Re: Spotted today.
Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2026 12:23 pm
Yes it was a Surrey Hills Branch visit with the West Sussex Branch joining us.
Fun fact, Gatwick Airport should really be a Surrey airport. The airfield (as it was then) was in the Surrey parish of Charlwood as the Surrey Aero Club pre-WW2. However, the county boundaries were redrawn (with much controversy) in 1974 and Gatwick Airport then found itself in West Sussex although the northern airport boundary now touches the Surrey boundary.
My great-grandparent's house is under the sprawl of Gatwick Airport having been demolished. What became the airfield was originally the horse racing racecourse.
The aviation museum is a fun half-day visit with lots of engines to look at for the more nerdy of us.
Stephen
Fun fact, Gatwick Airport should really be a Surrey airport. The airfield (as it was then) was in the Surrey parish of Charlwood as the Surrey Aero Club pre-WW2. However, the county boundaries were redrawn (with much controversy) in 1974 and Gatwick Airport then found itself in West Sussex although the northern airport boundary now touches the Surrey boundary.
My great-grandparent's house is under the sprawl of Gatwick Airport having been demolished. What became the airfield was originally the horse racing racecourse.
The aviation museum is a fun half-day visit with lots of engines to look at for the more nerdy of us.
Stephen
- IMG_2624.jpeg (4.32 MiB) Viewed 417 times