Originally Posted by
pax britanica
I had several friends on the Stanwell estate ( l lived in the village , always emphasis on that word) and its maze like structure was perfect for early teens lads racing bikes around for hours at a time trying to catch or evade your mates. Also had a nice recreation ground tennis courts and possibly a bowling green plus a social club which was the scene of my earliest adventures with the opposite sex . Easy to criticise these things as 'typical nationalised industries but compare them to the shabby way people are treated nowadays. I dont know what happened to all the 'Airways Estate ' properties in Stanwell as I moved away in 1977 but no doubt most were sold off and like Cranford a lot of infill additional housing added it all being far too socialist for a lady who didnt believe in Society . (now there was a comment/idea whose consequences we suffer today)
At the start of my airline career, I stayed in digs just off North Hyde Lane. That was also an Airways Housing estate.