Barton-Le-Clay Airfield

Barton-Le-Clay Airfield (Barton In The Clay Aerodrome) was first established in 1935 to the west of the village, on farmland owned by the nearby Brook End Green Farm. Its first residents were the newly formed Luton Aircraft Limited and The Dunstable Sailplane Company, both companies co-owned by W.L. Manuel and C.H. Latimer-Needham. Before the mid-1960s Barton-Le-Clay was called Barton In The Clay but the name was changed to the current form by the Parish Council of the time. All references and documentation prior to this date will be in the original village name. Luton Aircraft commenced construction of its two first aircraft under the management of W.L. Manuel, the Luton Buzzard and the Luton Minor. They were completed ready for flight on 12 December 1935 and 11 July 1936 respectively. In late 1936 the company moved from Barton-Le-Clay to new premises named The Phoenix Works on Oxford Rd, Gerrards Cross, after a fire substantially damaged the workshop building and contents. The Dunstable Sailplane Company had started life just a year before, building and repairing gliders in the village of Hockliffe south west of Barton-Le-Clay. Most of the company's clients were from the recently formed and nearby London Gliding Club, from whose hangars Manuel had previously been working. Marendaz Aircraft came to Barton-Le-Clay airfield in 1937, formed by D.M.K. Marendaz in 1936 from the remains of Marendaz Special Cars Ltd at the Cornwallis Works, Maidenhead to manufacture aircraft. Production of the company's first aircraft had been severely damaged in a fire and the work to rebuild was priority after the move. The Marendaz Mk3 was registered as G-AFGG on 23 March 1938; a second aircraft called the Marendaz Trainer was registered as G-AFZX on 31 October 1939. The Bedford School of Flying was granted licence on 1 January 1938 and the Flying school formed on 14 January 1938, training of a large number of CAG members (as many as 500). The airfield's day-to-day management was…