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History.

It is not unreasonable to claim that Worcester’s involvement with flying started with the Romans. Their fortified settlement at the lowest crossing point on the Severn became the centre of a massive iron making industry. Thousands of tons of black slag were tipped on a piece of land to the north of the towns boundary making a large filthy sterile area for centuries. In the 17th Century this was removed by water for Andrew Yarranton a forge master to rework with more up-to-date methods leaving a one hundred acre flat riverside common called Pitch-croft.
This area of land was used as an 18th Century racecourse and also the venue for fairs, agricultural shows, and Prize Fights.
My Great, Great Grandfather fought a bare fist match before a crowd of 40’000 to become Champion of England.
It was therefore a natural arena for the early balloonists and aviators to display their skills ,or lack of it, to adoring crowds.
An early mono plane flight in 1910 ended in tragedy when the plane slewed into the crowd. This killed a lady near my mother who told me “Her hatpin was driven through her head”, no doubt she had a fractured skull as well but that wasn’t so dramatic.
More successful was Col Samuel Cody in 1911 and Gustav Hammel in 1913.
During the1914-18 war there was some flying and the Royal Engineers who had established the first military wireless unit at nearby Norton Barracks flew large kites to trail their aerials My father took part before posting to the French trenches. The only aerial he flew at height was between the twin spires of Cologne Cathedral.
Cody returned in the 1930’s but by now Pitchcroft was in the centre of a an ever growing city and on Common Land which could not be closed to the public so the Council established a safer flying field on a large estate at Perdiswell Hall, to the north of the City.reputed to be the first Municipal Airfield in the world. When Cody’s Circus arrived in the late 1930’s the non paying public had their view restricted by lining the airfield with six foot high Hessian barriers. Small boys,guess who, found that if they pushed a pencil between the threads an eye hole could be created to watch the smoking dogfights until a policeman clipped a few ears.
In 1928 a Lieutenant Paul made a landing on Pitchcroft. sadly on take off he experienced engine power loss , made the mistake of trying to turn back, stalled and crashed with fatal results. His subsequent funeral at the Cathedral was attended by all the citizens lining the roads.
At the out break of the second world war Perdiswell became a very busy flying field which as it was near my home I spent every spare minute leaning on the fence to witness the take offs and landings,and some of the crashes.
First arrivals were the Fairey Battles built at the Austin Motor Works Longbridge and flown down for testing.It was said if they reached Worcester they passed their test.
A flying school was started teaching raw RAFpilots on a Link Trainer and then Tiger Moths The Senior Instructor was Flying Officer Davis who with his family was billeted at my home in Ombersley Road. He had served for many years and taken part in North African campaigns. He was a superman to me ,aged 10, and we were visited by a stream of young pilots for tea and at times like Christmas for wild party games.
Sadly we would learn later of some that were lost in the Battle of Britain and other action.. One trainee taught me to skate in 1940 on the lake using an ornate gilded chair ‘borrowed’ from the Hall and he died 6 months later,which has left me with a sad memory of a brave very kind young man.
Perdiswell was known as a Lavatory Emergency airfield and from time to time larger aircraft ,some shot up,arrived spectacularly to slide onto the road or slip into the lake alongside Perdiswell Hall. Witleys, Wellingtons, Hamden’s and an Avro Anson, After landing for repairs a De Havilland Dove flew around on a test flight before a planned flight for some of us.Unfortunately its brakes failed and it went through the hedge by Cadburys factory. I had a large Perspex souvenir as a consolation prize. Most of the larger aircraft could not take off again and were taken away loaded on to a ‘Queen Mary’ low loader.
An early arrival was a Boulton Paul Defiant painted matt black all over except for the roundels. We were told this was for the night defence of the Black Country but it was only used on moonlight nights and oil flares had to be lit for its safe return.
Two tragic accidents involved Blenheim aircraft. One came in too fast from the north and skidded onto the Bilford Road killing a Grammar School girl sitting on the railings as we all did.. Another one took off one night heading north after repairs. Unfortunately its engines lost power and the pilot tried to turn back. He stalled and fell into a field just north of the Hindlip Lane. We learned about it next day and cycled to the unguarded field hunting souvenirs. This stopped abruptly when one of the lads found a shoe with a foot in it. I had a small trim lever mounted on a wooden block on the dressing table for years as a personal memorial. The site is now under the North Link Road.
My younger brother had a pretty nanny who lived in one of the pair of cottages on the north side of Perdiswell. This was a good reason to visit and get a good view of the flying. One day school friend Ken Kington and I were sitting on the railings when a Whitley,shot up and trailing smoke came over our heads at a few feet. It raised a huge cloud of dust which when it cleared we realised the plane had vanished. It had gone down the slope into the lake. We were aware of something whizzing around us at the time but it was not until I had a letter from an ex RAF police Sergeant in 1988 that I learned it landed on his gun post and as he cowered in the hole his Lewis Gun was carried away firing towards us. Ironically Ken joined the RAF for his National Service and was killed in a Wellington crash.
The incident which has been the greatest mystery was in September 1942 when a Douglas DC3 Dakota named “Idiots Delight” flying from Pershore was forced to land at Perdiswell. On board was an American film crew planning a gunnery training film for the newly arriving American Air Force based on RAF experience. In the aircraft was General Carl ‘Tooey’ Spaatz Commanding General of the USAAF in England.
The plane arrived too fast for the grass field and slid across the Bilford Road into the City Corporation rubbish tip. It suffered damage and General Spaatz broke his ankle. He was heard to grumble “I didn’t cross the Atlantic to land in the town trash pile”.
In the Co-pilots seat was the film star Clark Gable, who according to records was training in Texas. This maverick had hitched a lift with the film crew to experience some action. My 1988 informant helped him out very shaken and they all went to Perdiswell Hall Officers mess for something strong. I remember Flying Officer Davis coming home with Flight Lt. Medland and telling us who they had been entertaining. My mother pretended to swoon, the first time I experienced such a thing.
Bilford road was blocked for some time until the plane was dismantled. The Americans gave away large bars of chocolate and a young Tiger Moth pilot tied a streamer on one to drop in my garden, unfortunately it went through the roof tiles at The Firs and father was not best pleased.
The only other casualty I remember was when Flight Lt Davis put his head out of the window at home and was attacked by an Owl. He suffered deep cuts on his head as did passers by in Ombersley Rd. A baby owl had fallen out of the nest and the parent was on the defensive. Cinema patrons leaving the Northwick cinema were subjected to a dive bombing storm.
There were escapades with novice pilots, one flew under Upton on Severn bridge and left a bit of his wing as incriminating evidence.There were injuries from propellers but the details were kept from me.
What could have been a tragedy turned into a light hearted incident just before Christmas 1943. One morning a young Tiger Moth pilot was sent on a cross country flight out over Shropshire and return. After some hours there was no sign of him. or any message, so another plane with an Instructor and crewman was sent to follow the planned route. Again nothing was heard and we had a telephone message at The Firs for Davis and Medland to report to Perdiswell urgently.They apparently set off in a third plane and somewhere out in the wilds they spotted the other two aircraft parked on the immaculate lawn of a large country house. Apparently the earlier flyers had been received by a large private party of pretty girls who welcomed the brave young men ,and then the older Davis and Medland with open arms and rather a lot of drink. A message eventually reached Perdiswell that it was too late to refuel the first errant plane and a return was planned for the next day. I remember covering my ears when I heard Mrs Davis welcoming the ‘heroes’ home. A post war film had a similar episode, I wonder if the writer was at Perdiswell?
While we had swarms of German night bombers crossing the City with their distinctive droning diesel engines they were following the River Severn to and from the Industrial Midlands and so we had only a few bombs on the City.The great fires in Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton were clearly visible in Ombersley Rd. We heard the bombs explode on the factory in St Johns and I was thrown out of my chair by the stick of bombs in the fields at Hindlip.Father kept telling me not to sit back in a dining chair against the French Windows and that was the last time I did It.
Cycling home from school with Johnny Parks I saw a ‘nose down’ bomber crossing the Waterworks in a northerly direction. My aircraft recognition skills cried out ‘Thats not a Whitley, its a Dornier’, We shouted to passing adults who took no notice until it turned east and started machine gunning Rainbow Hill. It sounded like doves cooing. Years later roof repairs uncovered bullets. We spent our school breaks looking at aircraft recognition charts and waving Bakelite models on strings in front of a lamp to throw shadows on the rifle range wall. The war was a terrible waste of life and resources but for a lad growing up in the atmosphere of Perdiswell it was fascinating.
To conclude on a lighter note during the dark days at the begining of the war a pregnant Mrs Davis arrived at The Firs with two daughters. It was not long before we had a midwife and the lovely Doctor Spalding in attendance and Michael entered the world. As the towels and hot water were being cleared away in came the RAF with Flying Officer Davis carrying a lovely model steam engine and track. He explained to a surprised audience he had seen it in a toy shop window and felt it was vital to be prepared for when the baby was older in case such things were not available. We had a lot of fun with it during the following years.

Max “Johnny Head in Air” old man.

R.M.Sinclair

Lower Broadheath
Worcester WR2 6QU
England