Airport History

The original Shoreham Airport coat of arms

In the early months of 1910, London based artist Harold Piffard set himself up on a piece of grazing land across the river from Shoreham, and so started the story of Shoreham Airport.

Harold Piffard on his Hummingbird in 1910

Piffard was only at Shoreham for a few months but by the end of 1910 others had arrived and the flying ground was established. The period leading up to the First World War was a busy time with many companies and individuals establishing themselves and putting up buildings on the south side of the site. Amongst those on the new flying ground were A V Roe, Cedric Lee and the brothers Cecil and Eric Pashley.

Harold Piffard’s Hummingbird in 1910

On 4 July 1911 Shoreham was the starting point for the first recorded cargo flight when Horatio Barber on his Valkyrie monoplane flew a box of Osram light bulbs to nearby Hove.

The First World War brought the Royal Flying Corps to Shoreham in the shape of Number 3 Reserve Squadron. In spite of its name this was a training unit, giving young men their first taste of flying. The squadron was equipped with Maurice Farman Longhorn pusher biplanes, with a top speed of about 60 mph. The newly trained pilots left Shoreham with about 10 to 12 flying hours; after a short gunnery training course elsewhere they were sent out to the western front, many to survive only a few days.

Canadian No. 2 Squadron and their DH9s in 1919

With the war over, the fledgling Canadian Air force moved from Upper Heyford to Shoreham. There they spent time training and testing some of the 65 captured German aircraft that were stored at the airfield. By December 1921 all activity on the airfield stopped and for the next few years it reverted to grazing land.

Canadian Airforce camp at Shoreham in 1919

Flying returned to Shoreham at the end of 1925 when Cecil Pashley with his Avro 504 joined forces with the Miles brothers to form the Gnat Aero Company. Activity on the airfield increased steadily through the second half of the 1920s, with Southern Aircraft Ltd and the Southern Aero Club. Shoreham also hosted many flying meetings and airshows when famous flyers such as Sir Alan Cobham came to town. This and the growth in the popularity of air transport put Shoreham on the map and set the stage for the next chapter in the airport’s story.

Cecil Pashley and his Avro 504

In 1930 the municipal authorities of Brighton, Hove and Worthing formed a joint committee to establish Shoreham as the municipal airport for three towns. Construction on the Terminal Building began in November 1934.

During 1935 the Croydon based company Olley Air Services Ltd., was appointed to manage the aerodrome and a service, Croydon-Shoreham-Deauville was started on the 13th July. On the 13th June 1936 this exquisite Art-Deco terminal building was officially opened by the Mayors of Brighton, Hove and Worthing. The building remains today very much in its original shape and, as always, is still very much open to the public.

The opening day at Shoreham hosted an air-show and companies such as Channel Air Ferries, Railway Air Services and Jersey Airways soon started to use the airport.

Airport Terminal just prior to official opening, 1936

Within the Terminal Building's long history, it has seen international and domestic departures and arrivals including some of the world's largest airlines. With the outbreak of war in 1939 international airline operators were removed from London (Croydon) Airport to Shoreham. These include names like Sabena, DDL, KLM and the predecessor of British Airways, Imperial Airways. Some of the destinations flown to by the above airlines included Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Malmo and Brussels.

With the German invasion of France and the low countries in 1940, the passenger traffic to and from Shoreham stopped, and, after a short break the Royal Air Force took over the airport. With fighter airfields already established close by it was decided to base part of the newly formed 277 Air Sea Rescue Squadron at Shoreham. Equipped with Spitfires, Walrus amphibians, Deviants and Lysanders the squadron was involved in the rescue of nearly 600 airmen from the Channel.

277 Squadron Air Sea Rescue

The airport was the target of several air raids; in one, the outer skin of the main hangar was blown off, but through it all, the terminal building remained undamaged. Other units flew from the airfield in support of operations such as the Dieppe raid and the D Day landings.

As at the end of the first War, things at Shoreham were slow to recover after the second, and in 1946 the airfield was handed back to civil flying and activity steadily increased. In mid 1951 Fred Miles returned along with his brother George to set up aircraft manufacture and development work on site. By the end of the decade all of the British aircraft industry was in crisis and many of the old and famous names were merged to form the British Aircraft Corporation. Small firms such as FG Miles were left to sort their own problems out, and so it was that the aircraft department became part of the new Beagle Company. Beagle traded at Shoreham until 1970 when they were finally wound up, and aircraft manufacture at the airport finished for good.

Beagle 206 flying over Shoreham

In 1971 Shoreham became a Municipal Airport again under the control of the three local councils, passenger services and general aviation became the focus of attention.

Shoreham Airport is still at the forefront of general aviation in this country. The Terminal Building is now a Grade II* listed building and is still in everyday use by business, training and pleasure fliers alike including many visitors from Europe. Many of the fixtures are original including the Whispering Gallery on the first floor and the main window design above the main entrance. And so it remains today, under the ownership of Albemarle (Shoreham Airport) Limited.