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The site was originally a racecourse set in the grounds of Hooton Hall, The hall being requisitioned by the Army in 1914 at the start of WW1. The aerodrome was built to house a Royal Flying Corps pilot training unit who remained there until disbandment in 1919.
In 1927 the site was purchased with the intention of creating an airport serving Liverpool and the Northwest of England. During the next two decades Hooton was a flourishing centre for aviation Aeroplanes and engines were manufactured at Hooton, The aerodrome was home for the Comper Aircraft Co, manufacturer of one of the most successful light aircraft of the time, the Comper CLA 7 Swift Nick Comper's famous record breaker and the Pobjoy Aeromotor Company building their 7 cyl radial aero engine.
In 1929, a band of enthusiasts formed an aero club on the former World War 1 aerodrome at Hooton Park. This club grew over the next few years to be the most active flying club in Great Britain outside London, and became a national centre for light aircraft, at the time a very popular pastime. The club also ran local air races and derbies, and Hooton Park was even a staging post for the famous Kings Cup national air races of the 1930s.
In 1930, Hooton officially became Liverpool Airport, a position it held for three years until near neighbour Speke took over in 1933.
On 10 February 1936, No 610 (County of Chester) Squadron was formed at Hooton as a light bomber unit in the Auxiliary Air Force taking possession of one of the Belfast hangars to house its Avro Tutors and Hawker Harts.
On 1 January 1939, the Squadron re-mustered as a fighter unit but retained Hawker Hinds until the beginning of the war when it received Fairey Battles and then Hurricanes. These were soon given up in favour of Spitfires. All civil flying had now ceased, All of Hooton's considerable population of light aircraft were immobilised and stored under the old grandstand. All were destroyed in July 1940 in a disastrous fire.
During WW2 the station was used by Coastal Command, operating patrol flights over the Irish Sea from South Wales to Cumbria. An important function of Hooton's war effort was the assembly and repair of RAF aircraft, undertaken by Messrs Martin Hearn Ltd which had been founded on the site in the mid thirties.
During the retreat from Dunkirk, many types of aircraft landed at Hooton Park. Examples of all type of machine were in evidence, the list including Gloster Gladiators, Walruses, Douglas C-47s (DC3s or 'Dakotas'), Bostons, Blenheims, Swordfish to name just a few.
Hooton Park finally shut its gates as an aerodrome in 1957, and in 1962, was purchased by Vauxhall Motors. The remaining hangers on the site are now being restored by The Hooton Park Trust, which was was formed in 2000
Squadrons stationed at Hooton park during the second World War:
My father 401562, Richard (Ricky) HATTAM, was posted to No. 1447 Flight Hooton Park on 19 June 1942 for advanced wireless and gunnery training, after some earlier training at Cranwell and Prestwick, following his arrival from Canada, where he trained under the Empire Air Training Scheme. He was posted from Hooton Park to No. 4 (C) OTU at Invergordon in Scotland on 21 August 1942.
Following his training he served with 461 Squadron, Coastal Command, flying in Sunderland Flying Boats as a WOP/AG and later Squadron Gunnery Leader. He returned to Australia in October 1945 and continued to serve in the RAAF until 1949.
Rick Hattam
By L.A.C BILL STAFFORD.
I joined the RAF in Jan 1941 as U.T.Air crew but due to an accident during my training ,which injured my "feet" I was down graded and not allowed to fly. As a result, 3to 4 months later I was posted to Hooton as ACH GD.,my first sight of the camp as I walked towards it from Hooton Lane, was of two very large white gates, with a military policeman in all his glory stood outside. He passed me through to the guardhouse which was immediately on the left inside the gates, opposite the guard house stood a number of what were then modern houses, which I later learned were Officers married quaters..( I thought this looks ok --quite nice in fact)
After initiation I was given a billet in a nissen hut located behind 2 great hangers ,belonging to a civilian aircraft firm, and from which emanated a very strong smell of "pear drops" It turned out that this firm was one of few remaining places , where very early types of fabric bodied aircraft , such as Tiger Moths , could still be repaired -using fabric such as linen and "dope" ( CELLULOSE) Tiger moths were still used for training, which I knew to my cost.
The next day I was given my duties as a "sick bay attendant". At this I felt very disappointed. My adventure was no longer an adventure Air crew to this ugh. The sick bay was pleasantly located somewhat to the rear of the officers married quaters, and the other people from the M.O. down were great. . I made many friends and one in particular a medical orderly Cpl. Freddie Duck . He played the trumpet his skills on the horn gave us unlimited entry to local places of entertainment such as Bow waters sports club on Wednesdays and Saturdays I soon got over my disappointment. Dancing and meeting the local folks especialy the girls, to one of whom I later became engaged Margeory Davies of Straker Ave. She joined the W.A.A.F. It didn't last , my fault the life we were living was so fast and uncertain, we all felt it could not last, and could be over the next day I felt that I did not have time to be faithful, silly B.
As I got more settled at Hooton I made many more friends ,and perhaps because of my earlier desire to be air crew, a lot of these new friends were pilots, observers, radio ops etc. I was constantly trying to scrounge trips with them in their "kites" which were mainly Avro Ansons a rather unexciting but pleasant aircraft. My first trip in one of these craft turned out to be not at the invitation of a pilot, but at that of another great friend I had mad , who was a pidgeon handler. Yes we still used pidgeons for carrying messages, mainly from occupied territory etc we had a pidgeon loft and my friend used to take them out over the sea and release them for training purposes, one of Coastal Commands lesser known activities. We also had on the station a couple of Whitley Bombers, very impressive,reputed to have the widest wing span of any other aircraft at the time, no matter how I tried, I could not get on one of these. Although I did see one loop the loop, which was supposed to be impossible!
Life under Coastal Command then continued steadily until the evacuation of Dunkirk, when we were joined by the remnants of 13 squadron , an Army co-operation unit flying Lysanders a high wing monoplane very manoverable and used for picking up messages from the ground the message being tied between two pegs in the earth, the Lisie would then dive to within a few feet , and pick it up with a trailing hook, some nerve these lads had.
The unit was posted to us in order to re-goup, re-man, and retrain with the servivng old personal training the new lads. Because of the very nature off this training (diving down to a few feet and climbing back up) the new bods would frequently miss judge and go right into the deck. We in sick quarters became rushed off our feet , we had to set up an operating theatre which was known as the crash room, and where I next took up my duties for a considerable period of time.
Just about when I thought that I was becoming a fixture in sick quarters and the crash room, something happened which changed everything for me and was to stay with me throughout the D-Day landings, the occupation of Europe, and the rest of the six and a half years which I served in the R.A.F. One morning it was posted on daily routine orders " That anyone who had been a HAIDRESSER in civillian life,and who was not grade 0ne could remuster to the trade of A.C.H. BARBER."
As I had just completed my apprenticeship a few weeks prior to volunteering, this had to be given much consideration. I got no sleep at all that night. Injuries to my feet ! They would not let me sit on my bum and fly but I COULD STAND ON MY FEET ALL DAY CUTTING HAIR. What a laugh. However I did re-muster and within a week or so, I became the first official barber in the R.A.F. There was no proper place to work so I was allowed to set up with a table and chair in the N.A.A.F.I. using my own tools which I had all ways carried with me. Later I was given a room in the Old Priory out buildings along with the Tailor, the Cobbler, and the Laundry shop/counter etc.-and what an opportunist group were. The main priory house was used as the W.A.A.F billets. The entrance to which was directly opposite to mine and the tailors door. How could we loose!!
This was to be the start of many changes at Hooton, the compliment of personell increased rapidly until there was no more room on the camp to house us all, many of us had to be be housed in requisitioned property in the nearby area. Two of the places I stayed were Eastham dance hall and Hooton House which was almost next door to Hooton railway station. Very nice, no guard room, no booking in at night, Wow, we had it made!!!!!
Then the aicraft started to arrive Gloucester Gladiators, and a few other types what was happening ? We soon found out that we were leaving COASTAL COMMAND and going to TRAINING COMMAND as a flying training school and the Gladiators were to be used for "circuits and bumps" ( take off's and landings) in the training of new pilots.
It was about this time that I was made up to SNR. L,A.C. it came out of the blue what a surprise, I felt good, and began to have strange feelings, almost as if the hairdressing room , was "MY" salon and the airmen , other ranks and the officers ,were "MY" customers. I was soon to find out why another hairdresser was posted to us , his name was Wellington from Shropshire, within a couple of days,what was his nick name --- you' guessed it- --he became WIMPY WELLINGTON, and it stuck with him for the rest of his service
Then they started to come: Canadians, Ausies, New Zealanders, Poles, Americans {some of whom stayed} even Free French, and Belgiums etc. They came in very large numbers , a boat load at a time , they had nearly all been on board ship for up to six weeks, and hair did not stop growing because there was a war on!! It was now very plain why I needed help.
Each group were Acting Sergents UT Aircrew.They would stay for 4 to 6 weeks learn to take off, do one trip round the airfield and land . If they passed they kept their three stripes. if they failed, they reverted to LAC, After their 4 to 6 weeks were up, they would leave as fast as they came.
The intervals between intakes was usualy only a day or so and life in the camp was all bed and work, the aircraft -Gothas- or blood tubs as we called them, were overworked and ground crew could hardly keep up This patern was repeated over many months, but in spite all the hard work, we continued to enjoy ourselves The Americans who had remained with us proved to great guys and I had many good times with them in their favorite watering hole THE RED LION at Little Sutton
It was too good to last, one Monday morning, which was as it turned out to be just a few months prior to D.Day, I was called to the S.W.O 's office to learn that I had been posted to Wilmslow which was a W.A.A.F. recruit centre with only about 40 to 50 men, but there was also a very large R.A.F. hospital ,where my past experience was put to good use.
This wasn't to last either, within a further short period I was on my way up the Juno beach-head in Normandy. I was devastated to leave Hooton Park, to this day I have never seen it again, but I shall never forget it....
Bill Stafford.
">Click Here to read the rest of Bill`s story.
Photographs
Photos by The Hooton Park Trust
If you have any Photographs you would like to share please get in touch.
List of those who served at RAF Hooton.
- Richard Hattam. 1447 Flight. Read his Story
- Joseph William "Bill" Stafford. Read his Story
If you have any names to add to this list, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch.
If you have a story which you would like to share, or a website dedicated to an airfield or aircrew, please get in touch.
Send an E-mail to The Wartime Memories Project
Links
- The Hooton Park Trust was formed in 2000 with the aim of forming a Trust to oversee and manage the restoration of the remaining WW1/2 hangars on the former RAF airfield at Hooton Park, Cheshire, with the aim of forming an activity centre for use by the local community & the rest of the North West, covering such activities as basic skills training, company conferences/seminars, as well as restoring the buildings & the site itself as valuable historic artefacts in their own right.
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