WikiWirral Online with you since 2003, fantastic.
Forum Statistics
Forums65
Topics76,352
Posts1,033,280
Members14,560
Most Online16,551
Feb 2nd, 2024
Who's Online Now
12 members (ArranGirl13, 3 invisible), 7,886 guests, and 533 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters
sunnyside 45,164
MattLFC 22,315
Mark 21,269
granny 17,788
_Ste_ 16,345
Newest Members
Kalena1962, rattus, Lisrush, Emotecreative, ArranGirl13
14,560 Registered Users
New General Forums
New Wirral History
Tall Brick Chimneys
by diggingdeeper - 16th Mar 2024 11:56am
D.I.Y. / Building Shop
by mharford91 - 3rd Mar 2024 8:53pm
1970's Murder in Central Park, Wallasey
by cutespam - 4th Aug 2018 10:28am
Old Hall in Higher Bebington
by Rhoobarb - 25th May 2010 5:55pm
Oleo Works
by Ducko - 14th May 2008 3:09pm
Top Posters(30 Days)
granny 14
casper 13
bri445 4
Topic Replies
Facial recognition coming in supermarkets?
by diggingdeeper - 27th Mar 2024 3:50pm
Bolts at Bebington Road
by diggingdeeper - 27th Mar 2024 2:33am
Hot Spot Chippie Broadway
by Excoriator - 26th Mar 2024 7:57pm
Tall Brick Chimneys
by diggingdeeper - 26th Mar 2024 5:43pm
Lost river (Well, brook really)
by diggingdeeper - 26th Mar 2024 3:09am
Old Hall in Higher Bebington
by diggingdeeper - 24th Mar 2024 5:58pm
Netflix 3 Body Problem.
by BultacoAstro - 22nd Mar 2024 8:04am
Wisper electric bike. 36v .
by Dilly - 21st Mar 2024 7:36pm
This is Elvis
by GingerTom - 21st Mar 2024 9:27am
March
M T W T F S S
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Top Likes Received (30 Days)
cools 1
Kylix 1
Top Likes Received
bert1 14
Mark 4
Gibbo 3
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
jonah #205652 9th Feb 2008 6:40pm
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 308
Old Hand
OP Offline
Old Hand
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 308
Looks about right to me but i dont know if its a practical landing spot !! - Just to clarify i rang up the Golf Club and asked them about it. But they didnt know anything about a previous airfeild ?


Over 5000 years of Wirral History:
Google Ads
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,868
Forum Veteran
Offline
Forum Veteran
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,868
Just found a bit of info. on the website of Bidston Golf Club which seems to reinforce my idea of the location: see my previous post with map.

Quote from Bidston Golf Club website

"The Early Years

Bidston Golf Club, founded in 1913, was an amalgamation of Golfing Societies who had previously been playing on the Wallasey Corporation Municipal Course, The Warren. A lease was secured and a nine hole course was created on the site of the present eighth to eighteenth holes. Further ground was leased in 1925 between the railway and the River Fender to provide an eighteen hole Golf Course." End quote

The piece of land acquired in 1925 is about 35 acres, between the railway & the river Fender/Birket & now contains holes 2-7. From the original reports of Bidston aerodrome, there's no indication that it survived very long after the gala opening at Easter 1920, in fact, (from the original post), "there is no record of it re-opening at Whit".

I think there's now strong evidence that this land, leased in 1925 by the Club, is the site of the airfield. Opinions please.

Cheers, Chris.




Carpe diem.
chriskay #205959 11th Feb 2008 5:20pm
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 308
Old Hand
OP Offline
Old Hand
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 308
The amount of places it can be is very limited, and this is the strongest evidence yet to support the whereabouts.

Doctor Frick Says .... Thumbs Up smile

Last edited by DoctorFrick; 11th Feb 2008 5:21pm.

Over 5000 years of Wirral History:
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 22,315
Wiki Master
Offline
Wiki Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 22,315
That is very intruiging evidence Chris, and seems to tie in with the aerodrome covering "35 acre's of land near Bidston Railway station".

However this information leaves a question in my mind, was it more towards the bidston village side of the railway station:

Quote
Bidston aerodrome, which was overlooked by Bidston Hill, covered an area of some thirty-five acres of grassland lying between Bidston railway station and the sand hills, a spot completely free from telegraph wires, trees, and other obstacles. It was within two minutes walk from the railway station, and was only a short distance from Hoylake Road, which was served by buses of Birkenhead Corporation Transport, who had promised to transport the public to the aerodrome. There are no records of the aerodrome reopening at Whit. The Bidston site would be considered for possible use during the Second World War as a site for aircraft off loaded in Birkenhead docks from ships that had transported them across the Atlantic from the USA.

It does seem to suggest to me that it may have been nearer Bidston Hill then the train station is and still very close to the train station is, maybe where the Fender flyover is nowadays, around that area and into the fields towards Bidston Village, overlooked very closely by Bidston Hill.

However, to be honest, I am inclined to prefer you're placement as to where it actually was. The docks bit from the above quote also seem's to backup this theory.

smile

MattLFC #205973 11th Feb 2008 6:18pm
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 22,315
Wiki Master
Offline
Wiki Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 22,315
This map seems to suggest it was on part of the golf course also:

http://www.content-delivery.co.uk/aviation/airfields/Bidston.html

smile

MattLFC #205994 11th Feb 2008 7:01pm
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,868
Forum Veteran
Offline
Forum Veteran
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,868
Matt; I think that the original description, part of which you quoted above, of it being "between Bidston station & the sandhills" rules out the direction of the hill or Bidston village.

Cheers, Chris.


Carpe diem.
chriskay #206079 12th Feb 2008 12:01am
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,990
Are you SoNutz?
Forum Master
Offline
Are you SoNutz?
Forum Master
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,990
Put point to call.. The aerodrome was not a Runway of tarmac it was just a Piece of gras... If you look at the map matty posted and look at where the Tesco's is go back before the steel works and look how Stright that piece of field is if Tesco's wasnt there smile Remember it was an Aerodrome not Airport..


Lee Mills

SoundLad #206082 12th Feb 2008 12:24am
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 22,315
Wiki Master
Offline
Wiki Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 22,315
http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/CHESHIRE/2004-07/1090344343

Quote
This airfield started operating in April 1920. It was probably located where Bidston golf course now is. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has any information or photographs of it or who can exactly locate it.

Another airfield operated nearby in the 1930s. This was owned by E D Ward Ltd who had a garage on Leasowe Road somewhere near where Longacre Close now is. This airfield was behind the garage. E D Ward was Eric Darwent Ward who was born in Welshpool in 1900 and retired there.

Interesting... think

MattLFC #206109 12th Feb 2008 10:27am
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,868
Forum Veteran
Offline
Forum Veteran
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,868
@Matt; yes, I came across that too.
@Soundlad; you're right, of course, about it being a grass field. What you also need to bear in mind though, is that in those days, what was needed was not a nice straight piece of land. Before the days of powerful jet aircraft, it was necessary, to achieve flying speed, to take off into the wind, so you needed a site which had room to take off in any direction. Planes also landed into the wind to minimise groundspeed at touchdown.(This is, of course, why all airfields had a windsock). In the 1939-45 war, when planes were heavier & needed a tarmac runway, the standard configuration was to have 3 runways in a triangle, 60 degrees apart.

Cheers, Chris.


Carpe diem.
chriskay #206111 12th Feb 2008 10:52am
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,990
Are you SoNutz?
Forum Master
Offline
Are you SoNutz?
Forum Master
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,990
happy @ Chris smile


Lee Mills

SoundLad #206119 12th Feb 2008 1:28pm
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,238
Forum Addict
Offline
Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,238
A fly in the ointment guys..I'm reading a book at present called Wirral gleanings ,although it makes no reference to the Aerodrome it does say and there is a map from 1909 and the land where the golf course and the station are was all salt marshes .I suppose things might of changed in the eleven years before it opened but wouldn't that have been a major engineering task to drain them..
I am in the process of trying to get an appointment at the archives to do a little more research


It all makes perfect sense expressed in dollars and cents ,pound shillings and pence
SoundLad #206120 12th Feb 2008 1:36pm
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,188
Forum Addict
Offline
Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,188
an aerodrome, well blow me over with a feather, bloody easyjet are everywhere arn't they


All hail the posting King and thou Wiki Wirral Bumper sticker will be displayed with pride
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,238
Forum Addict
Offline
Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,238
raftl


It all makes perfect sense expressed in dollars and cents ,pound shillings and pence
jonno40 #206126 12th Feb 2008 2:20pm
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 21,269
Likes: 4
Wiki Master
Online Happy
Wiki Master
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 21,269
Likes: 4
Okay asking around i got a reference to a RAF Station off Leasowe Road. It wasnt a big affair it stored the barrarge balloons "Deflated Ones" in the Building. Like i say it was only small,
but an RAF Station in its own rights, as it had security etc.
And one of them barriers that counter balance and you send it
up in the air with the minimum of effort.

Anyways.
This is where it was.


Attached Images
raf01.jpg (81.22 KB, 152 downloads)
You can see the Distance from Tesco's Bidston Moss
raf02.jpg (71.87 KB, 150 downloads)
Just off Leasowe Rd and North Wallasey Approach (Green lane)
raf03.jpg (96.72 KB, 151 downloads)
From memory the Building could have been either side. Not sure, but it wasn't big.
Mark #206129 12th Feb 2008 2:44pm
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,238
Forum Addict
Offline
Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,238
There are several references to theses barrage balloon sites,there were quite a few on the Wirral ,even a couple on bidston hill.They also used to set huge oil fires close to these sites so as to dis-orientate the German bombers(slightly off thread)


It all makes perfect sense expressed in dollars and cents ,pound shillings and pence
Page 2 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Moderated by  Mod 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Random Wirral Images

Click to View Topic.
Newest Topics
Facial recognition coming in supermarkets?
by Excoriator - 27th Mar 2024 10:52am
Hot Spot Chippie Broadway
by Excoriator - 26th Mar 2024 7:57pm
Bolts at Bebington Road
by Excoriator - 23rd Mar 2024 9:48am
Netflix 3 Body Problem.
by BultacoAstro - 22nd Mar 2024 8:04am
Tall Brick Chimneys
by diggingdeeper - 16th Mar 2024 11:56am
For Sale & Free
Wisper electric bike. 36v .
by Dilly - 21st Mar 2024 7:36pm
This is Elvis
by GingerTom - 17th Mar 2024 2:37pm
Member Spotlight
diggingdeeper
diggingdeeper
Wirral
Posts: 14,343
Joined: July 2008
Today's Birthdays
There are no members with birthdays on this day.
New Wirral Info
Facial recognition coming in supermarkets?
by Excoriator - 27th Mar 2024 10:52am
Hot Spot Chippie Broadway
by Excoriator - 26th Mar 2024 7:57pm
Bolts at Bebington Road
by Excoriator - 23rd Mar 2024 9:48am
Get your Money Tree ready
by keef666 - 22nd Mar 2023 12:27pm
Restaurant/pub with outdoor seating - Bromborough
by CarterUSM - 7th Aug 2020 7:59pm
News : New Topics
Gaza
by diggingdeeper - 29th Oct 2023 9:28am
Lost river (Well, brook really)
by Excoriator - 10th Sep 2019 8:50am
New Enthusiast Forums
Netflix 3 Body Problem.
by BultacoAstro - 22nd Mar 2024 8:04am
Xbox
by TudorBlue - 3rd Mar 2024 8:48pm
Wiper mechanism needed
by Peter0787 - 20th Feb 2024 4:07pm
Popular Topics(Views)
5,067,823 WIKI WALK CHAT
4,013,760 Spotted!
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5