Herts & Essex Aero Club

[DownWest]

The reason the H & E field is now a boating lake, is that is became a gravel pit..
I, lived in Broxbourne from 1950 to 1968 and knew several people who flew there. I also met Neville Browning later in Norfolk and clearly remember his fatal crash. The weather was a bit claggy and he wanted to give the crowd a show as the cloudbase was a bit low for most. A pilot friend was there and thought he lost it from lack of a horizon. Was the engine failure from the accident report?
DW

[Bayas]

History/records

My dad, Mr. J. B. Bayas, did his first solo here between July 1 to July 15 1936, and became a flying member of the Club. He then joined Govt. of India as a civil servant. I would like to get any information on him.
Thanks

[fauteuil volant]

Crikey, Bayas, that's a heck of a long time to be airborne on your first solo!

[Nina Muller]

Originally Posted by ratrodpilot

Would anyone have any pics or info on William Catton who was a member of the club in 1936, he lived at Dane Street, Bishops Stortfod and got his club licence on 14/3/1936 no 13669


He crashed a plane in Belchamp St Paul sometime after that time while trying to take off in a small field but didn't clear the trees and hedge....


Any info would be appreciated


best wishes
Ratrod Pilot

Hello Ratrod Pilot,
William Catton was my father and he and my mum Eunice came out to Australia in 1950. Any information that you have about him would be appreciated. I think you know my cousin Paul Chummy Cousins.

[l.garey]

Good to hear from you Nina. I hope your information will be helpful to the enquirer.

It's also good to see this thread revived. I have a question. My third cousin was Arthur Charles Geary, DFC, RAFVR and I have recently been researching his aviation career. Arthur was born in Edmonton, North London, in 1909, son of a well-known baker. He was a radio engineer and for three years from 1929 was a radio operator on SS Silverlarch. In the 1939 register of the population he is listed as a member of the Civil Air Guard, which was formed in 1938 to subsidise pilot training in the difficult years just pre-war. Suitable volunteers were trained at civilian flying clubs for their pilot’s A licence in exchange for undertaking to serve in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR). Arthur gained his R Ae C certificate dated 18.3.39 at the Herts & Essex Aero Club on the (quote) "D.H.60g, Gipsy,85". (I don't see what the "85" refers to). Indeed the Club did use Gipsy Moths from its early days and there is a picture of a line-up of them at https://www.ukairfieldguide.net/airfields/Broxbourne

I wonder if anyone can throw a little more light on the Club and its equipment in 1939, and the fate of its aircraft during the war. I understand some were impressed, but cannot find details.

To complete the story, Arthur indeed joined the RAFVR in 1940 and was posted to 211 Squadron as wireless operator/air gunner on the Blenheim I, first in the Western Desert then in Greece. He was awarded the DFC in March 1941 “For gallantry and devotion to duty in the execution of air operations”. Sadly the award was to be posthumous as Arthur died during the infamous Easter Sunday operation in April 1941 when six Blenheims, attacking German troop movements in the Monastir gap, were destroyed by Bf109s.

Thanks to anyone who can help me find out more about the Club at that momentous time.
Laurence

[fauteuil volant]

Originally Posted by l.garey

I understand some were impressed, but cannot find details.

Laurence

Have you consulted 'Impressments Log' by Peter W. Moss? If not, let me know and I'll try to do it for you tomorrow.

[l.garey]

Thanks FV. I can't get at my impressment logs any more (you know why!) so if you could look I'd be most grateful.
Laurence

[fauteuil volant]

Moths operated by the Herts & Essex Aero Club, at the outbreak of war, which were impressed [source: 'Impressments Log']. The first column is the civil registration, the second the impressment date, the third the military serial number and the fourth the Moth variant. Here goes .....

G-AAAO 01.11.39 X5019 DH.60G
G-AAEX 01.11.39 X5021 DH.60G
G-AAPH 03.06.40 X5020 DH.60X
G-AAYG 06.12.39 X5126 DH.60M
G-ABHN 06.12.39 X5130 DH.60M

[l.garey]

Brilliant. Thanks!

Laurence

[fauteuil volant]

So have you, Laurence, yet deduced on which one your late third cousin gained his Certificate?

The photograph, to which you referred in your post of yesterday, appears to shows seven Moths (if one assumes that to be the identity of the aeroplane, whose undercarriage alone is displayed, beyond the Stinson). However without any indication of when, in the thirties, it was taken, one cannot aver that there were another two Moths in the Club's fleet at the outbreak of war. The photograph only offers a clue as to the identity of one of those Moths depicted. That appears to be G-EBVK, a DH.60X Moth that crashed (for the third time!) at Broxbourne on 06.07.37. It is recorded as having been damaged beyond repair in that crash (registration cancelled by the ARB the following year). So presumably that phtograph was taken not later than July 1937.

[fauteuil volant]

I've identified another three Moths operated by the Club. These were:

G-EBOT DH.60 Crashed 13/12/31 Broxbourne
G-EBWT DH.60X Crashed 24/03/34 Nazeing
G-EBZZ DH.60X Crashed 22/06/34 Stansted Abbots

I suspect that for a definitive list of the Club's fleet in the thirties, one could do worse than look to the first volume of 'Wings over Nazeing', by Leslie Kimm, which covers the history of the Club and Broxbourne Aerodrome in the period 1929 to 1945. Unfortunately I do not have that in my library.

[l.garey]

I think I see only 6 Moths in that picture, of which the second appears to be G-EBVx (maybe K, but not sure). The first one could be the G-ABHN that you mentioned, but might not be! Which one our Arthur used, I don't know. Maybe several of them. They seem to have had a mix of DH60 subspecies. The differences are marginal to my eyes. But his RAeC certificate mentions specifically "D.H.60g" with a mysterious "85" added. It is mentioned that the poster "took this picture in the Science Museum" - a comment that I don't understand. The colour scheme looks rather attractive.

Having myself had a bit of a problem with Tiger Moth slats many moons ago, I note with interest that the first Moth appears not to have them whereas the second does - unless it's just the graininess of the photograph.

Laurence

[fauteuil volant]

Originally Posted by l.garey

I think I see only 6 Moths in that picture

You're right, Laurence. I merged the low wing monoplane (seventh away from the camera - perhaps a Miles Hawk?) with the Stinson - and thought that I could see a pair of undercarriage legs, below and behind the latter, which I attributed to another Moth. Six moths it is!

[POBJOY]

Where's Broxbourne gone !

When Pobjoy went 'Power' (from gliding) in 1972 it was by way of a 25 HP Turbulent (based at Redhill). This was pre mobile phones and the interweb so information on old airfields was rather scarce, and certainly out of date. However it soon became obvious that many 'old airfields ' were indeed still potentially usable for a non radio ultralight, and so it was great fun finding these places from air or ground to see if using them was possible. In the case of Broxbourne in the 70's it was most decidedly not usable unless you had a boat !!, as the gravel boys had changed it beyond recognition.
Fast fwd to 1994 and i am reading (ATA Pilot) Diana Barnato Walker's excellent book 'Spreading My Wings' when on page 71 Broxbourne appears in the text. So as not to spoil the complete tale here is the 'taster'. 8 th Dec1942 DBW has to drop off a Miles Master in Wales and then pick up a Spitfire Vc for delivery to Hornchurch. True to form it is getting late, and upon arriving north of London it is getting 'murky' with failing light and forming fog. Hornchurch is 'out' and N Weald fogged in. DBW scans her map and see's a red dot with BB marked on it. Not knowing this is only a small grass airfield surrounded by fields she is running out of options when she spots a small 'red doped' machine on a concrete base. Two approaches later she 'squeeze's into the field and brakes to a halt before hitting the hedge. After taxying towards the red doped machine (Proctor) a mechanic greets her with the classic 'we have never had a Spitfire in here before' !!. Being close to the London tube Diana is soon off to London for a night club and party plus gets the brief on 'how to get a Spit out of a small field'. Next morning with the 'tail in the hedge', stick back, and 4 airman on the tail area she gives EE743 as much power as she dares,nods her head and releases the brakes as the airman tumble off. The Spit shoots forward, clears the telephone wires and Diana delivers it to nearby Hornchurch. Great book, fantastic pilot, and as Diana says 'Thank you BB for being there when I needed you'. ISBN I 85260 473 5 treat yourself to a great read.

[Vit Dip]

Originally Posted by greenviewpark

Cerco foto dell'Herts & Essex Aero Club (Broxbourne Herts.) sebbene quello fosse l'indirizzo ufficiale, in realtà si formò in un campo agricolo di Frogley Bros. a Nazeing Essex nel 1931, dove rimase fino al 1953, quando trasferì il calcio e la canna della serratura a Stapleford Tawney.

Qualsiasi foto dell'aereo, degli edifici, ecc. Ecc. sarebbe molto apprezzata.

Ho molte immagini,sto cercando una persona che lavorava in questa azienda ne 1932 si chiamava Whitaker,
sono in possesso di un orologio Rolex da tasca con dedica a sui nome e cerco figli o nipoti

[DHfan]

Originally Posted by POBJOY

Being close to the London tube Diana is soon off to London for a night club and party plus gets the brief on 'how to get a Spit out of a small field'.

Actually nowhere near a tube station or even line but less than a mile from Broxbourne station on the main line into Liverpool Street.