Place Name
Military heritage. RAF Northolt, in Hillingdon, was one of the key airfields in the defence of London during both the First and Second World Wars. It was opened in March 1915 and became operational three month later when BE2c biplanes flew defensive patrols against Zeppelin raids over the capital. In the 1930s, RAF Northolt was the first station to operate the Hurricane. During the Battle of Britain it became home to a series of allied and British Hurricane and Spitfire Squadrons, including a complete Polish Wing. In 1946 the airfield was used for civilian use while Heathrow Airport was under construction and by 1952, Northolt was the busiest airfield in Europe, handling an annual total of 50,000 air movements. The airfield is still in use today. It is one of a cluster of roads laid out and named after RAF connections in reference to Hornchurch Airfield which was very close by. The airfield was originally known as Sutton’s Farm during the First World War, when it occupied 90 acres and used for the protection of London. It was closed temporarily a few years after the war in 1923 but reopened when the RAF expanded five years later. It closed permanently in 1962. It was from here that the first ever recorded interception of an enemy aircraft over Britain was made by Lieutenant John Slessor on the day he arrived at Sutton’s Farm, October 13, 1915. The attack had to be aborted however, when the airship disappeared into cloud. During the Second World War the station was a Sector Airfield of RAF Fighter Command’s 11 Group, covering London and the south east of England during the Battle of Britain in 1940.
