|
|
Hooton Airfield
Our researchers at work at the Hooton site
(Stuart Wilson, Mark Lewis, Matthew Roberts)
Eventually the Stanley family inherited the land through a series of marriages. William Stanley, who was the main man of the family, became owner of the whole of the Wirral. This was the start of the Stanley's rise to power. Over time the Stanleys became richer and more powerful. They selected a plot of land in Hooton, on the Wirral, where a hall would be built to accommodate the family.
As time went on though the Stanleys wanted bigger and better so the old hall was knocked down and a second hall was built. The second hall was a mainly wooden structure and it was built in 1488. The second hall lasted a staggering 290 years before needing to be refurbished. So in 1778 the third hall was built. This hall was different though. It was mainly made from stone and it was rather like an Italian styled hall.
The Stanleys only kept this hall for about 72 years though because some of the family managed to get themselves into extreme debt. The debts were from gambling as the family didn't no when to stop betting. Unfortunately the Stanleys had to sell their home in order to repay the gambling debts they had got themselves into. A wealthy Liverpool banker called R. C. Naylor bought the house from the Stanleys for 82 thousand guineas. Sir Thomas Stanley, who was actually living there at the time, was forced to move out and find a new place to live.
(click map for enlarged version)
(Left: Avro 504)After they left no other soldiers were stationed at Hooton and the army began turning it into an airfield. They managed to construct three huge hangers and a smaller one off to the side by 1917. In the same year the RFC (RAF) moved into Hooton and formed a number of squadrons to fight in France. Back then planes weren't brilliant so there was only a few simple aircraft they knew how to use. The planes used were the Avro 504, Sopwith Scout and Dolphin.
(left: Sopwith Dolphin, right: Sopwith Scout)
On the 1st April 1918 the RFC changed their name to the RAF and not long after the war ended. After the war the RAF moved from Hooton to Sealand for the time being and Hooton focused on being a commercial airport that would serve the whole of the northwest of England.
(Left: Comper)About ten years later, on the other side of the Mersey, a new Airport was due to been built. This was Speke Airport and this would take over Hooton and become the Airport, which would serve the Wirral and Liverpool. Hooton didn't just close down though it was kept open and planes and engines were designed and built there. The most known engine to be produced at Hooton was the 7 cylinder Pobjoy engine designed by Nick Comper.
Alan Cobham's Flying Circus was a very popular back in the early 1930s. Alan Cobham's Flying Circus first visited Hooton airfield before WW2 where wing walker Martin Hearn and other stars of the show performed breath taking stunts using planes while in flight. They picked places like Hooton Airfield to perform their shows because they had big open spaces with high hedges all the way around. They need the hedges around so no one could peer in and would have to pay if they wanted to see the event. What made the shows so spectacular were they death defying stunts. Some of the entertainers tied their feet to the top of the wings and waved to the crowed as a pilot flew the plane around. Also people would watch, as they would also sit on the axis of the plane's wheels.
One of the biggest stunts they performed though was they would get a pilot to take off and do a lot of fancy tricks in mid air. Then he would come back down and land the plane. Once he had landed the plane he then asked the crowd if any one would like to go up with the pilot. Bear in mind most people in the early 1930s had never seen an aircraft before never mind flown in one. So no one in the crowd volunteered. Then stumbling out of the crowd came Martin Hearn acting as a drunk. He then boarded the plane with the pilot and the pilot flew them up into the sky. The crowds then watch astonished as this drunk wobbled around the cockpit. Next Martin Hearn ducked into the cockpit and replaced himself with an inflatable dummy. He then pushed the dummy out of the plane. Well of course the crowd were gob smacked because they still thought that it was this drunken man. But as soon as the dummy hit the floor and bounced back up the crowd knew it was a trick and burst out with laughter.
Although this trick had to obviously be rehearsed they didn't always do it right. Once the dummy managed to get a puncture and when it hit the floor it just went splat. So a member of the crowd quickly ran to get a priest who gave the dummy its last rites. When the priest and the crowd found out that it was actually a dummy they weren't too pleased.
On 1 January 1939, the squadron re-mustered as a fighter unit but retained Hawker Hinds until the beginning of the war when it received Fairy Battles and then Hurricanes. These were soon given up in favor of spitfires. All civil flying had now ceased, apart from Dragons on army co-operation work and 18 of Hooton's considerable population of light aircraft were immobilized and stored under the old grandstand. All were destroyed in July 1940 in a disastrous fire.
During WW2 the station was used by coastal Command, operating patrol flights over the Irish Sea from South Wales to Cumbria. An important function of Hooton's war effort was the assembly and repair of RAF aircrafts, undertaken by Messrs Martin Hearn Ltd founded on the site in the mid thirties by a former wing - walker with Cobhams flying circus. During the retreat from Dunkirk many types of aircraft landed on Hooton Park and as soon as they touched down, each aircraft was pulled off the runway to a either a hanger or parking position to free up the runway for the next aircraft to land. Examples of all type of aircraft were on the list including, Gloster Gladiators, Walruses, Douglas C-47s, Boston's, Blenheim and many more.
The hangers were labeled in numbers and were used as follows hanger No 3 was the coastal command station and No 11 was a Radio school.
(Left: Fairey Battle)
(Left: Douglas C-47 in RAF livery)
(Left: Spitfire XIV)
The 610 squadron were formed at Hooton Park on 10 February 1936 as part of the Auxiliary Air Force, it was meant to be just a light bomber unit equipped with Harts and eventually Hind that would arrive in May sometime 1938. However, on 1 January 1939, the squadron was re- tasked and became a fighter squadron and was planned to receive Defiant's. The decision to become a fighter unit came into action and the first load of Hurricanes arrived in September 1939.
Another set of planes arrived that same month the spitfires that would take over from the job of the very few Hurricanes. These spitfires would carry out exactly the same round of offensive sweeps usually shipping protection and defensive operating until the month of January 1944 when the squadron received the first spitfire XIV s which were equipped with a Rolls Royce Griffon engine. These arrived just in time to meet the threat of V1 bombers that were started to be dropped over Britain. The spitfires were eventually fitted with long range tanks that set off operations over Germany. (Below: Hurricane)
 |
 |
Spitfire Cockpit and Parachute - Spitfire was recovered after crashing into the Mersey, this was the actual cockpit and the parachute used by the pilot who ejected safely
Hooton finally shut its gates as an aerodrome in February 1957 when 610 squadron was disbanded. The closure of the aerodrome was not the end of the history. It was the site of the Cheshire Show for many years. The aircraft runaways where used for testing cars at high speed for shell research to improve the quality of there petrol.
In 1960 Vauxhall Motors bought the airfield and the neighbouring estate. In 1986 Hooton opened its gates to host the wheels 86" transport show. This event was so successful that four other shows where held there in '88' '92' '94' and '96.' Over 80,000 people attended these shows, also this was the time when the last aircraft flew from Hooton, they were two Harriers using the old runway in the 1988 Wheels Show. In the early 80's the group of four people that had organised these shows approached English Heritage to obtain a preservation order on the three historic hangers in Hooton.
They became grade 2 listed buildings because of their latticed wooden roof trusses originally used in the construction of the Belfast shipyards, so they are known as Belfast hangers.
 | 
|
| 
|
| 
|
| 
|
After the team had put in a lot of effort and time, the volunteers had successfully brought the buildings into some semblance of order. As the Griffin Trust did not own the hangers they where unable to fund the restoration of the hangers despite many attempts to do so. In 1998 a great shock occurred to all the volunteers by the Vauxhall Motor Company placing a demolition order on the world war hangers to increase parking space for cars rolling of there production line. The organisers and aircraft enthusiasts where furious and a great protest occurred over the historic hangers. After this Vauxhalls changed their mind and sold the hanger to the Hooton Park Trust.
 |
|
In 2000 the Trust was formed with the aim of forming a Trust to oversee and manage the restoration of the remaining WW1/2 hangars on the former RAF airfield at Hooton Park. The aim is to restore the buildings and the site itself as valuable historic artefacts in their own right. The buildings will then provide the perfect environment for the projects and initiatives that are planned. In 2003 the status of the grade two hangers where increased by English Heritage to Grade 2 listed buildings. There are numerous projects ongoing at Hooton Park. Alongside the ongoing restoration of the buildings themselves, associated groups and individuals are progressing with their own restoration projects.
|
Read about the DH Rapide replica on the North West Air News Web Site |
For example, the building of a replica De Havilland Rapide, renovation of an ex-Battle of Britain film Hurricane replica, and an Auster, along with established exhibits such as a mighty Antonov AN2, English Electric Canberra nose section and a hang glider. Hooton Park is also home to a varied collection of classic commercial vehicles, including a 1950s Austin K9 Lorry (in RAF colours) and a pair of Morris Commercials.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Back to Index