Show on mapThornaby Aerodrome was developed in 1930, although the area known as Foggins Field had been used for flying previously. The aerodrome closed in 1958 with the town of Thornaby being developed over the site. One small scrap of the runway remain and acts at the car park to the National Reserve & Patriotic Club
There is also a length of tarmac that connected the two main runways that still exists behind the houses on Middleton Avenue.
I was under the impression that it had all gone.
Great that there is a bit left, shame there are not more relics.
Thanks for featuring this.
The other bit is the wide strip running down the left of the field here:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=thornaby&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Thornaby+on+Tees,+Stockton-on-Tees,+United+Kingdom&ll=54.531884,-1.303307&spn=0.004109,0.009645&t=h&z=17
I ‘m not sure that was runway. The perimeter road used to go round the edge of the Fox Covert about there so it maybe just what is left of that?
I am sure that one of the road in the Thornaby Industrial Estate, is part of the old runway, I remember my driving instructor telling me this, I wish I could remember which one it is but have not been on that estate for about 18 years.
No the runways went in an A shape roughly. East to West where Bader Ave is now, Trenchard Avenue and Tedder I think. I believe the industrial estate was an ammunition dump/store. As someone else has written the only bit of runway to remain is behind the “Nash” club, used as a car park? The stretch of tarmac near the Harold Wilson Sports Field was an access road, I think.
There use to be a bit left at the ind est, at the beginning, just past the traffic lights, if you look on google earth you can probably still see it.
The runway ended at the elsham crescent estate just before the industrial estate it was all marshland from there lapwings nests were abundant and newts in the ponds
I believe my old billeted still standing, now or.was, used as.cadet training h/q. I’ve been a couple of times to relive old.memories and hope to do so again soon although my navigator aka.brother in law recently.passed.away. Walter ‘jesse’ hibbert 608’s adjutant passed away Feb 10th aged 94.
Love all this history I live in a new build which is near the parachute stores and round corner is a day nursery which used to be something also the cadets building and the police building and the snooker centre!
Visited last week and was concerned to find it mostly fenced off and being used for storage , hope there are no plans to develop it
The nursery is down to be demolished
The area behind Middleton Ave used to be a run off from the main runway down Bader Ave