Former Wisley Airfield - A look at the past, present and future of the Vickers airfield in Surrey
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- Discover the fascinating transformation of the former Wisley Airfield in Surrey! This compelling video takes you on a captivating journey through its rich aviation history, vibrant present, and exciting future. From the iconic Vickers aircraft to the latest developments on the site, this visual narrative offers a rare glimpse into the evolution of this historic airfield. Join us as we explore the hidden gems and ambitious plans that await at Former Wisley Airfield. Experience the magic of nostalgia and innovation in this must-watch virtual tour! #WisleyAirfield #AviationHistory #SurreyAerospace,
Welcome to a historic journey through time at Wisley Airfield in Surrey! Join us in this captivating video as we delve into the fascinating evolution of the former Vickers airfield, spanning from past glory days to its current state in July 2024. Explore the rich history, witness the captivating present condition, and unearth exciting glimpses into the promising future of this iconic airfield. From vintage aircraft to modern developments, this video offers a rare glimpse into the past, present, and future of Wisley Airfield. Stay tuned for a nostalgic and enlightening experience like never before!,
Welcome to a fascinating journey through time at Former Wisley Airfield in Surrey! Join us as we explore the historical significance of this old Vickers airfield, from its glorious past to the present day. Discover how this iconic site has evolved over the years and glimpse into the exciting future that awaits it in July 2024. Immerse yourself in the rich aviation history as we uncover unknown stories and secrets of this once-thriving airfield. Don't miss out on this exclusive video as we uncover the hidden gems of Former Wisley Airfield that will leave you in awe!,
Welcome to the ultimate time-travel journey as we explore the captivating history and potential future of Former Wisley Airfield in Surrey! Join us in this exclusive video tour of the iconic Vickers airfield, showcasing its glorious past, current state, and exciting prospects for July 2024. Dive into a treasure trove of aviation heritage, witness the transformation of the old airfield, and envision its evolution in the coming years. Experience nostalgia, innovation, and a hint of mystery in every frame as we unravel the unique charm of this historic place. Don't miss out on this thrilling narrative of the past, present, and future - it's a virtual adventure unlike any other!,
Explore the history and transformation of the former Wisley Airfield in Surrey, UK with this fascinating video journey to July 2024. Delve into the bygone years of the Vickers airfield, witness its current state, and envision its future prospects in stunning detail. From aircraft aficionados to history buffs, this captivating exploration delves into the evolution of the beloved airfield. Join us as we unravel the mysteries and allure of this iconic location, showcasing its rich heritage and promising future. Don't miss this exclusive look at a piece of aviation history reborn!#WisleyAirfield #SurreyAviation #aircrafthistory
Explore the rich history and exciting future of the former Wisley Airfield in Surrey with this captivating video. From its origins as a Vickers airfield to its current state, witness the transformation of this iconic location over the years. #WisleyAirfield #SurreyHistory #Aviation
Step back in time and into the future of the old Vickers airfield in Surrey with this insightful video. Delve into the fascinating past of Wisley Airfield and discover what lies ahead for this historic site. #Wisley #AviationHistory #Surrey
Join us on a journey through time as we uncover the past, present, and future of the former Wisley Airfield in Surrey. From its aviation roots to its potential developments, this video provides a comprehensive look at this iconic location. #WisleyAirfield #SurreyHeritage #AviationFuture
About fifty years ago, a friend and I paddled our way by canoe along the Wey from his girlfriend’s house on the river at Weybridge through the middle of Brooklands, where we had to negotiate various barbed wire fences and fallen trees, to the Anchor at Wisley for a long and substantial lunch.
Less fun was the visit to Brooklands of both of my parents on the afternoon of September 4th 1940. They knew one another slightly at the time, my father had volunteered for the Fire Service whilst awaiting acceptance by the RAF and my mother likewise whilst waiting to join the Wrens. My father was in charge of a fire engine and my mother was driver for a senior Fire officer in, I think, Woking. Neither knew the other was there on the day until it came up in conversation seventy years later.
At the time, Vickers were producing Wellingtons at Brooklands, and Hawker were making Hurricanes.
At 13:24 Brooklands was attacked by fourteen Luftwaffe Me 110s, just as the workers were arriving for the afternoon shift so there were double the usual number of people there. 83 were killed and 419 injured.
The conversation between my parents seventy years later was simply: “Were you there?” “Yes darling” “So was I. I never saw so many bodies in my life”. That was all that was said, and my parents swiftly moved on to something else.
The 1987 Film ‘Hope and Glory’ was made here. A whole street of London like houses was built on the runway by Goldcrest films. Set in the early days of the Second World War.
Well worth a watch.
I never knew this. Saw the film once, but never knew this fact.
As a sentamentalist, it's sad to see these places deteriorate, and to disappear altogether, it evokes memories for a lot of people who look back at perhaps (rose tinted glasses) better times especially late '60s and the '70s😢
I was taught to ride on Wisley common in about 1962. No M25 then, and the A3 was just an ordinary two lane road. Miles of unspoilt common and woodland, it was a wonderful place. Once on a walk round the lake we went through the woods to the edge of the airfield and there was the first VC10 we ever saw, I believe it had been transported by road disassembled from Vickers at Brooklands, not far away near Weybridge.
There was a pub The Hut on the A3 overlooking the lake, must have been where the southbound lanes of the A3 are now, between the M25 spur and the Wisley Gardens turning. In those days the lake froze every year and was perfect for skating. We had friends with a Land Rover and in the early 70s we would drive it through the woods at night to the far side of the lake, pointing at the pub, leaving the engine and headlights on and skate across to The Hut for a pint.
In 1980 we used to windsurf on the lake. Not ideal but fun all the same.
You wouldn’t be able to do any of these things now. And what’s left of such a magical place is to be destroyed with more roadworks and hundreds of identical jerry built rabbit hutches.
Tragic.
Was it not called the Half Moon? The lake opposite is still there just South of the Wrecclesham services, A3.
The road was 2 lanes, and we used to stop there in a lay by and break our journey to Hayling Island. Other stops on the way were at Milford, Hindhead and Liphook, where there was another Half Moon.
There were suits of armour and brass bed warmers as decor, and Brown Windsor soup on the menu.
@@nicholasbell9017Wrecclesham is on the A31 near Farnham, about fifteen miles away.
It was the Hut Hotel and where the Morgan owners club used to hold rallies. There are lots of photos of it with Morgan three wheelers outside. It was there in the mid 70s when I was but a boy doing my Civil Engineering degree at Surrey University.
All 54 VC10s built made their first flights from Brooklands and I assume went to Wisley for all further flight-testing before delivery. The Booklands runway was very short but an empty VC10, in the hands of company pilots, could still be flown out of it safely, but not landed back there.
That was so interesting, I lived in Send marsh for years but now retired in Shropshire and I always wondered about the airfield as often we would access it from the bridge over the A3 and just see a tiny bit of concrete, but your aerial views now all make sense. At least they are using "brown land" for the new town and not taking up the rapidly decreasing green land (as we have in Shropshire). Again, thanks so much I will be sharing this link with hubby and bro.
You are very welcome.
My father worked for Vickers Armstrong / British Aircraft Corporation as an airframes inspector from the late 50's to the early 70's. He'd regularly fly in and out of Wisley during testing prior to aircraft entering service. It'll be a shame to see it disappear from the map altogether.
Wow you must have some amazing photos?
as a kid i remember the engines winding up as they flew from brooklands to wisley. my uncle told us to look out one day as he was on a vc-10 going to wisley. i worked for British airospace from 1980 till closed in 1988 i grew up in byfleet. now work for british airways heathrow in aircraft movements. great video.👍👍👍👍👍
I can remember seeing some VC10's take off from there in the very late 60's early 70's when driving down the A3.
I wish I had been old enough to see that. It must have been amazing.
@@aviewthroughthelens Aug 1970 driving from Cobham down the A3 to Guildford (no Ripley bypass then), just at the dip with the road off to Ockham (end of the Wisley runway) a VC10 took off over us! Was lucky I wasn't driving as it was right there in front of us, I was convinced the wheels were just off the top of our roof - oh for a smartphone camera. Husband was amused at my reaction, he worked for BAC and flew regularly from Wisley, we'd been married less than a year living in Cobham I didn't know where the airfield was at that time.
I stumbled across this video while looking for something else , very interesting, thanks for sharing.
You are very welcome, I am glad you enjoyed it.
My memories: (1) Taking both my children to the disused airfield to practice driving, and (2) travelling in the jump seat on an over-booked flight from Leeds-Bradford to Gatwick and hearing ATC say "direct Ockham". The pilot then just dialled Ockham in to the navigation panel, the aircraft turned to the new heading and a bit later we flew over the Ockham beacon. It was in the evening and you could see the beacon for miles!
Thanks for sharing, it all helps the picture of the airfield and beacon
Great video and brought back very happy memories of regularly flying two gyro gliders towed by an an old Consul up and down the runway in the early seventies with the Air Training Corp 398 Squadron. We used it on Sundays if no BAC 1-11 operations scheduled. Even took my dad up in the two seater and scared the living daylights out of him with a simulated cable break.
Saw the first flying VC10 fly over Guildford having taken off from Wisley a few minutes earlier. This would be early 1960’s, probably 1962. Came back to UK in 2005 and attended a bus rally at the airfield. Then in 2014 we took the bus from Guildford to RHS Wisley. Whilst waiting for the bus back, we walked up a lane and came out near the western end of the runway.
Now semi-retired and living in Picton, South Island, New Zealand
Walked the old airfield quite a few times. In the summer of 1963 at the age of 12 I cycled from Hounslow to the airfield to see the new VC10s, I took a couple of photos with my fathers camera, unfortunately, they have been lost.
My father in law who is now in his 90s did the promo photography work for the Vickers company and was aboard its first and very short flight from Brooklands to Wisley in 1962. It was literally 2-3 mins.
That is fantastic, does be still have any photos
Great job , thank you
@@aviewthroughthelensI will check with him this weekend. He has a lot of story’s about his life as a photographer. He got his lucky break on the queen’s coronation where he took a photo from leaning out of a window at Canada house as the queen returned to Buckingham palace. He was working in the dark room at the daily express and was asked to go out and get what he could that day. He got the shot which appeared in the daily express the next day and from that day on he never did a day in the dark room again. He went on to become a preferred photographer for the House of Lords, Kensington and st james palace. Still takes a pretty good photo even today.
@@aviewthroughthelenshere’s a link to the VC10 first flight. My father in law is the photographer on the right at the beginning of the vides. ua-cam.com/video/UKayqKmyGes/v-deo.htmlsi=tk-QJuZ5aO2Khu7z
You state that the old Wisley Airfield Control Tower looked like a house. That is because it was a farmhouse, in-situ before the airfield was built, and subsequently converted to airfield use.
Thanks Craig
@@aviewthroughthelens - The idea was to afford the airfield some camouflage. The grass was also cut in a way that made it look like several fields with what looked like hedges running across the runway .
I have seen a photo years ago of a Valiant V-Bomber being towed along the public roads from Brooklands to Wisley during the night as the Valiant was too heavy to take off at Brooklands. I cannot for the life of me recall where I saw the picture.
I would occasionaly drop off during the 1970's when coming down the A3 returning from London to see if anything was happening. Never was.
I am actually quite amazed at how Wisley has survived so long without the attention of 'developers'.
beautifully filmed and edited - I flew in VC-10s many times. They were powerful and fast!
Thanks Nick
Really enjoyed this. Great edits and the music was fine, those criticising might be struggling to multitask 😉 look forward to the next video. Hoping someone can identify the circular area.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I lived a few miles away as a child and used to cycle there to watch the aircraft, Valiants and Viscounts at first and a Canberra often came in, I don’t know why or where from, then there were Vanguards and a few Scimitars and, later still the beautiful VC-10s.
I wish I had been old enough to see that.
It's a brilliant informative video. Nicely edited, and the music goes well
Awesome, thank you!
Great video, excellent drone usage and intriguing comparisons using old maps. Also very informative, especially for someone who’s heard of Wisley and its airfield’s VC10 connection but not known much more about it.
While it’s easy to understand the more nostalgic responses, ones which I share to an extent, in the South East all those new homes have to be built somewhere, and a developer’s money invariably talks when it comes to places like Wisley Airfield and its peer at Dunsfold.
It’s called progress unfortunately and whatever one’s views and while it’s not always welcomed by everyone, in regions under huge house building pressures like the South East, leaving things as they are or were just isn’t an option.
Thanks Charles really appreciate it.
Grew up in Horsley and used to driver around on the airfield learning to drive in the early 90s.
Was a contractor there and at Brooklands but one day at Wisley a harrier jump jet landed guy got out got on a motorbike and screamed off he was part of the London to Sydney race 😊😊😊😊marvellous 😊😊
It was a FAA Phantom that landed at Wisley not a Harrier. The Harrier took off from a coal yard at St Pancras station. This was part of the Daily Mail transatlantic air race to New York in 1969.
Excellent and fascinating video capturing a piece of aviation history. These videos take time and effort, you’ve done a great gob thank you. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you. It did take a while but as the site won’t be there forever I thought now was a good time to do it.
Good stuff 👍
This is fascinating, great video! Thanks for referring back to the map repeatedly, really helped understand it.
Thank you so much.
Hi. I wonder if the circular area was the site of the Marconi s232 radar. Assuming Wisley had a radar. By the way ICAO code was EGTW. Hope that helps.
Fascinating video. Really well put together. Looking forward to more of the same.
Thank you.
Very interesting. I’ve practiced a few forced landings in a light aircraft here. Not landing of course due to the fences across the runway, just a low approach and go around.
The small building is a substation as the main entrance was in elm corner. This airfield was once the best equipped private airfield in the world. I wonder if the circular concrete area near A3 was a fuel dump?
Thank you for the information
fascinating, thanks for sharing
Thanks John
i have driven past here for 40-odd years and never knew it was there.
Me too until I was filming the M25 works and saw it
The VC10 airliners were built at nearby Brooklands- just a couple of miles away as the crow flies. The runway there was too short for them to take off when fully equipped so the aircraft were flown to Wisley where they were fitted out with seats and galleys etc and then delivered to the airlines. There is a photo taken in the 50s of a Vickers Valiant V bomber flying across the A3 at a low height having just taken off- that must have been a bit of a distraction! I saw the last two British Airways Concordes on their way into Heathrow held in the "Ockham Stack" up above my house. They were, of course, not built at Brooklands but at Filton.
Great information Nick. Thank you for sharing it.
I watched them from Polesden Lacey and then fly over London and then both touching down at Heathrow!
There were a number of large sections of Concorde built at Weybridge, the tail fin and the front part of the fuselage,which I worked on, as well as many other smaller sections.
Maybe the circular area at the NW end was the original location of the OCK VOR? In fact the OCK VOR is now decommissioned as GPS is used
As far as my research goes Ockham beacon is still in working order and still used. The general consensus about the unknown circle is exactly as you said.
I have removed the music now, to avoid any issues with copyright now the channel is part of the Partner Programme.
We used to go fishing in Bolder mere the lake that adjoined the airfield - it appears to have disappeared?
It is still there
As a young child in the early 1960's, I vividly remember being in Dad's car on the A3 just around here, and seeing a huge silver aeroplane fly low overhead. It had a long needle-like spike on it's nose. Could this have been the prototype Bristol Brabazon?
Anybody out there who might know?
Can confirm it wasn’t the Brabazon as this was scrapped in the early ‘50’s, presumably before you were born. Been thinking about what it might have been and consulting my textbooks for period large ‘planes with spiked-nose modifications and can come up with only one, although this would’ve been early 1970s and not early 60s: the sole RAF Hercules W2 (weather reconnaissance).
Did the BAC 111 take off from Wisley on it’s fatal maiden flight when it crashed in Wiltshire?
Not sure, hopefully someone on here will know.
Great video, thank you.
You are welcome!
Such wonderful history. Shame it has now gone to be replaced with more houses and more traffic. At least we still have Brooklands as a reminder of these times. Thanks
I agree, it is such a shame that the Brooklands track could not be saved, but at least we have the museum.
Circular paving probably ADF beacon.
Or used for compass swinging
That is at the other end of the runway at the end of the video.
The round ruin is probably from a centrifuge there were some in Harmondsworth in the foreground of the detention centre.
My Dad test flew BACK 1-11’s out of Wisley in the sixties, I hope that the developers find some way of remembering the previous use of the airfield for future generations…..
BAC I-11’s
We need another runway in the south east.
Many of the new jets need shorter runways now meaning this could take away some of the excess from LHR and LGW.
We don't need a new town, we have more people per square mile in the south of England compared to most other areas of the western world.
Interesting point about the drone and silence. I'm used to it after watching thousands of drone vids in a certain war somewhere eastward from here.
You can put what music you like on "your" vid, fine by me. Maybe even some vickers aircraft sounds.
I live just southeast of LGW and used to get viscounts and vanguards overhead all the time. Favourite jet at the time was of course the VC10.
Living under the flightpath instills a love of aircraft !
I grew up in Farnborough and had the same from the old RAE and the proper airshows we used to have, shame they are long gone now.
I think the circle on the ground may have been a compass calibration bay.
That was at the other end of the runway and is at the end of the video. Common ideas are fuel or explosives storage area.
Great video.
Thanks Simon
I wonder who will live in all those houses 😮
I suspect doctors, engineers, astro physicists etc, all young single males.
Is it for sale by chance? Must not be turned into yet more homes , please
It has been sold for more houses to Taylor Wimpey sadly
I remember being taken by my father to an air show at Wisley sometime in the 1960’s; I was quite young, but remember that the comedian Dick Emery crashed a Tiger Moth into the car park. Does anyone on the comments know when this was?
Found the answer myself… the joy of the internet!
From the official AAIB report relating to the crash of DH82 Tiger Moth G-ANDV: -
05.06.66: Crashed at Wisley airfield, Ockham, near Ripley, Surrey According to a report in The Times for the next day (6/6/66): "WISLEY, SURREY, June 5: Two Tiger Moth aircraft crashed at a display watched by 10,000 people as Wisley today. The first landed in a field 150 yards from spectators during a display of crazy flying when a wing touched the ground.
The second, piloted by Dick Emery, the comedian, crashed during takeoff, ripped the roof off an estate car in which a woman was sitting, tore through a fence, and landed in the V.I.P. enclosure. Mrs. Ann Proctor of Camberley, Surrey, in the car, was unhurt. Mr. Emery, and Mr, Brian Smith, his passenger, were also unhurt. The Royal Aeronautical Society, who organized the display to celebrate their centenary, blamed a gusty wind for the accidents."
1700 new homes?!?!? Going to have to upgrade the junction again 🚧👷♂️
Hopefully it won't be that many homes. We do need more homes though.
@@aviewthroughthelens I am still trying to workout how people are supposed to get to Wisley Gardens from the south, through Ripley or up to J10 and back down
@@aviewthroughthelens We need families to live in one home, rather than a single mother in one, and the father in another.
You’re absolutely right!
@@aviewthroughthelens There are thousands of empty properties all over the country.
I believe that the WW1 scenes for Warhorse were filmed on Wisley airfield .
Are there any remnants of where this may have been staged ?
Nothing is left from the filming. The grass area ’inside’ the curve of the main central taxiway (by the engine detuners) was dug up and repurposed as the main trench and no man’s land. The excavated soil was piled up to create berms, and everything was reset back to how it was found once filming was completed.
Thanks for your info 😊
And local residents are very much opposed to any plans for hundreds more homes in such a place.
Nimbys. Perhaps they should club together and buy the place.
2000 houses coming soon! I knew Jock Bryce who flew the Valiant that had to be abandoned on fire after takeoff.
Wow that sounds like an interesting story. Do you have any more details.
Here we go again, more history consigned to an "exciting development", really??? So that's why there's all this A3/M25 "upgrade" work, to cater for this new town. Anyway, thanks for this footage, really interesting!!
You are welcome, It is life I am afraid, we need new homes and they have to go somewhere :(
Rather new homes than an empty disused airfield.
great vid, sadly developers salivate over these sites, i'm in cambridgeshire, the housing estates pop up and heritage is gone forever.
It is life I am afraid, we need new homes and they have to go somewhere :(
Great Video
shame about the Music.
As said before you can Mute it. Thanks for the feedback though.
There’s 100s of these airfield sites and ex MOD sites that should have been developed years ago instead of green belt
I guess you don't live in these areas.
@@David-lb4te yes there are dozens around were I live been left as wasteland since the end of the war. Great big tarmac strips and concrete buildings rotting away
@@marksmith334Would your fellow residents in the "area where you live" be happy with mass housing development ?
War Horse WW1 trench scenes filmed here
"Step back in time to July 2024..." LOL
Good olde AI description generators, LOL
The whole A3 M25 junction upgrade is being done so that this development can happen. I believe near a £1B spent on the junction so that developers can profit. Now I could accept that if the profit from the development was paying for the junction instead of tax payers but what are the chances of that. Used to love cycling along the runway. Not sure if you still can. Not so easy to get there now. Access and infrastructure are a mess and they are taking too much common land. As developments go this is crazy.
It is a shame they could make more of the airfield for something else.
For such a beautiful place and amazing views across to the north downs absolutely now it will be just an island housing estate with no links. Perhaps RHS Wisley could have turned it in to surreys Eden project.
Sorry but not true, the upgrade is due the high accident rate and long queues, everyone who uses the junction will benefit from the improved traffic flow regardless of whether the new town is built.
@@andrewtrimble9770 The junction will still have traffic lights. It might be improved but the majority of the area these huge works are covering is to provide access for the new housing. The work extends as far as the adjacent A3 junctions in both directions.
@bodywood Actually the cost is around £300m.
Seems to me a waste. However I suppose it will be put to good use as homes. I remember years and years ago while working in the area, the VC 10s being tested with touch and goes etc. Spent a lot of working time sitting in the trees Wisely end watching.
I’m not impressed with more new homes
Agreed. I didn't see any new school or GP surgery on the plan !
very interesting. But what does the music contribute to it. Put on a speech track with a commentary of what is being shown and get rid of the worthless music.
I muted it.
@@mirvids5036 Me too - absolutely no need for the music - just birdsong, the breeze and the hum of the A3 in the background would have had more impact.
Thanks for the feedback :) The music is there as the drone doesn't record sound and it is breaks up the silence. I will look at the voiceover option, but you can Mute the sound if you prefer to.
@@aviewthroughthelens Really good video, except absolutely no need for music. Detracts totally from the point and so I stopped watching.
Unfortunately we get music on every thing these days, on television and now on talk radio. I hate it.
Shame, like all of our open areas, it will become just another statistic of over population.
I remember seeing a Chinese government Viscount (CAAC) there in the sixties. A piece of history lost!
I just wish I had been old enough to see planes there.
Horrible music
There is a mute button?
Dire music. Audio commentary rather than text would have enabled me to concentrate more on the video. The repeated image of the same map would be more informative if overlaid with the flight line of the of the following video. This could have been so much better presented with the source material used.
There’s nothing stopping you from creating your own ideal presentation of this location.
In fact I look forward to seeing it.
There is a mute button! would you like me to send you the original footage so you can edit it better?
Do you often get out of the wrong side of the bed ?
What a terrible shame. They could have ripped up the concrete and returned it to farmland for food. But they don't want farming or food production anymore. This country is losing its sanity!!
Could the "unknown structure" be where the airfields VOR stations was located? VOR is a nav aid....
It could be, someone has also said that it was the explosive storage area, which would make sense being far away from everything else.
@@aviewthroughthelens On the aerial photo it looks like storage tanks for fuel. The aircraft had to be fuelled somewhere didn't they?
I'm going with a VOR station for radio direction finding...
@@SWRural-fk2ub Agree that it looks like a fuel storage area similar to that found on other airfields. The fuel bowsers would only ever drive around and stop at the pumping equipment in one direction only meaning that they didn't have to reverse
The VOR (designated OCKham) is 240m southwest of the eastern end of the runway.