From the haunt of highwaymen to aircraft hangars: The captivating history of the wartime airfield

Like many other commonwealth nations, Australia fought bravely during the Great War and set up its own Air Corps towards the end of hostilities.

In January 1918 they set up the first training wing of the Australian flying corps, with No.1 Station situated at Minchinhampton Aerodrome (Aston Down).

Trainees would be brought to Aston Down to do advanced aeronautical training in single seat planes.

The training these young pilots undertook was regarded as a dangerous business and a number lost their lives whilst flying the somewhat flimsy machines.

Minchinhampton Aerodrome during the First World War

A number of the fliers became well known locally and were treated warmly amongst the Minchinhampton community.

The men often put on concert parties and other entertainment for charity, one time they attempted to raise money for the wall memorial which can still be viewed in the town centre.

In the years between the First World War and the Second War Two, the trip at Aston Down remained in regular use.

Airshows were often staged at the aerodrome and in 1933 a Hospital Air Pageant was held and the Stroud Journal offered 15 people free flights - winner was an 83-year-old woman.

After Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany in 1933 and began re-militarisation of the Rhineland in 1936, warning signals regarding the power of the German Luftwaffe began reaching the RAF.

RAF Aston Down was opened on October 12, 1938, right on the old aerodrome site.

With the advances of plane technology an expansion of the airstrips was required and the grass field was replaced with three concrete runways in 1941.

Throughout the war Aston Down fulfilled two main functions, that of operational training and the other aircraft maintenance.

The No. 20 Maintenance Unit (MU) was originally responsible for British planes (Typhoons, Lancasters and Hurricanes) but soon American bombers were also sent to Aston Down for repair.

The 55 Operational Training Unit and the 52 Operational Training Unit were based at Aston Down - the idea was that battle hardened war veterans could pass on their knowledge to the trainees.

Many nationalities were trained at Aston Down with special squadrons of Yugoslav, Chinese, Canadian, Rhodesian, Australian and even American pilots serving the RAF.

Four young men from the station are buried at Holy Trinity Church in Minchinhampton.

The Control Tower

Following the war, 20 MU was the only unit remaining, supervising the collection of redundant planes and their subsequent scrapping, the unit remained at Aston Down until 1960.

In 1964 the Ministry of Aviation officially opened its Central Stores Depot at Aston Down, many of the former MU workers returned to find new employment.

This eventually became the Ministry of Defence Procurement Executive Stores Depot until its closure in 2002.

Other activities that occurred in or around the site following the war included The National Gliding Championship in 1962 and the testing of engines for Concorde.

Today the depot is in the process of change, being made into a modern, efficient industrial and warehouse site.

There are a wide variety of manufacturing and wholesale businesses now based at Aston Down including successful household goods wholesaler, La Hacienda Limited and machinery specialist Autonumis Limited.

However, the main airfield remains as a testament to the men and women who worked there since 1918 and the Cotswold Gliding Club is now a premier place to fly.

Diana will not be doing another talk on the History of Aston Down until next year.

A district-wide exhibition including Minchinhampton Aerodrome will take place on Armistice Day 2018.

For more history stories visit Minchinhampton history society at www.minchinhamptonlocalhistorygroup.org.uk.

An aerial view of Aston Down during the 90s