Now that the Hereford VBCW has a surfeit of aircraft (see HERE and HERE and HERE), the question arises (possibly slightly out of order) - where were all the airfields in the County? Some guidance can be obtained from "Herefordshire & Worcestershire Airfields in the Second World War" by Robin J. Brooks [pub. Countryside Brooks, Newbury (2006)]
which states (extracted from pps. 13- 16):
“The Wye Valley in the 1930s had seen a sudden rise in the
number of landing strips as the idea of flight took hold with the general
public. Some were situated on large areas of flat grass such as the racecourses
at Hereford and at Llandrindod Wells just beyond the Wye Valley. Others were
private strips for the use of avid aviators. Eastbach Court, Talgarth,
Boughrood Court (which was to be used as an Emergency Landing Ground during the
war), Michaelchurch, King’s Acre and Kington, which was attached to a military
hospital, were the most well known. Many were closed down as war approached but
some, such as Hereford Racecourse, were reactivated after the war only to close
at a later date. The same applied to Worcester, though there were fewer private
strips compared to Hereford. The local racecourse known as Pitchcroft had seen
early aviators in the persons of Colonel Samuel Cody and Gustav Hamel….”
“…Herefordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands did
have few very important civilian airfields that contributed to the war effort.
To mention two, Castle Bromwich had been requisitioned for use by the War
Office in 1914, was again requisitioned in 1937 and became the home of No.14
ERFTS. It also became a major aircraft factory and during its time more than 11,000
Spitfires and 300 Lancasters were built there. Likewise Elmdon was
requisitioned in 1939 and was used as a flying training school and for the
testing of Stirling and Lancaster bombers. Elmdon is now, of course, Birmingham
International Airport….”
“In Herefordshire and Worcestershire, the [war] expansion
scheme did not reach its peak until 1939/1940. Being far from the main area of
battle in the south-east and east of England, they were always intended to be
used for the training of aircrew. Of the seven airfields within the boundaries
of the two counties, Pershore and Honeybourne were to become major Operational
Training Units (OTUs) while Madley was to become a signals school to train
aircraft wireless operators (and base for ferrying VIPs). Shobdon and Berrow
were to train glider pilots with Worcester (Perdiswell) becoming the home of an
Elementary Flying Training School. Defford was soon of huge importance in the
world of telecommunications and electronic wizardry. One particular station in
Hereford, RAF Credenhill, was to become a major training base for thousands of
engineering ground trades. It was devoid of any form of runway but aircraft
were brought to the station on trailers to allow airmen to work on them.”
VBCW Notes:
(1). Hereford Racecourse is the oldest operational airfield in the Hereford VBCW, having been identified originally by JP within his blog. The private airfield at Michaelchurch was researched by the Bishop of Ludlow's Broadcasting Service HERE. Research has yet to be carried out on the private landing strips at "Eastbach Court, Talgarth, Boughrood Court...Kings Acre and Kington" (nor the military hospital attached to it), but no doubt this post will promote a scramble amongst players to see if any of these valuable airfield sites are "within their patch" (or more likely, "could be brought within their patch")....
