Red Kite commented that a speculative developer has put in an Outline planning application to use land on Colwell Drive for 100 new dwellings.
The land is the site of some ex MG factory buildings, that have been reclad, and are currently used by UK Mail Ltd, and other companies, that are valued employers of local people.
Browsing back numbers of The Illustrated London News I came across two stories about RAF Abingdon as a parachute training centre.
The wreckage of Britain’s worst air disaster for eight years in which 41 servicemen were killed when a Hastings of R.A.F Transport Command, on a parachute training flight, fell into a barley field a few minutes after taking off from Abingdon. The aircraft was to have landed at Benson after dropping parachutists at Weston on Green, but soon after take-off the pilot radioed that he was in difficulty. A board of enquiry was set up. Meanwhile all R.A.F Hastings have been taken out of service for a thorough examination. (17 July 1965)
The Falcons, which is what the display team of No 1 Parachute Training School, Abingdon, Berkshire, call themselves, have established a new British free-fall parachuting record. This was a six-man chain falling at a speed of 120 mph, from a height of 12,000 feet over the North African desert. The men jumped separately at half-second intervals, then linked up in mid-air. (21 January 1967).
Thanks to the Illustrated London News.
The Abingdon Marathon set off this morning at 9am from Tilsley Park. The Marathon has been run every year since 1982 apart from 2007.
5 miles into the race, at St Helen’s Wharf, the runners passed the River Thames. Katherine Matthews – 418 – of Chepstow Harriers was the eventual winner of the women’s race.
Not far behind were Max and Sarah of Abingdon. Abingdon A.C had a few runners near the front.
The Queen of Hearts was running twice as fast to keep up …
“Well, in our country,” said Alice, still panting a little, “you’d generally get to somewhere else—if you run very fast for a long time, as we’ve been doing.”
“A slow sort of country!” said the Queen. “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” – Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass
At every junction round the course there were marshalls encouraging the runners, and warning runners to keep to the left.
21 miles further on, Paul Fernandez of Abingdon A.C ran back as the winner having run the 26 miles 385 yards in 2 hours 30 minutes and 39 seconds. He overtook the early leaders.
The Abingdon Marathon has many races within the same race, and the winner of the Army Race was 1161. I never got his name.
At many places round the course spectators cheered on the runners. Back at Tilsley Park there was also a man with microphone to gee the runners on over the last stretch. But he also emphasized it was a windy day and difficult running conditions.
The Tilsley Park leaves were glorious.
St Michael’s Church was full of colourful stalls for the Autumn Fair. I was suprised on entering how many stalls and people there were, and had to ask “Is it always as big as this?”
There was a raffle with about twenty prizes including a Miele vacuum cleaner. There were charity stalls and games and entertainment and food; also there were craft stalls with people who had paid for a table. Money raised goes towards the church’s operating costs and for HOST Abingdon supporting Syrian refugee families settling in our area.
As people sat over soup and a ploughman’s lunch a man told us a little about the HOST Abingdon project. They want Abingdon to be a place of sanctuary for a few of those who have lost everything – asylum seekers and refugees.