Shoreham Airport grew from a humble beginning in 1910 to become the place we can see today. It owes its existence to a former student of Lancing College, Harold Piffard who was looking for somewhere to fly his Hummingbird bi-plane. Flying was still in its early days and he wasn’t an accomplished pilot, in fact he only managed to get the plane as far as the Sussex Pad PH & didn’t know how to do turns to get it back again! The flight only took 40 seconds but he still celebrated with champagne!! As for the plane – it had to be towed back to its hangar! He didn’t stay at Shoreham very long but other ‘would be’ fliers heard about Shoreham & by the end of the year several of them were based at Shoreham. Among them were the Pashley brothers who would become a well-known name among early fliers. So much so that the perimeter road to the airport has been named ‘Cecil Pashley Way’.
On 4th July 1911, the first recorded cargo flight took place from Shoreham when Horatio Barber flew a box of Osram light bulbs to a customer in Hove, landing his Valkyrie on Hove Lawns. He charged £100 but gave the money to charity. In the following years leading up to WW1 many businesses and individuals set up bases on the south side of the airport just north of the railway. The area had its own railway station in the early days. This was known as Bungalow Town Halt and was in operation from 1910 to the beginning of 1933. It re-opened on 1st July 1935 as Shoreham Airport Halt but sadly closed for good on 15th July 1940.
The Art Deco Terminal Building, designed by R Stavers Hessell Tiltman, was built in the 1930s and has appeared in many films & TV series including The Da Vinci Code, The Crown, Poirot and a modern version of Richard III.
Shoreham is the oldest Airport in the UK and the oldest purpose-built commercial airport in the world. Until 1981 it was often unusable in the winter when the grass runways became waterlogged, but the new hard runway changed all that and the airport is now useable all year round, winds permitting the flying of light aircraft.
This is a virtual cache. There is nothing hidden here. To claim a find, please send me the answers to the following questions via the Message Centre or e-mail me via the link in my profile. (please do not include them in your cache log)
1. What is written on the fifth line of the red plaque, situated to the left of the main entrance of the terminal building as you look at it, under the words 'Shoreham Airport'. Please include punctuation.
2. Go to the large propellor & look at the plaques that are flat on the ground. Find the rectangular one. What is written between the " "?
3. (Optional) Post of photo of yourself or your GPS with part of the airport showing in the background. There is no need to show your face if you don't want to.
There is free parking at the waypoint below but the access to the airport from there is via steps which makes it unsuitable for wheelchair users. Parking is available at the airport but it is not free, even to disabled badge holders. Refreshments are available nearby as well as toilets. There is often something going on for you to watch at the airport & the view across to Lancing College & the South Downs is spectacular.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.