Croydon airport

I always thought Croydon airport was just a small, disused airport, and never gave it another thought. I knew they had open days but never bothered to visit, until recently. And I was really pleasantly surprised as it was such an interesting and informative tour. I had no idea it was the UK's only international airport between the wars.

Croydon airport is in south London, although Croydon used to be in Surrey until Greater London swallowed it up. The airport was built in a Neoclassical style and opened in 1920. It became the UK's busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers and also cargo and mail. The terminal is now a Grade II listed building.

The plane above the entrance path is a de Havilland Heron and represents the aircraft that flew the last passenger flight from Croydon on 30 September 1959. The airport closed in 1959.

The tours are run by very enthusiastic and informative volunteers. Due to Covid restrictions, only 4 or 5 visitors are in each tour. We started in the ground floor main booking hall. There were six check-in desks and administration facilities for the international airlines operating at the airport. The hall has a steel framed glass dome. 

The walls are lined with photos and information boards, but we were able to see old photos of how the booking hall looked when in operation. It was designed on a railway station and even the old newspaper kiosk looks just like those that used to be in railway stations. There was a small mailroom set on one side, and the Imperial Restaurant was off another side. 

These panels, from left to right, show the different aspects of the airport over the years as well as the different types of plane that used the airport -

We went outside and walked along the south cargo wing (left side when looking at the main entrance). This was the “Goods in” wing. There were bonded Customs stores and four entrance bays featuring double doors that enabled easy vehicle access, facilitating improved loading and unloading of goods, freight, mail and bullion. Bullion was stored in a large strong room, located off the Booking Hall

The double doors -

The North cargo wing (which we didn't see) handled “Goods out” of the UK. We went round to the back to see the control tower -

The Control Tower was 50 ft tall and 30 ft square, built over four floors, and was the world’s largest and most advanced. With the radio communication masts situated on the top of the tower’s roof, the overall height was 80 ft. The air traffic controllers were in the top of the tower and the meteorological office two floors below. There was a high speed pneumatic vacuum tube communication system connecting the two. On the top of the tower is a viewing gallery, it was so popular that full time tour guides were employed. 

We went back in the terminal building and up to the first floor. An old photo of the airport. The old Croydon lido can clearly be seen in the foreground, it was in use from 1935 to 1979. The iconic multi level diving platform is one of just four inter-war concrete diving platforms known to survive in England and is now in the Wyevale Garden Centre and will hopefully be preserved.

Croydon airport became the world’s first purpose built airport terminal and became the biggest and most advanced airport in the world. It set new standards for air travel and was designed around the two key airport processes- Departure and Arrival.

The first floor is set up as a small museum. Some seats from various aircraft. They weren't fixed to the floor in those days. Note the weighing scales - passengers and their baggage had to be weighed when checking in. 

The seats look quite uncomfortable, but in those days the planes could only fly short distances before refueling, so there were plenty of stops for the passengers. 

Then on up to the control tower. This is the original staircase, not used by visitors -

I was interested to see that Amy Johnson was well featured. Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. In 1930, she left Croydon Airport on 5 May and landed at Darwin, Northern Territory on 24 May 11,000 miles (18,000 km). She went on to set other solo as well as distance records. Whilst flying during the war she supposedly ran out of fuel and crashed into the Thames estuary and her body was never recovered. The actual cause of the crash and her death are unknown. 

Whilst doing her London to Darwin flight, her route took her over SE Asia, from Bangkok she flew over the Malaya Peninsula (17 and 18 May) to Singapore , where she landed safely.  

Passenger planes regularly flew between Croydon and Brisbane, this is an Imperial Airway's empire service timetable. This route involved about 22 stops!

Imperial Airways was Britain’s international airline, and went on to become British Airways. 

Croydon control tower has other claims to fame. The international distress call “Mayday” was created by London Croydon Airport Radio Officer F.S. “Stanley” Mockford in 1923. Other famous aviators flew out of Croydon. Many famous celebrities were passengers. 

From Historic Croydon Airport Trust -

For two decades, Croydon was Britain’s primary Customs airport for virtually all of the UK's international departures and arrivals. In addition, from 1937, Imperial Airways operated flying boat services from Southampton. The small Lympne in Kent was available in case of aircraft en-route emergency or diversion.

Sadly the runway area is now all built on, this view is from the control tower -

After the Second World War, Croydon Airport returned to civilian use, but Heathrow had become London's main international airport. 

Christmas Eve 1924 saw the world’s first major commercial aviation accident. An Imperial Airways de Havilland en-route from Croydon to Paris, crashed a few minutes after departure with the pilot and seven passengers all perishing in the crash. The aircraft crashed 2.5 km away from the airport.

A 50 room hotel was built next to the terminal and opened in 1928. Amy Johnson stayed in the hotel on the night of 4th May 1930, ready for her record-breaking Australia flight the next morning. London Croydon Aerodrome Hotel -

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Before Croydon airport -

After WWI, there was a ban on civil aviation in Britain until on 25th August 1919. Hounslow Heath acted as London’s “airport” for the first months of commercial international air services. The world’s first scheduled flight, from Hounslow Heath to Paris- Le Bourget, took place on the day the civil aviation ban was lifted. Flights between London and Paris became a major international route. Hounslow Heath wasn't used for very long before operations were moved to Croydon. 

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See Historic Croydon Airport which has pages and pages packed with information, 

11 Amazing Facts About Croydon Airport on The Londonist.

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