Past & Present Page 6

Lt.Com. Phillips, Lindsay Everards personal pilot, won the Grosvenor Cup Air Race on opening day, the triangular course being Braunstone, Old John (a monument to 'Old John' on a local hilltop), and Ratcliffe Airfield.

By this time Capt. Lynch-Blosse (ex Chief Constable of Leicester) was President of the Club, Don Longmore was Secretary and Ft.Lt. "Batchy" Bateman the Chief Flying Instructor.

Many wonderful days flying and many superb events happened during the Clubs time at Braunstone, it could well be called the Golden Years of the Leicestershire Aero Club. Pilots travelled all over England and Europe and as far as Russia in their light aircraft. Superb lunches, Dinners and Balls were held - amongst others the Rotary Club lunches and flights featured in the newspapers, together with full dress dinners to honour local or visiting dignitaries.

Many pilots were both members of the Aero Club and in training for the RAF at Desford, so, as well as much commuting between Braunstone and Ratcliffe, there was an equal amount between Braunstone and Desford. Sometimes the RAF members would fly into Braunstone in formation in aircraft with RAF markings, and this got them and the Club into trouble with the large and vociferous pacifist movement in Leicester, and it had to be stopped. The Club was using the same type of craft as the RAF trainers, (Tiger Moths), by this time. Membership rose to over 600.

In 1937 the Coronation of King George VI was marked by a Coronation Air Display at Braunstone, one of the few in the country as it clashed with Empire Air Day.

In 1938 the Club bought three ex RAF Tomtit aircraft which they used alongside the Tiger Moths and Puss Moth until the war. The RAF Volunteer Reserve was actively recruiting amongst Club members for several years up to the war. They all used the Clubhouse virtually as their Mess, with a lot of these men seeing active service in the RAF during the Second World War. Bob Marks 'an outstanding pilot' became an RAF Test Pilot and was killed testing the first German jet fighter that was captured. S.P.Russell became a Wing Commander D.F.C.; Bill Timms flew a Hawker Hurricane to Malta to aid the defence of the island alongside "Faith","Hope" & "Charity" and was later killed in his Hurricane. Keith Potter became a Squadron Leader. Russell and Potter were still around in the 1990's.