIKE CHARLTON: Mike has very generously provided hundreds of pictures from his amazing collection of postcards, which have greatly enhanced the content and appeal of this 'Guide'.
MIKE HALLAM (Jackrell’s Farm) for much help and sorting out information regarding private strips etc in Sussex and adjacent Counties
MILTARY AIRFIELDS in the BRITISH ISLES 1939-1945 (Omnibus Edition) by Steve Willis and Barry Hollis. A constant source of reference.
MILITARY GHOSTS by Alan C. Wood (Amberley Publishing – 2010)
MONSTERS OF THE PURPLE TWILIGHT by Ernest Dudley
MOSQUITOPANIK, Martin Bowman, (Published by Pen & Sword Aviation)
MUSEUM of BERKSHIRE AVIATION and Jean Fostekew in particular
NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES ‘NOTAMs’
NICK FORDER Curator (Air and Space) Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester for the National Aircraft Factory 3, (Aintree), article in the April 2004 edition of Airfield Review and other information
ONE SUMMER - America 1927, Bill Bryson. (Transworld Publishers)
OPERATION BIG BEN by Craig Cabell and Graham A Thomas
PARNALL AIRCRAFT since 1914, by Kenneth E Wixey (Putnam)
PAT LADD for information regarding Avon, Dorset & Wiltshire
PAUL WALLER for very kindly providing scans of each page from the Air Touring Flight Guide, 1965, published by Robert Pooley
PETER MARSON for advice and info regarding Eastleigh especially, also Heathrow, Ronaldsway and Prestwick
PHILIP JARRETT for much help and advice
PHOENIX SQUADRON by Rowland White (Transworld Publishers)
PILOT magazine
PILOT (A Tale of High Adventure) Joe Patient DFC, Published by Lee Cooper - 1997
POOLEYS FLIGHT GUIDE 1997, 2000 etc
POPULAR FLYING magazine (later to become Light Aviation magazine)
PRESTWICK: Much additional information from an article compiled by Mr D Reid & Mr P M Corbell for Air Britain in 1961. Provided by Peter Marson
PROP-SWING magazine, the journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society
RALPH KNOWLES for advice about Cornwall
RAPIDE The magazine for the North-West Vintage Aviation Enthusiast
RAYMOND TOWLER Along with Barry Abraham of the Airfield Research Group a generous contributor and supporter of this project to whom I owe a considerable debt of gratitude.
RICHARD CLAYTON for a tale about flying from Trewothick Farm
RICHARD McLACHLAN for information and especially an introduction to KEITH JILLINGS
ROB BOWATER for info about Satellite Landing Grounds being listed on Wikepedia
ROBIN VOICE, Project Leader Vickers VC.10, Brooklands Museum. For information regarding Brooklands and Wisley
ROD RODERS for information concerning Newenden in Kent
RONALDSWAY: Additional information from an article by Mr Ian A Wallis for Air Britain in 1961. Provided by Peter Marson
RUPERT HIBBERD for information regarding Wiltshire
SAGGITARIUS RISING by Cecil Lewis (1936 & 1966) The latest issue was by Frontline Books 2009, an imprint of Pen & Sword Books.
SAND IN MY SHOES by Joan Rice, (Published by Harper Perennial)
SCOTLAND SCANNED by Paul Wiggins and Alan Read
SEAPLANES AND FLYING BOATS by Maurice Allward 1981
SHOT DOWN and in the drink, Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork, (Published by The National Archives, 2005)
SPIES IN THE SKY by Taylor Downing, (Published by Little, Brown)
SPITFIRE'S FORGOTTEN DESIGNER by Mike Roussel, (Published by The History Press)
SPITFIRE PILOT by Roger Hall, DFC. Amberley Publishing
SPITFIRE VOICES by Dilip Sarkar, Amberley Publishing
STATION 12 by Des Turner. Sutton Publishing
STEEPLE BARTON in OXFORDSHIRE info from Richard Bailey (Learn2flyUK)
STIRLINGS IN ACTION WITH THE AIRBORNE FORCES by Dennis Williams, published by Pen & Sword Aviation
STORM FRONT by Rowland White, published by Transworld Publishers
SUSAN TOMKINS, BEAULIEU ESTATE ARCHIVE
SUN, SAND & SILVER WINGS by John Mulliner (Via Airfield Research Group)
TAKING FLIGHT by Richard P Hanlion published by Oxford University Press
TAILS OF THE FIFTIES by Peter G Campbell, published by Cirrus Associates (S.W.)
TERRY CLARK - for so much help and advice
THE AEROPLANE DIRECTORY 1957 - kindly loaned by my good friend Peter Hart
THE BIG BOOK of FLIGHT Rowland White, published by Transworld Publishers
THE BRITISH CIVIL AIRCRAFT REGISTERS 1919-1928 by Air-Britain
THE FEW by Alex Kershaw, published by Penguin
THE GERMAN AIR RAIDS ON GREAT BRITAIN 1914-18 by Capt. Joseph Morris (1925)
THE HISTORY OF AIRSHIPS by Basil Clarke
THE LAST BRITISH DAMBUSTER. A biography of George 'Johnny' Johnson, published by Ebury Press.
THE OLD FLYING DAYS by Major C C Turner, published by Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, probably circa 1927?
THE REICH INTRUDERS by Martin W Bowman, published by Pen 7 Sword Aviation
THE WAR in the WEST by James Holland. Published by Bantam Press
THOSE FABULOUS FLYING YEARS, Colin Cruddas, Air Britain (Historians) Ltd
TIGER MOTH by Stuart McKay. First published by Airlife Publishing in 1987
TIMES SUBJECT TO TIDES by Roy Calderwood
TODAY’S PILOT magazine
TOLLERTON – An Airfield for Nottingham by Howard Fisher, Bob Hammond and Nigel Morley (2008) published by Keyworth & District Local Historical Society
TONY O’GORMAN for information and history regarding several locations mainly in Oxfordshire
TREVOR SEXTON for much help and advice, especially regarding Essex.
UNITED KINGDOM AIRFIELD GUIDE by M A Farley (The Aviation Hobby Centre, Birmingham Airport)
VALIANT BOYS Tony Blackman & Anthony Wright (Grub Street)
VICTOR BOYS Tony Blackman & Garry O'Keefe (Grub Street)
VULCAN BOYS Tony Blackman (Grub Street)
VULCAN 607 Rowland White
WALLY KAHN (British Gliding Association) Info on early gliding sites
WE LANDED BY MOONLIGHT Hugh Verity Published by Ian Allan
WIKIPEDIA I have made a lot of use of this facility and generally found it very useful and accurate
WINGS by Patrick Bishop. Published by Atlantic Books
WINGS ACROSS THE BORDER VOL.1 Derrick Pratt & Mike Grant (Bridge Books, Wrexham)
WINGS OVER SCOTLAND by James Allan. Early Scottish aviation history plus a history of The Scottish Aero Club
WINGS OVER WESTLEY (author? – self published?)
WINGS OVER WILTSHIRE by Rod Priddle. Reviewed by Airfield Review in 2004
WISLEY, THE STORY OF VICKERS' OWN AIRFIELD by Stephen Skinner. Published by GMS Enterprises
WORLD WAR ONE SURVIVORS by Ray Rimmell. Published by Aston Publications
100 YEARS OF WOLVERHAMPTON'S AIRPORTS by Alec Brew. Published by Amberley Publishing
