Lat/Long 50 47N/01 29W .Grid ref SU 350005 .130 feet ASL.
RUNWAYS Grass
The site at East Boldre was first used as an aerodrome in May 1910 ,when William McArdle and J.Armstrong Drexel set up the New Forest Flying School ,using Bleriot type aircraft.The school was very busy initially and had a good number of aspiring pilots.By late May 1910 the school had seven aircraft- this figure later rose to ten by September.
On 18th June 1910 , Drexel,flying from East Boldre, set a new British height record of 1070 feet- the record was shortlived however - being bettered by Mr C Grace at Eastchurch two days later(1180ft).
Hangarage was available at £50 per annum with free use of the aerodrome.
In 1912 the site was considered,and rejected by the Royal flying Corps,but changing circumstances(i.e. World War 1) led to the RFC occupying the site in November 1915 for use as a flying training school.In 1917 the RFC site was expanded to include the whole of the original 1911 field.In addition new hangars and barracks were built.When the war finished the need for East Boldre disappeared and the RAF (renamed in April 1918) moved out in 1919.
The churchyard at St Pauls Church ,East Boldre, contains the graves of several RFC/RAF personnel killed in training accidents at East Boldre Aerodrome.Two of these are shown below - thanks to Mike Lomas for these pictures(and also the Village Hall picture).
During the 20s and 30s there was an entry in the Automobile Associations handbook of a civil landing ground at East Boldre,but this may have referred to a private airstrip close to this location.
The site had further involvement with aviation when,following WW2,the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment at RAF Beaulieu (located on the far side of the Lymington road)used the original airfield as a drop zone for parachute experiments from 1946 until 1950.
However nowadays (2007) the only remaining sign of this World War One aerodrome is the building pictured below which is now part of the East Boldre village Hall.
