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Hadleigh Airfield
Until recently, if you drove to
Ipswich from Hadleigh via station Road, after passing Pond Hall and climbing
the hill, on the left you would see two wooden chalet bungalows, called No1
and No 2 Aerodrome cottages. To the North of these cottages the flat area
bounded to the North by woodland was a ‘Forward Operating Base’ for The
Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. However, in 1926, due to the
enthusiasm of an ex RFC bomber pilot, Courtney M Prentice, by now a
successful businessman in Stowmarket, the Suffolk (and Eastern Counties)
Aeroplane Club was formed. In February 1927 the Club bought its first
aeroplane, a Blackburn Bluebird soon followed by three more aircraft. In
1928 an Easter Air Display was arranged, the programme for which encouraged
potential pilots to learn to fly ‘which would enable you to fly to Australia
in 16 days – for fifty five pounds!’
The Club grew rapidly and became a
feature in the air calendar of the somewhat exclusive world of private
flying. The Hon Lady Bailey of Leeds Castle in Kent agreed to become
president and would attend meetings flying in with her friend Mrs De
Thailand, whose husband subsequently designed the first jet airliner
The 1929 Kings Cup Air race used Hadleigh airfield as a turning point with
judges appointed from club members, whilst in the same year an air taxi
service was started from Hadleigh to Cambridge, new clubhouses having been
completed to provide a suitable terminal at both locations.
The Club was sufficiently well
established to be asked to run the new Ipswich Airport. On 26th
June 1930 on its completion the Club moved there after having sold its Hadleigh clubhouse and hanger to Ipswich Borough Council, for re-erection at
Ipswich. The hanger was demolished relatively recently when Ipswich Borough
decided to turn the airport into a housing estate, depriving the town and
the area of a much-needed facility in the modern world. However,
dependent on one’s point of view matters could have been better or worse,
for in 1919 a far sighted government committee was considering internal air
routes and those to the continent in which Hadleigh featured, along with
Hounslow (London), Filton (Bristol), Sheffield, North Shotwick (Liverpool),
Doncaster, Newcastle and Edinburgh. So Hadleigh nearly became another
Stansted!
John Bloomfield
Editor’s note: Our July 1989
Newsletter also featured an account of the Hadleigh Aerodrome.
You can
find it on our website.
Nominations are invited from any
member of the Hadleigh Society for an award to be made in recognition of
‘Outstanding improvements to, or conservation of, Hadleigh’s buildings or
environment’
In deciding to make an award the
Society’s Executive Committee and any expert they may wish to consult, will
be considering how sympathetic the work is with its surroundings and how
well it integrates with them. They will expect all work to display a high
quality of workmanship and to be an example of good practice.
Nominations should include details
of the improvement made or of work carried out and should be sent to the
Hon. Secretary.
On Wednesday 16th August
Pip Wright, who last year entertained us on the subject of Suffolk Witches,
returns to talk about Transportation in Suffolk. Convicts that is, not
convoys.
In
partnership with the Friends of Hadleigh Guildhall we are staging a special
event on Friday 1st September. The evening starts at 7.30pm for
8pm. Tickets are £7.50, a glass of wine included and are available from
Idler Book Shop or Jan Byrne 01743 822192.
This
show, Ruby and Her Horses is of true life stories from the age of
agricultural depression much of which is centred around Ruby's love and
adventures with horses in these hard days. A time when you could walk on
land from Cambridge to Clacton that nobody would take and as Ruby said 'if
you hadn't got anything you were lucky for sooner or later you would loose
it and you had not the worry of it.' The songs are sung by Andrew in his
fine nut brown Suffolk voice whilst Neil tells the stories just at Ruby told
them. Although this is only their fourth booking 'the boys' have already had
excellent reviews as follows:
‘An
excellent show. The Bumpstead Boys gave us a full evening of stories, humour
and local songs, accompanied by a wonderful range of photos projected onto a
screen with themes to match the songs. Full of personal touches, the
technical quality was excellent. To provide a perfect balance to the
evening, Andrew has a fine voice whether singing unaccompanied or with the 2
squeeze boxes in action. We are hoping to attract them to Lavenham again
soon.’ Jim Keohane LAVENHAM LIFE
‘An
evening that many described as quite brilliant. A magnificent range of
photographs all taken at the time by Ruby on her box
brownie
now digitalised and shown on the big screen took us back to the ways and
attributes of the period between and before the two great world wars. These
produced a range of emotions from sadness to side splitting laughter. This
should not be missed - excellent entertainment.’ Eddie Kench THE BOX
RIVER NEWS
‘A
special evening - delightful’ Barry Peters Editor WEST SUFFOLK NEWSPAPERS
Bought at Lavenham Horse Fair,
Roxanne the trotting mare. She trotted the five miles from Hadleigh Market
to Boxford in 11 minutes to beat an automobile and pay for herself with the
wager won.
Roger Kennell has amassed an impressive collection of
information about Hadleigh. To show that he's not just an expert on
bricks, at our meeting on 24th May he wove the story of
Hadleigh's corset factory, which was based in the Old Town Hall from about
1904 to 1925 and was an outpost of Pretty & Son of Ipswich. From 50 to
100 young women, including girls from 13, worked at rows of sewing machines
for 3 shillings a day. We learned about ladies fashions a hundred years ago,
about William Pretty and his son, and about our Guildhall in an earlier age.
Ater the factory closed the town decided to reclaim its hall for town
business and had the plaster removed to reveal the fine timbers we see
today.
Roger has produced a small book on the subject and
would be pleased to hear of any more anecdotes from this time. We look
forward to his return next year to talk of some Men of Hadleigh.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
to be held at Hadleigh Town Hall on
Wednesday 28th June 2006 at 8 pm.
Society
members are invited to make nominations for service on the Society’s
Executive Committee for the year following the Annual General
Meeting in the following capacities:
Chairman, Vice-Chairman,
Treasurer or Secretary
or as one of six
Committee members.
All posts
are honorary and seconded nominations must reach the Society’s Secretary by
14th June 2006.
To:
The Honorary Secretary, The Hadleigh Society, c/o 106 High Street, Hadleigh,
Ipswich, Suffolk, IP7 5EL (Telephone: 01473 822192)
I
nominate the following for service on the Executive Committee of The
Hadleigh Society for the year 2006/2007.
Name |
Position Nominated |
Name of Seconder |
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In each case the nominee has agreed
to stand.
You may copy this form or
write your own letter to The Honorary Secretary
so long as you include the necessary details.
NOTICE OF THE TWENTY-Fourth ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The 24th
Annual General Meeting of The Hadleigh Society is to be held in Hadleigh Old
Town Hall on Wednesday 28th June 2006 at 8 p.m. and all members
are invited to attend
AGENDA
1.
Apologies for absence
2.
Minutes of the 23rd
Annual General Meeting
3.
Treasurer’s Report
4.
History Group Report
5.
Planning Report
6.
Society Representation
on Other Bodies
7.
Chair’s Review
8.
Election of Officers
and Executive Committee Members
Cheese and
wine to be served with other refreshments
The AGM was reported in the August
2005 Newsletter and the Minutes can be found on our website. Copies
will also be available at the Meeting, together with the Annual Accounts.
If you’re interested in becoming a
member of the Executive Committee and would like to talk about what is
involved then please phone the Honorary Secretary, Jan Byrne, on 822192, or
any other committee member.