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Croydon
Airport |
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area |
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After
Closure |
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. The airfield officially closed
at 10:20pm. on the 27th of September 1959 |
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The (above) three pictures were taken shortly after closure
in 1960. 'Field Aircraft Services', 'Queen Mary' trailer has
been left behind in front of the Terminal, loaded with rubbish. |
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(above and below)
Front and rear views of
the airport a couple of years after closure in the early 1960's |
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(above) demolishing the hangars |
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(above) A view from the Purley Way early 1960's with most
of the buildings still standing and the area still undeveloped. |
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(above)
The airfield used for bulk storage of cars. early 1960's |
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(below) A D.61 Condor, 'PFA/247' at Rollasons, Croydon,
23 Aug 1960 |
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(below) the petrol station built in front of the main entrance. |
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(above) A 'Piper Apache' flying over the
closed airfield in 1964. Note the white cross to alert aircraft
it is no longer in use. The large cross was known as 'Watties
Cross' - after the Minister’s name. |
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(above and below) looking across the remains of what
was once the aerodrome in 1967 |
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(below) The Airport in the 80's |
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CLICK
HERE 1980 Airshow |
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For a link to pictures
and details of the 5th of May 1980 Airshow |
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On the 5th of May 1980, the
Croydon Airport site was reopened for flying for one day when
the London Borough of Sutton organised an Air show and a re-enactment
of Amy Johnson's departure on her historic solo flight to Australia
which began on that day 50 years earlier. |
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The
30th of May 1988 was the last time an aircraft landed on the
remains of the old airfield at Croydon by special arrangement |
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CLICK HERE 1988 Airshow |
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For a link to pictures
and details of the 30th of May 1988 Airshow |
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A second Air show was
organised in 1988 to mark in Australian Bicentennial year, the
60th anniversary of the first solo flight to Australia by Bert
Hinkler, and the airport's many other Australian connections. |
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(above) The terminal building is all that has been left
in later years. Part of it is preserved and open to the public
as a historical visitor centre, and basically run by volunteers
from the 'Croydon Airport Society'. A replica of the last commercial
plane to leave the airport the 'DH Heron' G-AOXL of 'Morton Air
Services', is mounted as a monument in front of the building
facing the Purley Way. |
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Notice
on the outside of the remaining building |
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The comemorative
sign near one of the original boundaries at Roundshaw. |
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(above) A closeup of the sign at Roundshaw. |
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https://www.youtube.com/embed/8O8IG3UrzaA |
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On the 27th of September
2009, to mark the 50th anniversary of the closing of Croydon
Airport, eleven light aircraft, including eight biplanes, staged
a flypast. The link above is to a short film of the flypast. |
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In August
2015 to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the RAF at Croydon,
there was a flypast of a Spitfire and a Hurricane |
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(below) Anniversary card issued in 2003.
Unfortunately the picture shows the wrong airport, it was the
old Waddon airfield that opened in 1920. The one shown in the
coloured picture wasn't built until 1928. |
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