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Biggles Was 'ere...
There are plenty of relics of war and conflict around us in every corner of the globe. Here in the Redcar area on the North East Coast of England, some of these artifacts are clearly visible. The one above sits amid a mdern housing estate, yet is reported to have been built in 1917 to warn of German Zeppelin attacks during the First World War...
Other relics like this overgrown and obscured World War 2 Bunker, built in 1940 are only visible if you know where to look...
The majority have been completely erased by time, nature and human activity, such as this field. Which may look unremarkable now, but was a significant place in 1917...
This modern housing estate in Marske by the Sea, not far from Redcar on the Northeast Coast of England for instance only hints at its past...
The 'Landings' gives a clue to what was built here long before the houses but is confused by the street names. Barnes Wallis Way, Avro Close and Lysander Way, are names made famous during a more recent war in 1939-45. What is concealed by these details hint at a past that was filled with Sopwith Camels and BE2's...
This plaque, is situated not far from the estate entrance and reveals an interesting historical place. This was Marske Aerodrome built in 1917 to accommodate an Aerial Defensive Fighting School, for the Royal Flying Corp...
Welcome then, to the Royal Flying Corps No.2 School of Aerial Defensive Fighting. Which later moved to Freiston, on the South cast f England...
Here is a modern 'Google Earth' map image of Redcar.
In the bottom centre left you can see the new housing estate called 'The Landings"
In this map image from the 1950's, the same area is shown covered with 'The Aerodrome' and shows the aircraft hangers of the Flying School, then being used by local industry as a 'Parts Depot' fr ICI who's chemical site at Wilton was rapidly expanding...
From the top left of the map, you can see where the old buildings used to be and the railway spur that fed the aerodrome, it came off the railway line which runs from Redcar (top left)to Saltburn, there used to also be a junction and signal box close by this airfield
Along this line just past the Junction Box seen here a spur from the line, which also was used by the nearby Upleatham Ironstone Mine, ran across the field to where the nacent airfield was being built...
The point at which it turned onto the airfield is still visible today, but these fields are only disturbed nowadays by walkers, farm vehicles…and the regular train service.
The traffic noise of today’s world can clearly heard from here but in 1917, a much different sound would have been heard, that of Sopwith Camels, Be2C’s and Fe2’s, a brand-new technology for its day but developed for The Great War being fought in France and Belgium...
These photo's are from the Shuttleworth collection, at www.shuttleworth.org
Marske by the Sea may have been an out of the way place in 1917 but there were a few famous names stationed here…
Capt. W.E. Johns for instance seen here, he was a proficient pilot that had reached his breaking point, so was posted to Marske as a Pilot Instructor.
He went on to write the 'Biggles' stories...
The first of which 'Biggles Learns to Fly' describes a ficticious place where he was stationed, but it bears an uncanny resemblence to a description of Marske by the Sea...
Capt. Arthur Brown, just as famous as the man credited with shooting down 'Baron Von Richtoffen', the infamous ‘Red Baron’ in his Red Fokker Tri-decker aircraft and the scourge of the Western Front...
Less well known was this man the Commanding Officer of No2 Aerial Defensive Fighting School, Major Leslie Peach Aizlewood, he also bears an uncanny resemblence to Biggles character 'Gimlet' who was Officer Commanding Frensham in his first novel.
A seasoned pilot with the MC for his time in France. Peach Aizlewood unfortunately died in a flying accident in 1918, the War Ministry report at the time recorded,
‘The accident occurred whilst he was demonstrating aerial manoeuvres for a filming unit, the pilot’s clothing had become entangled with the joystick, which caused the aircraft to drop it’s right wing and entered a spiral dive. Which the pilot was unable to recover before the aircraft hit the sea’...
He is buried here in the nearby 13th century St Germains, Churchyard, which in 1918 was the Parish church for Marske by the Sea. The church stands atop the cliff looking out across the Tees Bay where he unfortunately was killed...
In this aerial photograph, thought to have been taken just after the airfield was commissioned. Shows top left the railway line from Middlesbrough via Redcar to Saltburn.
Initially the airfield consisted of a row of several canvas and wood, 'Bessenaux' Hangers as seen above with aircraft lined up outside but by 1918 however, a Unit of the American Army Engineers was reportedly stationed here, and the brick hangers were built using the 'Belfast Truss' system by them.
The airfield and bulidings was abandoned when the school closed in 1919, they were re-purposed during World War 2 as a training establishment for the Royal Artillery.
Following the Second World War, The chemical giant ICI created a huge chemical works three miles to the West at Wilton and the firm took over the hangers and used it as a Depot for storing spare parts and equipment for the Petrochemical Plant maintenance services.
The rest of the extensive buildings were also repurposed into a 'Light Industrial Trading Estate' in the 1950's and some of the original buildings are still in use today.
Many young pilots passed through this school between 1917 and 1919; after completing their basic flying training elsewhere. They came here to be taught how to out manoeuvre enemy aircraft in flight.
The training was extremely dangerous, and many are the number of crashes, some fatal which were recorded and some used in the tales of ‘Biggles’ by WE Johns.
Four of whom lay peacefully in the old churchyard of St Germains, alongside their Commanding Officer. Major Leslie Peach Aizlewood.
Lieut. Roy Kerr aged 23, 2nd Lieut. FI Belley, 2nd Lieut. WL Murray and Flight Sergeant H Coupe.
As well this young man Lieut. A C Doucet aged just 20. He learned to fly at home in his native Canada but travelled to England to continue his training prior to being posted to a squadron in France, unfortunately he was also one of those who perished accidently. They lie amongst the quiet gravestones of local people buried in this 13th century churchyard, close to where they fell but for some a thousand miles from home.
Rest in Peace boys, for that’s what they were really,
And as Laurence Binyon wrote in his poem ‘For the Fallen’
‘At The Going Down of the Sun, and in the Morning’
‘We Will Remember Them’
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