Croydon memories
I lived about a mile from the old airport in the 1930's; my father worked there for Imperial Airways from 1934 to 1950 apart from the war years 1940 to 45 when he was sent to Treforest in South Wales. My uncle/godfather worked ther from the opening as London Airport until the outbreak of war in 1939, he was Imperial's Chief Inspector for most of that time. He remained with the airline and its successive identities until retiring in 1959. I learned to fly there with the Surrey & Kent Flying Club and flew as passenger in a Leopard Moth on its last flight out of Croydon to Biggin Hill. Thus my family had connections throughout its civil working life.
In recent weeks I have been re-reading James Hamilton Patterson's book, Empire of the Clouds, that deals primarily with aircraft of the post 1945 wars but t has triggered memories and is helping me with my own book that has been only about 10 years in preparation to date! One day, maybe, I'll consider it finished and look for a publisher.
Anyway, back to Croydon. Croydon became London Airport in the early 1920's and evolved from Waddon Aerodrome that was used by the machines built at National Aircraft Factory No 1. In 1939 it was taken over by the RAF as a fighter base for the defence of Londoon and south east England, all civilians were sent off site, in my father's case to a factory in Commerce Way, Croydon, later to Treforest. My uncle went overnght 3/4 September in an obviously pre-planned move to the Grand Spa Hotel in Bristol!. In 1938 he changed roles from Chief Inspector to join the Chief Engineer's Department. The Chief Engineer at that time was Major Mayo of Mayo Composite fame (the piggyback seaplane combination of Maia and Mercury built by Short Brothers at Rochester).
The wartime introduction of heavy bombers generated a need for hard runways that, post war, became available for the transport derivative aircraft so that Croydon's grass airfield was not suitable nor was there any potential for expansion. BOAC (post 1940 successor to Imperial) re-opened Croydon as a maintenance base flying the Lancastrians, Haltons and Yorks in and out unladen. But the next generation of airliners was coming as was Heathrow, Croydon's days were numbered, but operators of smaller aircraft continued for many years.
In those remaining post war years I believe that there were daily early morning newspaper flights to the Channel Islands, to return with loads such as flowers and tomatoes. I think Avro Ansons were commonly used for this task and I often heard each of the two engines run up in turn for pre-take off magneto drop checks at about 0530. One morning the take-off ended in disaster because the arcraft failed to clear the hangar at the north end of runway 17 where it was to be see "parked" on the roof of an outbuilding. Apparently the pilot suffered a broken leg but both engines fell out into the hangar damaging several aircraft inside! At least, I think that's how it happened.
I spent more than 60 years working in aviation based posts and it amuses me to think that for most of the 1950's I spent my weekdays working as a minor member of the design team producing what was to become Britain's longest serving, fastest, highest flying longest range and heaviest load carrier of the V bomber force while my weekends were linked with 30 plus year old biplane trainers, Tiger Moths. Quite a contrast.