Hall Caine Airport, also referred to as Close Lake Airfield, was an airfield on the Isle of Man located near the town of Ramsey. It was named after the author Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE by his sons Gordon Hall Caine and Derwent Hall Caine, who initiated the project, and was the first airport in the British Isles to be named after a person.
From 1935 to 1937 it handled domestic scheduled passenger flights to English, Scottish and Irish airports. By 1937 it had fallen into disuse, primarily due to its location.
Close Lake Airfield
Origins The original site was known as Close Lake Airfield, as it occupied land on Close Lake Farm, which itself was part of the estate of Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine.The Ramsey Courier. Friday 12 April 1935. The location was chosen for its size (about ) and flatness, allowing a take off length of approximately .The Ramsey Courier. Friday, 14 October 1932
A few light aircraft had used the landing field in the early 1930s, mainly for visits to the Isle of Man for the TT Races. The first recorded passenger flight was on Tuesday, 11 October 1932, from Romford Aerodrome via Stanley Park Aerodrome (Blackpool), touching down just after 13:00. After a short stay the aircraft departed with two passengers; one bound for London and the other bound for Blackpool. However the flight was eventful, with strong winds resulting in the pilot being unable to land at Blackpool. Continuing through lowering cloud and freshening winds the Fox Moth eventually landed near Haddon Hall in Derbyshire, due to a shortage of fuel.
The sporadic use of the airfield continued into 1933. A further documented flight was that of a DH.80A Puss Moth which arrived on 21 January 1933, its passenger visiting the nearby Glen Auldyn Estate.Ramsey Courier Friday, 27 January 1933 Another arrival was at the end of April; the aircraft ferried a family to the Isle of Man from Blackpool and then took a party of local people including the Ramsey Harbour Master on a pleasure flight around the locality.Ramsey Courier. Friday 5 May 1933
Development By the early summer of 1934 the airfield was being seriously considered as an aerodrome for the Isle of Man. A two aerodrome concept was favored, with Close Lake serving the north of the island and Ronaldsway serving the south.Isle of Man Examiner. Friday, 22 June 1934 Close Lake's weather record, superior to Ronaldsway's, was shown in June when eight aircraft landed on the airfield, six of them carrying passengers, because they could not land at Ronaldsway due to fog.Isle of Man Examiner. Friday, 22.06.1934 Three of the aircraft belonged to West Coast Air Services, then engaged in operations from Ronaldsway and operating in connection with the TT Races, whilst the others were operated by Midland & Scottish Air Ferries with one being a private aircraft on charter to the Daily Mail.
During July 1934, a local architect, Joseph Teare, was tasked with surveying the site at Close Lake. His findings were sent to the Air MinistryRamsey Courier. Friday, 20 July 1934 with Wing Commander Allen being sent to the airfield in August so as to verify them.Ramsey Courier. Friday, 24 August 1934
Sir Alan Cobham had also favoured the north of the island for an airfield and had identified about six suitable sites between Ballaugh and the Point of Ayre in an earlier survey.Ramsey Courier Friday, 20.07.1934 In August 1934, Derwent Hall Caine flew into Close Lake and also undertook a thorough survey of the main landing area as well as the surrounding fields.
The findings were favorable, and the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, Sir Claude Hill, granted Hall Caine a temporary civil licence for an aerodrome on Close Lake Farm in August 1934.Ramsey Courier Friday. 17 August 1934 The temporary operating licence was replaced by a permanent licence granted by the Air Ministry in September.Isle of Man Times Saturday. 8 September 1934
In September 1934, some improvements were made at the airfield, including land filling with 400 tons of silt taken from the bed of the Sulby River in addition to the construction of a Nissen-type hangar, a petrol pump and the installation of a telephone.Isle of Man Examiner. Friday, 21 September 1934
Close Lake was seen as a better site for an aerodrome than Ronaldsway,Ramsey Courier. Friday, 07.09.1934 and was said to have a better surface. The site had no obstructions for aircraft landing into the prevailing (southwesterly) wind and the land could be easily drained. One shortcoming, however, was Close Lake Airfield's proximity to high ground about to the south. In comparison, the land at Ronaldsway was uneven, and the large folds in the surface needed filling in, but it was closer to the island's capital, Douglas. Ronaldsway's susceptibility to sea mist and fog had been identified as early as 1934.
In late September 1934, a deputation from Railway Air Services visited the Isle of Man. The deputation was joined by the Tynwald Aerodrome Committee in order to identify a suitable landing ground. They visited many sites on the island, including Ronaldsway and Close Lake.
An air mail service was inaugurated in August 1934 by Railway Air Services but ceased in late September. The main reason cited was an unsuitable landing ground for winter operations; Ronaldsway was deemed not up to the required standard, and whilst Close Lake was deemed suitable with regard to the load bearing of the ground, it was considered too small to handle the size of aircraft used for the contract.Ramsey Courier. Friday, 28 September 1934
Hall Caine Aerodrome
Both Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine's sons, Gordon Hall Caine and Derwent Hall Caine, were particularly keen on the development of an aerodrome on the site, as they saw it as another memorial to their late father. They also wished to involve the Ramsey town commissioners in the project, as they felt the aerodrome would bring immense benefit to the town. At the time there was talk of linking the aerodrome with another landing ground at The Strang, just outside of Douglas, but this was discounted by Derwent as it would be difficult to convert it into a licensed aerodrome. However, as part of the development at Close Lake Airfield, arrangements for the conveyance of passengers to other parts of the island were undertaken.
Construction Further work on improving the area began in early April 1935, and Derwent began to oversee some of the work and to make the arrangements needed to start a regular air service to Blackpool. This work included the removal of hedges and fences, the leveling of ground and the addition of extra land to the north and west of the site. This enabled a takeoff run of in any direction and increased the area of the airfield to .Isle of Man Examiner. Friday 1 March 1935, p.10
Although the work had not been completed, Hall Caine was nonetheless satisfied with the state of the airfield. Although heavy rain had fallen, the surface had stood up to the wheels of a motorcar, which had made no impression on the ground. This was considered a good test for the aerodrome: if the wheels had sunk into the ground then evidently it would have been impossible to operate aircraft of any size.
In an interview with the Ramsey Courier, Derwent said the site was to be known as Hall Caine Manx Airport. This was subsequently changed to the Hall Caine Airport, Ramsey. With all parties satisfied, Hall Caine Airport officially came into being on 30 April 1935.
Operational life
1935 United Airways Ltd On completion of the expansion, Aircraft Exchange and Mart became the lessees of the aerodrome as scheduled services were about to commence.The Isle of Man Examiner. Friday 2 August 1935. W. Thurgood of United Airways Limited visited Hall Caine Airport in early April and announced a skeleton service between the UK and the Isle of Man was to be introduced immediately, and this, in turn, was to be upgraded to a full scheduled service beginning in May.Ramsey Courier Thursday 18 April 1935. The occasion was marked by an official ceremony at Stanley Park. Those in attendance included Sir Philip Sassoon, Alderman J. Skillicorn (Mayor of Douglas), the Mayor of Carlisle, Sir Kingsley Wood and Derwent Hall Caine.Isle of Man Examiner. Friday 26 April 1935.The Isle of Man Examiner. Friday 10 May 1935.
Whitehall Securities Ltd, owners of United Airways Ltd and their sister airline Spartan Air Lines began to build on their fledgling operation, introducing a schedule from London via Stanley Park Aerodrome (Blackpool), Hall Caine and then onwards to Dublin (Collinstown).
By mid-May the United Airways service between Hall Caine and Blackpool was operating four times a day and twice daily to Crosby-on-Eden, Carlisle, using Spartan Cruisers. Another service was started by Northern Airways Ltd and operated in conjunction with United Airways. On 17 May 1935, Northern and Scottish Airways commenced a service from Glasgow (Renfrew) Airport to Hall Caine, operating Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, using a De Havilland Dragon. Initially, the Glasgow service operated three times weekly, but by early July it had peaked at twice daily.
The Manx headquarters of the operation were situated at Hall CaineIsle of Man Examiner. Friday 3 May 1935. with Captain Oscar Garden, a renowned aviator who had made what was described as a "sensational" flight from England to Australia in 1930 appointed by United Airways to supervise the flying operation. William Goudie was engaged as the traffic officer, tasked with overseeing the ground operation.
A busy day of operations occurred at the end of May. Hall Caine received its first celebrity passenger, George Formby, who combined his visit with the Mannin Moar as well as the preparation for his film No Limit. In the summer of 1935, United took delivery of an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy from Imperial Airways. They had used the type on their Middle East routes from the early 1920s. The aircraft was converted to carry 28 passengers for pleasure flights around Blackpool, but it was also a frequent visitor to Hall Caine when traffic demanded.
In October a service was inaugurated between London (Heston Aerodrome), Blackpool, Hall Caine and Belfast.Ramsey Courier. Friday 10 October 1935
Blackpool and West Coast Air Services resumed the air mail service from February to October 1935. From 1 November, United Airways secured the main contract from the Post Office. It was then passed on to their subsidiary Northern and Scottish as a result of a round of amalgamations which took place at the end of 1935.Ramsey Courier. Friday, 14 February 1936; p. 4 United Airways Ltd was wholly amalgamated with Spartan Air Lines and Hillman's Airways, and the three names were replaced with British Airways Ltd. This company was to join Imperial Airways in 1940 thus forming the British Overseas Airways Corporation.
As the mail service continued, the Post Office insisted that all air mail letters from Douglas and the south of the island were to be handled at Ronaldsway, while the mail from Ramsey and the north was to be collected at Hall Caine. This meant a connecting flight between the two airports.
1936 British Airways Ltd The beginning of 1936 saw heavy rain falling across the Isle of Man and the aerodrome was subjected to some flooding in early January which disrupted operations. The problems continued throughout the month and had become so acute that United Airways were forced to transfer their operation to Ronaldsway.Isle of Man Times. Saturday, 1 February 1936; p. 9 The overflowing of the Sulby River inundated a large area of the surrounding countryside and was the main cause of the airport being flooded. It was not until Sunday, 2 February following tests was it decided the airport was safe for the resumption of operations.Isle of Man Examiner. Friday, 7 February 1936; p. 11