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A Brief History on Gatwick Airport

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Gatwick Racecourse started in about 1890. The order books of Richard Cook, a small builder in West Street, Crawley, show that he was commissioned to build the new stables in that year. The racecourse was opened to replace the one at Waddon, near Croydon, which was closed in 1891. Gatwick was chosen as the replacement location due to the proximity of the railway line. The railway company built the first Gatwick railway station, now long gone, to serve the racecourse. Steeplechase and flat race meetings were held at Gatwick and it quickly became a popular venue. During the 'Great War' (1914-1918) the Grand National was held at Gatwick instead of at Aintree. Lester Piggott's grandfather won the 1918 race. By strange coincidence, the former racecourse at Waddon was expanded, in 1920, to form Croydon Aerodrome, London's first main airport. The original Gatwick Racecourse Bandstand now stands in Queens Square Crawley where, in summer it is used for live entertainment. As demand for landing grounds grew, land at Hunts Green Farm in Tinsley Green Lane was used as an airstrip. It was first licensed as an aerodrome in August 1930. The land was right next door to the Gatwick Racecourse and became known as Gatwick Aerodrome. In those days you could learn to fly for £4.00 per hour and buy your own 'plane for £595.00! Mind you, £4.00 was worth about £200 of today's money! In the early 1930’s the ownership of the aerodrome changed hands quite frequently. The 'Beehive', built as the nerve centre and passenger embarkation/disembarkation area, was finished by 1936. It is a circular building with lots of doors to the outside. Passengers were then able to walk from the train, to the aircraft and remain undercover. The 'Beehive' is still standing and is now surrounded by many modern airport related buildings. Gatwick went through a bad patch later in 1936 with two fatal crashes. Doubts about the aerodrome's safety, the local fogs and the heavy clay subsoil which caused frequent flooding, placed the aerodrome in the doldrums for a while. In 1937 British Airways moved operations back to Croydon. The aerodrome reverted to private use. The Royal Air Force entered into a contract with the owners of the aerodrome and set up a training school for the RAF. This helped keep the place running. Other companies based operations at Gatwick to maintain and service aircraft. In effect Gatwick went into a degree of hibernation for a while. Races were still being held at Gatwick Racecourse in 1939 and jockeys and wealthy owners used the aerodrome to fly in on race days. The outbreak of war lead to the RAF taking control of Gatwick. Gatwick was in the Kenley Sector of No. 11 Group Fighter Command. Gatwick had a busy war! When Gatwick was decommissioned in 1946 the future of the aerodrome remained in doubt. The government decided to operate Gatwick as a charter airport for an experimental 6 months. The rest, as they say, is history! It took until 1952 for the government of the day to decide that Gatwick had a future and gave approval for the development of Gatwick as an additional airport to serve the capital. The whole site closed and 2 years and £7.8 million later, a 'New London Airport' emerged from the building site. Gatwick was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on June 9th 1956. Gatwick Airport (the locals don't think of it as 'London Gatwick') was the first airport in the world to integrate excellent road, rail and air transport within a single, closely-knit unit. This facility has been further enhanced by the addition of the M23 link and the M25 (London ringroad). Over the years further expansion has taken place. 1962 - Expansion of the original terminal building and 2 additional piers constructed. 1964 - The runway was extended. 65-77 - Runway extended - twice! 1977 - Another pier opened. 1984 - new pier further extended. The 80's saw the start of the largest construction south of London, apparently, with the start of the £200 million construction of North Terminal. The Queen & Prince Philip opened this new addition to London Gatwick Airport in 1988. Since then a 2nd pier at the north terminal has been constructed. A new International departures lounge opened in the North Terminal and the 1st phase of the new South Terminal International Departure lounge also opened. For many years it has been argued by the BAA that a 2nd runway is required at Gatwick to take it into the 21st century. This suggestion has met with major opposition from local groups and conservationists To be perfectly honest it was my impression that the development of the North Terminal consisted of the terminal building only. However, during my researches I was amazed to discover that a 2nd runway was also constructed - for 'emergency purposes only', of course. Additional information suggests that this runway has recently been extended and strengthened to handle the modern requirement. I mention this only because the environment/local nuisance battles have raged for years and, to the best of my knowledge, all attempts by the BAA to construct a 2nd runway have been rejected. At no time do I recall it being made clear to the local population and pressure groups that it is already completed, 'for emergency use only'.
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