We left London Surrey was offered a new council house. At this time houses were being built on grounds given to the local authorities by the company, with the assurance that a percentage of the houses would be offered to their workers. I can remember when we all first traveled by train from London to look at the housing estate named Brooklands, mum was never that frilled at the thought of leaving London and I guess this was a way of trying to assure her. I don’t think that at this time we know which house would be ours, but I believe at the time it was going to be one of the houses currently under construction in Seagrave Close. As things turned out we finished up at 14 Seagrave Close, the top house at the end of the close that dad had wished for on our first visit.
The area was a wonderful place for a boy of 11 who had hardly seen a green field of hedgerow, so many places to explore and find adventure, so much room to roam and sights to take in, so many opportunities to merge and be part of the countryside.
Our housing estate was not named Brooklands by chance, it was situated on the very edge of the first ever purposed built motor car racing track in the world. The whole area had at one time belonged to the Locke-King family, and it was Lock-King that built the Brooklands racing track that opened in 1907. The history of the track is the subject of many books covering the exploits of so many famous names that raced there up until the Second World War. The track at one time would hold all the conceivable motor car and motor cycle records for speed and endurance that one could imagine, it was also one of the social events of the year and I must for the high flying society of the time. With the quest for speed and power an industry grow up within the center arena of Blooklands, an industry at first to cater for the racing car, however, as car engines grow in size and power it was not long before they were to be put to another use, flight, and so the aircraft industry was born amid and circled by the world of motor car racing. This then was the setting for Those Magnificent Man and there Flying Machines from which the British Aero Industry was born, at one time it would house every known aero company in the business up until the WWII, from then Vickers Armstrong Aircraft Company would be the sole company still situated at Brooklands. So the whole area boarded by the racing tack becomes an airfield and manufacturing area much needed for the war effort.
1930’s racing cars roaring pass Vickers aircraft hangers at Brooklands.
The racing track along with many unoccupied buildings became a boys dream of an adventure playground, the track just a few yards away from our back garden was banked and raised to a considerable height, and with the help of trees to the earth side of the bank we would make our way to the top and look down on the airfield in the center with the River Way flowing through. To the left was the member’s bridge spanning the racing track and leading to members and press box buildings. To the right the banked track bridged the River Way then leveled out to run parallel with the main London to Southampton railway, known has the Railway Straight. It was not only the truck and its surrounds that enticed us to make the long haul up the steep earth embankment, this after all was still the center of one of the countries largest aircraft companies and with the sound of aero engines running, I doubt I missed a single take off from that vantage point atop the banked track.
Other attractions were the river Way and while there was plenty of fishing spots for a young boy, the thought of fishing the quiet stretch within the bounds of the track was far too tempting, and many an early morning I would make my way up the river to my favorite spot. Winter and snow brought with it more fun this time on the track it self, with snow settling the concrete racing truck become our downhill toboggan ride, the ride down was short and sweet but the climb back for the next down ride was difficult and exhausting, we needed to go from one Sliver Birch tree to the next slowly making our way back up. The trees had been planted during the war to help camouflage the track from Germany
So it was I grew up within the country side of Surrey never thinking, other then to go see my beloved Arsenal, of ever returning to live in London
Early Days at Brooklands with its concrete surface looking new.
A standing start maybe 1930’s.
Very early days,
the solid rubber rimmed wheels over the concrete did not make for a smooth ride.
Members Bridge today still much as I remembered it as a boy,
minus the Sliver Birch Trees.
I spent most of my first 20 years of working life with the company which gave me every opportunity to educate myself, an opportunity that I took with thanks, however, I spent every minute of my free time playing sport, mostly cricket at the companies sports center at Byfleet. Through my time the company went from Vickers Armstrong Weybridge Division to the British Aircraft Corporation BAC, then finally British Aerospace, until its closure in 1989 ending some 64 years of aircraft manufacture dating back to 1915, a sad closure of a very historical aircraft manufacturing site.
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