Marske Aerodrome was a

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

-era airfield used by the Royal Flying Corps, and later by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, between 1917 and 1920. The aerodrome was just to the west of the village of

Marske-by-the-Sea Marske-by-the-Sea is a village in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located on the coast, between the seaside resorts of Redcar and Saltburn-by-the-Sea, although it is not ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

(

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

), England. Marske aerodrome hosted air gunnery schools and trained pilots in tactics and methods of aerial combat so that they could be deployed to the front. Marske is known for being the aerodrome where

W. E. Johns William Earl Johns (5 February 189321 June 1968) was an English First World War pilot, and writer of adventure stories, usually written under the pen name Capt. W. E. Johns: best known for creating the fictional air-adventurer ''Biggles''. Ea ...

, author of the ''

Biggles James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the title character and hero of the ''Biggles'' series of adventure books, written for young readers by W. E. Johns (1893–1968). Biggles made his first appearance ...

'' books, undertook his training, as well as being noted for some of the flying instructors who were famous among the aircrew cadre.

History

Whilst some civilian landing flights had been tested out on the beach below Marske, the aerodrome at Marske-by-the-Sea opened inland just west of the village on 25 June 1910. With the outbreak of the

, the site was surveyed for possible military use, however, it was not until the summer of 1917 that a spur was laid near Ryehills Farm at Marske from the railway line between Redcar and

Saltburn-by-the-Sea Saltburn-by-the-Sea, commonly referred to as Saltburn, is a seaside town in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England, around south-east of Hartlepool and southeast of Redcar. It lies within the historic boundaries of the North Ridin ...

. This allowed for easy transport in of men and materials to build the aerodrome. The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) base opened officially on 1 November 1917, with the first occupants being No. 4 (Auxiliary) School of Aerial Gunnery. The site measured by and was furnished with 17

Bessonneau hangar The Bessonneau hangar was a portable timber and canvas aircraft hangar used by the French ''Aéronautique Militaire'' and subsequently adopted by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during the First World War. Ma ...

s along Green Lane at the west side, and four permanent sheds on the southern side each measuring by . The air-to-ground gunnery range was at the east end of the site on the cliff edge. Telegraph wires to the north and east were lowered to enable low flying. However, training by the No. 4 School was orientated towards pilots, whereas the back-seat gunners, were trained at No. 3 School in New Romney. In April 1918, just five days after the RFC became the Royal Air Force (RAF), both

Harry Butler William Henry "Harry" Butler (25 March 1930 – 11 December 2015) was an Australian naturalist and environmental consultant, best known as the presenter of the popular ABC television series ''In the Wild'' from 1976 to 1981. He was a househo ...

and W. E. Johns were posted in to No. 2 Aerial Gunnery School at Marske. During this period, the school started using the M.1c Bristol monoplane, which was delivered to Marske via the rail link. Not long after he was credited with shooting down the

Red Baron Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

, Captain Roy Brown was posted into Marske as a flying instructor. However, within three months, he had a serious accident which kept him in hospital until the First World War was over. Between April and August 1918, the 25th Aero Squadron of the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

, moved into Marske from

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

to undertake training. They later deployed to France in August of the same year. On 29 September 1918, the commanding officer of one of the air training schools died when his aircraft plunged into the sea. Major Aizlewood had been practising aerial manoeuvres which were being recorded for a training film. The inquiry determined that his flying clothes became caught in the aircraft's controls. He was buried in the graveyard of St Germain's Church in Marske, overlooking the sea where he had crashed. The last school was closed in November 1919, however, the base was retained until 1920 with the site being listed as available for flying but having no facilities to cater for civilian traffic. During the railway strike of 1919, aircraft were used to deliver mail. Marske was one of the aerodromes used during the dispute. The site was re-used during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, but by the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, rather than the RAF. However, two pillboxes were constructed to protect the aerodrome, which was manned by regular soldiers from the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, the

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

and the

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...

. This was believed to have been in case the RAF needed to use the site as an emergency ground, and to prevent it being used by enemy forces. The four permanent hangars were demolished in the 1990s. In the early 1990s, part of the south-east corner of the site was converted into a housing estate named 'Barnes Wallis Way', after the famous wartime engineer Barnes Wallis. Its roads are named after aircraft from the Second World War, even though the site was not in use for the Air Force during that period. St Mark's Church in Marske, has an ''aviator's window'' which commemorates the death of a civilian flyer in 1912, but also has images and a dedication to the young men who trained at the aerodrome nearby.

Based units

Notable personnel

Roy Brown (RAF officer) Arthur Roy Brown, (23 December 1893 – 9 March 1944) was a Canadian flying ace of the First World War, credited with ten aerial victories. The Royal Air Force officially credited Brown with shooting down Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red ...

* Captain Harry Butler *

Bert Hinkler Herbert John Louis Hinkler (8 December 1892 – 7 January 1933), better known as Bert Hinkler, was a pioneer Australian aviator (dubbed "Australian Lone Eagle") and inventor. He designed and built early aircraft before being the first person ...

, attended the gunnery school at Marske * Captain W. E. Johns, author of the ''

'' books * Captain Stearne Tighe Edwards

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Aerial view hosted on ABCT that shows former landing zonesMapping from 1946 showing the hangars in grid NZ625225 (Erimus Hutments and the Aerodrome)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marske Aerodrome Military units and formations established in 1917 Marske World War I airfields World War I sites in England Military history of North Yorkshire