Heston Aerodrome

Heston Aerodrome was a 1930s airfield located to the west of London, UK, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, flew from Heston to Germany three times in two weeks in British Airways Lockheed airliners for talks with Adolf Hitler, and returned to Heston from the Munich Conference with the paper referred to in his later "Peace for our time" speech from 10 Downing Street.

Private flying

Neville Chamberlain holding the paper containing the resolution to commit to peaceful methods signed by both Hitler and himself on his return from Munich. He is showing the piece of paper to a crowd at Heston Aerodrome on 30 September 1938. He said:

"...the settlement of the Czechoslovakian problem, which has now been achieved is, in my view, only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all Europe may find peace. This morning I had another talk with the German Chancellor, Herr Hitler, and here is the paper which bears his name upon it as well as mine (waves paper to the crowd - receiving loud cheers and "Hear Hears"). Some of you, perhaps, have already heard what it contains but I would just like to read it to you ...".

Later that day he stood outside Number 10 Downing Street and again read from the document and concluded:

'"My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time."

Heston Air Park was built by Airwork Ltd, and was officially opened on 5 July 1929, to coincide with hosting the 2-day King's Cup air race. By then, the Airwork Flying School had become well established, many privately-owned aircraft had moved in, and the Household Brigade Flying Club, also known as the Guards flying club, had moved from Brooklands. Frequent public events helped promote Heston as a major centre of private flying, with air displays, public demonstrations of new aircraft types, 'garden parties', air races, and as the starting point for long-distance flight record attempts. The King's Cup race was again staged at Heston in 1931. From the start, the first UK use of a concrete hangar and concrete aprons had already been established. Additional hangars and facilities, and expansion of the airfield, continued through the 1930s.

Commercial operations

In September 1931, Heston Air Park was renamed Heston Airport, following provision of customs facilities and ongoing improvements for passenger handling. Night flying facilities were installed and further developed, and in 1932 it was designated as a commercial diversionary airport, often required when Croydon Airport was fog-bound. It is claimed that the central building was the first purpose-built airport control tower, on which all modern control towers are based.

In April 1933, Spartan Air Lines started a twice-daily service to Cowes in the Isle of Wight. During 1934, the service operated from Croydon Airport, but reverted to Heston for the 1935 season, in collaboration with Railway Air Services. On 28 January 1934, Jersey Airways started a daily service to Jersey, landing on St. Aubin's beach at West Park, St Helier. In May 1934, the Portsmouth, Southsea, and Isle of Wight Company (PS&IOW) started a service from Heston to the Isle of Wight. In May 1934, the British Air Navigation Company (BANCO) started operating scheduled services to Le Touquet, Dieppe, Pourville, and Deauville, having previously operated cross-Channel charters. In 1934 and 1935, United Airways Ltd operated services from Heston to Stanley Park Aerodrome (Blackpool) In 1936, British Airways Ltd, formed by mergers of Spartan Air Lines, United Airways Ltd and Hillman's Airways, started scheduled services at Heston, then moved to Gatwick Airport, then to Croydon Airport, before returning to Heston in May 1938, remaining until April 1940.

Resident aircraft manufacturers

Manufacturers at Heston included Comper Aircraft Company (1933-1934), Chrislea Aircraft (1936-1947), Heston Aircraft Company (1934-1948), Fairey Aviation Company (1945-1947). Lesser use of the airfield was by Carden-Baynes Aircraft, Robinson Aircraft, Navarro Safety Aircraft, Martin-Baker. First flights took place of the first UK-built Mignet HM.14 "Flying Flea", Watkinson Dingbat, Luton Minor, Helmy Aerogypt, Hafner AR.III gyroplane and the Fane F.1/40.

Expansion plans

During the late 1930s, the British government had been studying the future of air transport and airports in the London area. It had been decided that London would be served by four airports - Croydon, Heston, and new airfields at Fairlop in Essex and Lullingstone, Kent. To this end, improvements and extensions had already begun at Heston, with the intention of bringing it up to the most modern standards of airports elsewhere in Europe. New drainage was put in, and trees near the flight path were removed. Runway lighting and radio aids to landing were installed. Land and buildings around the site were bought up for expansion, including St Mary's Boys Orphanage in North Hyde that was demolished. In 1937, the airport was bought by the Air Ministry, and developed to become almost as large as Croydon Airport, making it London's second airport at that time. Imperial Airways served the British Empire from Croydon, and British Airways served European destinations from Heston. The area of the landing field was then 3,540 feet by 2,700 feet.

An act of parliament (Air Ministry (Heston and Kenley) Act 1939) authorised the compulsory purchase of land and road closures needed for further expansion. The plans did not meet with universal approval, especially from the Heston Aircraft Company, whose production facility on the site was planned to be demolished in December 1939.

Second World War

The Air Ministry had intended to completely take over the Heston site from Airwork Ltd in September 1939 for civil airline operations, but the declaration of war intervened, and the plans were never implemented. By 1 September 1939, the aircraft and administrations of British Airways Ltd (BAL) and Imperial Airways were physically transferred to Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport, to be operated jointly by National Air Communications (NAC). Services to Paris - Le Bourget Airport, Stockholm, and other overseas destinations continued, using types including DH.86, Lockheed 14, DH.91 Albatross, AW.27 Ensign. From October 1939, airlines of neutral countries (such as Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands) were only permitted to fly to coastal civilian airfields such as Shoreham Airport, but Air France was allowed to operate Dewoitine D.338s between Paris and Heston. On 1 April 1940, British Airways Ltd and Imperial Airways were officially merged as a new company, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).

After the surrender of the Netherlands on 14 May 1940, several KLM aircraft evaded capture, and converged on the UK. On 4 June 1940, BOAC started a Heston to Lisbon service, using DH.91 Albatrosses, to connect with transatlantic services of Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) that used Boeing 314 flying boats. Following the fall of France (22 June 1940), on 26 June 1940 the BOAC Lisbon service was switched to the DC-3s chartered from KLM with Dutch crews; by August 1940, five DC-3s were registered in Britain to a KLM subsidiary, nominally based at Heston. In late August 1940, all BOAC aircraft still based at Heston were transferred to Whitchurch, including the KLM DC-3s. For the Lisbon service, a DC-3 would fly to Heston to pick up passengers, then return to Whitchurch for onward travel to Lisbon. On 21 September 1940, DC-3 G-AGBC crashed in fog on landing at Heston during such a flight. Meanwhile, on 19 September 1940, a German parachute mine demolished the 'Dawbarn' hangar, formerly occupied by BAL in 1939, and previously by Airwork. No further airline operations took place at Heston.

During the Second World War, RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes flew from what was then RAF Heston, followed by USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. From 1941 to 1944, RAF Heston was the home of No.1422 Flight RAF, flying a wide variety of aircraft, including Turbinlite Douglas Havocs and de Havilland Mosquitos. After disbandment in 1944, this unit became the Special Projectile Flight of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, remaining at Heston.

Post-Second World War

After the war, the 1939 plans for four London airports were scrapped. Heathrow had by then been chosen as the main London Airport, and its proximity would have made regular flying from Heston aerodrome impossible.

Since official closure in 1947, several aircraft movements have occurred. On 9 June 1951, a BOAC (staff) Sports Festival was held, and aircraft that landed at the site included a Miles M.14A Hawk Trainer, de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth, Auster J/1B Aiglet, de Havilland DH.104 Dove, de Havilland DH.84 Dragon and perhaps two others. One of the last aviation movements at Heston was by Agusta-Bell 47J Ranger helicopter G-ASNV in Sept 1964.

Parts of the airport land were still owned by the British government in 1962, when the M4 motorway construction was started. Additional land was needed for a motorway service area (Heston Services), that was built in 1965 over the northern half of the 1940s aerodrome site.

Woodason Aircraft Models

Heston Aerodrome was the site of the Woodason workshop during much of the 1930s and in the immediate post-war period. The company was founded by Victor Woodason (1904-1964), who was highly regarded at Heston and was always found space in the hangar areas. Woodason was a British model-maker who created superb and detailed aircraft models, large and small, for the aviation industry, airlines, movies, the Air Ministry and other government agencies, merchandisers, advertising, aircraft owners and collectors. The airport was a centre for private aviation activity in the pre-Second World War era, but with the takeover by military operations during the war Woodason had to vacate the airport, and his workshop operated from a large farmhouse, Grange Farm, that he rented for his family on the eastern boundary of Heston Airfield.

Today

In 2010, some of what used to be Heston Aerodrome is now used for housing and industrial estates, and the M4 motorway with its large service areas cuts across the aerodrome E-W, but a substantial area to the north of the M4 is host to the Airlinks 18-hole golf course. Many of the roads in the area have aviation-related names, such as Brabazon Road and Bleriot Road. Until about 2000, a WWII black hangar was still visible. The original tree-lined approach driveway (Aerodrome Way) still exists, and radiating from it, buildings in the original 'Aircraft' plan-form designed to resemble an arrow pointing to true magnetic North. Only one complete building remains, the hangar built by A. Jackaman & Sons, and once topped with a large Airwork logo illuminated sign. In 1929, it was the first concrete hangar in the UK, and, in 2009, was given Grade II listed building status.

References

• Aeroplane Monthly August 1977. Williams. Hush hush at Heston
• Aeroplane Monthly December 1979. Anon. Gone But Not Forgotten - Heston
• Aeroplane Monthly April 1995. Bowring. Heston Revisited
• Air-Britain Archive Autumn 2006. Meaden. Heston in Wartime
• Brooks, Robin J. 2000. Thames Valley Airfields in the Second World War: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Middlesex ISBN 1853066338
• Delve, Ken. 2007. The Military Airfields of Britain: Northern Home Counties. Crowood. ISBN 1861269072
• Doyle, Neville. 2002. The Triple Alliance: The Predecessors of the first British Airways. Air-Britain. ISBN 0851302866
• Halpenny, Bruce B. (1992). Action Station Vol.8: Military Airfields of Greater London. ISBN 185260431X
• Hamlin, John F. 1996. Airfield Focus 24: Heston. ISBN 1870384466
• Horne, M A C, FCIT. The London Airports with particular reference to their transport links with London] (working draft 18/6/2003) http://www.metadyne.co.uk/AIRPORT2.pdf#search=%22%22Heston%20airport%22%22
• Lake, Alan. "Flying Units of the RAF". Airlife Publishing. Shrewsbury. 1999. ISBN 1840370866
• Marriott, Leo. 1993. British Airports Then & Now ISBN 0711020760
• Moss, Peter W. 1962. Impressments Log (Vol I-IV). Air-Britain.
• Moss, Peter W. October 1974. British Airways. Aeroplane Monthly.
• Sherwood, Philip. 1999. Heathrow: 2000 years of History. ISBN 0750921323
• Sherwood, Tim. Coming in to Land: A Short History of Hounslow, Hanworth and Heston Aerodromes 1911-1946. Heritage Publications (1999) ISBN 1899144307
• Smith, Ron. 2002. British Built Aircraft Vol.1 Greater London. Tempus. ISBN 0752427709
• Wesselink, Theo & Postma, Thijs. 1985. DC-3/C-47's Onder Nederlandse Vlag

External links

• Memories of a girl who lived near Heston airfield during the war http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/77/a5550077.shtml
• Memoir of a worker at Heston who witnessed Chamberlain's return http://www.pfabristol.flyer.co.uk/strutter/november01.htm
• Woodason Models based at Heston and in-depth history http://www.collectair.com/woodason.html
• Heston in the 1939 looking south-east across the airfield http://www.airteamimages.com/63221.html
• Various images here - type Heston in the search field http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk