The early high flyers of the New Forest
Early aviation in the New Forest
The Parish of East Boldre was created in 1839. It is recorded in the Hampshire County Council 1981 publication ‘Hampshire Treasures’ that within its boundary there are 21 bronze age barrows and the sites of six other barrows, no longer extant, are recorded.
It is not just ancient history that East Boldre is known for. For many years the sound of aircraft engines could be heard over the village and Beaulieu Heath. East Boldre was the home to an early flying school, and a few years later a training aerodrome for the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. In the Second World War a large airfield was constructed near to the early aerodrome and was operational from 1941 until it was handed back to the Forestry Commission in 1960.
The first manned flight over the New Forest took place on the 16th October 1784. The balloon pilot was Jean-Pierre Blanchard with a Dr John Sheldon as passenger. In August 1909 during Cowes week the Honourable Charles Rolls had made a balloon flight from Cowes across the Solent, over Boldre and eventually came to land near Lymington.
1910 flying school
The following year, a flight training school opened on Bagshot Moor to the west of the village of East Boldre. It is probable that Lord Montagu suggested the site. He was a keen advocate of aviation and that same year delivered a lecture to the Aldershot Military Society on ‘aerial machines and war’.
The New Forest Aviation School opened for business in 1910, and the first flight was made on 1st May. The owners were William McArdle and John Armstrong Drexel. McArdle had settled in Bournemouth and built up a thriving motor car business. It is possibly through motoring that he met Lord Montagu. In 1909 he sold his business and his interest switched to aviation. With the assistance of a carpenter’s son, George Gould, he built his own aeroplane before learning to fly in France. In April 1910 he received his pilot’s certificate from the aero club of France.
J. Armstrong Drexel was the son of the head of a banking firm in Philadelphia. The family were anglophiles and spent much of their time in the United Kingdom. In January 1910 Drexel began flying lessons at the Claude Graham-White school. He completed his flight training at the New Forest Flying School and was granted his pilot’s certificate from the Royal Aero Club on 21st June 1914. The Lymington and South Hants Chronicle reported that he completed his test in front of a crowd of around a 2,000 people including Lord Montagu. Drexel’s flight set an altitude record of 1,070 feet. A few days later this achievement was beaten.
The 1910 Bournemouth aviation meeting
The Bournemouth aviation meeting took place on 11th to 16th July. The event was overshadowed by the death of Charles Rolls during the meeting. He was the first man to be killed in an air crash in the UK. There were several other crashes with two pilots hospitalised.
Both Drexel and McArdle took part in the event. McArdle flew a Bleriot-type aircraft from Beaulieu to the landing ground east of Bournemouth. The distance was about 30 miles and the route took him over Lymington and the Needles before heading west to Bournemouth. The media considered this to be a daring feat as most other pilots took the wings off their aircraft and transported them to the event by road.
On Monday 11th July Drexel managed to win a prize for the highest altitude of nearly 2,500ft. This was beaten later in the competition by a French pilot, Morane, with a height of just over 4,000ft. Drexel won other competitions at the Bournemouth meeting and collected just over £1,000 in prize money.
At the end of the competition both Drexel and McArdle decided to fly back to their Beaulieu aerodrome. Drexel had purchased a two-seater Bleriot aircraft and took with him renowned newspaper correspondent Harry Delacombe. The pair took off first and were followed by McArdle.
During their flight, Drexel asked Delacombe if he could see McArdle following them. When Delacombe turned round he noticed that the tailplane “instead of being horizontal was horribly out of the level”. Despite that, they carried on. Drexel then shouted ‘Look! there’s old Beaulieu!’ At first all Delacombe could see was a ‘winding road and a peculiarly shaped patch of water.’ Soon after he could make out the hangers of the flying school and they landed safely and were greeted by a large crowd.
Delacombe made a written log of the flight and later said that this “proved beyond question that trained officers and men could easily do [airborne] surveying work of the utmost importance”.
McArdle took off from Bournemouth in a strong wind and after turning over Hurst Castle to fly inland to Beaulieu became disorientated by a mist. After some time, he noted that he had been in the air longer than the journey should have taken and that his petrol and oil were nearly gone. He landed and found out he was near Fordingbridge. He then discovered that the ‘mist’ he had been flying in was a thin film of engine oil on his face and eyes. Once he had washed his face he could see clearly again.
The Office of Woods were reluctant to grant permission for the flying school to clear land and operate on the Forest. Buildings were erected on private ground opposite the heathland. Lord Montagu and Harry Delacombe interceded and, grudgingly, in November 1910 permission was granted for the school in return for £1 per annum. The school buildings consisted of three large sheds. One was a repair shop and the other two were hangers. Heathland was cleared to make a smoother landing field.
A legacy landmark
On Bagshot Heath about 150 yards east from the B3058 and the entrance to Hatchet Moor carpark there is an interesting reminder of the early aviation from that period. The word ‘BEAULIEU’ is carved in 15-foot-high letters in the ground and infilled with chalk. There is some debate as to whether this was done during the time of the early flying school or when the First World War training airfield was operational. It was certainly a very noticeable landmark for pilots, especially those taking part in early aviation competitions.
In 2012 local villagers, with the permission and support of the Forestry Commission, located and uncovered the letters. Today they make an interesting waypoint to locate on a walk across the heathland.
The civilian flying school was sold in January 1912. It closed later that year through lack of new students with money who wanted to learn to fly. It was not until late 1915 that aviation returned to the area when the War Office sought permission to use the area as an airfield “for the present emergency only”.
First World War use
In 1916 the aerodrome covered some 50 acres and continued to increase in size exponentially. Large hangers, workshops, repair sheds and accommodation quarters for officers, men and women were constructed along with all the other buildings required on a military airfield.
Initially the structures were canvas and wood. Tin buildings followed, until by 1918 the structures were solidly built with bricks and mortar. By 1919 Beaulieu aerodrome had increased in size to 130 acres with 148 buildings. The airfield was used for training new pilots. Several squadrons were formed at Beaulieu, most notably 84 Squadron, which is still in existence today. The RAF came into being on 1st April 1918 and Beaulieu became a training depot and school. A painting by Tim Bernhard is on display outside the village hall and gives some idea of the size of the airfield. The history of First World War flying at Beaulieu will be reviewed in a later Reflections article.
A WW1 survivor
There is a rare surviving building in East Boldre village that was constructed in 1918 and was once part of the early RAF flying school. The building is made of brick which suggests late-war construction. In 1918 it was built as a concert hall. There was a wooden, barn-style extension to one side which increased the seating capacity in the concert hall. Externally it looks like a utilitarian military building with buttresses along the walls. Inside the building has a magnificent stage with proscenium arch. Ornate doors and architraves also grace the interior.
In 1919 the building was sold. The new owner carefully dismantled the barn structure and removed it from the site. The open side of the building was sheeted over to protect it from the elements. Before the remainder of the building could be demolished, the Office of Woods gave permission to St Paul’s Church in East Boldre to use it as a church hall.
Present day
The building has had many uses. From being a parish hall, it became a cinema, a WI hall, the Home Guard drill hall and returned to church use when St Peter’s was being repaired following wartime damage. It is now the East Boldre village hall. In the 1960s and 1990 extensions were added providing toilets, a kitchen and football changing rooms.
This historic building is a valuable asset which provides local residents and people in the southern part of the New Forest with an important meeting space and community hall. In addition to the stage being used for pantomimes and other amateur dramatics, presentations on a wide range of topics are given to groups. Local history and art exhibitions are held there.
The future
There are plans to modernise and enhance the facilities in the building. This includes increasing the seating capacity in the main hall, replacing the flat roof on an extension with a pitched roof, weather proofing external walls, and creating better access between the main hall and the post war extensions. The stage audio visual facilities will be completely updated.
ITo find out more about the plans to restore and modernise the East Boldre village hall or to support the project, visit eastboldre.org/referb.html There are links on the website for those who want to get involved including details on how to make a donation and to contact the team.
Much of the research for this article came from a fascinating book ‘From Forest Field to Western Front’ which tells the history of flying at Beaulieu from the first flying school of 1910 to the closure of the RAF airfield in 1920. Two of the authors, Dr Stephen Antczak and Tony Johnson have been helpful in the preparation of this article. The book is on sale at the New Forest Heritage Centre in Lyndhurst, the East Boldre Chapel Stores, the Pilley Community Shop, and the Turfcutters Arms. All profits from the sale of the book go to support the East Boldre Village Hall. Thanks also to Gina Antczak the secretary of the East Boldre village hall committee.
To find out more about the history of the early flying school, the aerodrome and the other later airfields in this area visit the Friends of the New Forst Airfields group via https://fonfa.co.uk
Every Sunday they have open days at their museum in Mosquito Way off Derritt Lane in Bransgore. The centre is open from 10am to 4pm until 26th October 2025.
• Nick Saunders is a local historian and chairman of the Milton Heritage Society in New Milton. He can be contacted via nick@miltonheritagesociety.co.uk
