IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Pinfold Lane, MANCHESTER, M90 5XR

Part of Manchester Airport. It looks like the car park is being resurfaced.

A newly decommissioned Halifax bomber on the dispersal in c.1946/47 (alongside other RAF aircraft) awaiting conversion to freight carrying and paratroop dropping roles for the RAF. Conversions of Halifaxes for civilian use was also carried out by Fairey at Ringway. The aircraft here appears to be undergoing engine tests (all four engines are running), so the conversion may have been completed on this occasion. Fairey Aviation carried out 65 such conversions for the RAF at Ringway (Manchester Airport) between July 1946 and August 1947. The provenance for the photo was provided by an 85 year old cousin during a recent tour of the site, whose father (my uncle) was an aircraft engineer employed by Fairey after the war, and is believed to be the chap on the left. Apparently, the nearby Romper pub https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7094976 was a favourite watering hole for the factory workers. Approximate location obtained from a site visit, and historic aerial photos. The Fairey Aviation Hangar complex was in use by the company from 1936 till 1977. No trace of Fairey Aviation exists today, its last remaining hangar was demolished sometime after this March 2020 photo of it by Anthony O'Neil. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6428455 Like many British aircraft companies, Fairey Aviation had quite an illustrious history (when Britain led the world in aviation), producing such famous aircraft as the Gannet, the Swordfish, and of course the supersonic research aircraft, the Fairey Delta 2. Flown by test pilot Peter Twiss on 10 March 1956, it was the first jet aircraft to exceed 1000 mph in level flight, setting a new world speed record of 1,132 mph.

The former Ringway factory of Fairey Aviation (1915) which built and tested a range of fighters and bombers during WWII. The Company went into receivership in the 1950s and its buildings were absorbed into the development of Manchester International Airport.

Public house on Wilmslow Old Road.

Pub/restaurant on Wilmslow Old Road.

The historic Romper pub has survived the Virus and is open to customers.

Near Manchester Airport

Not only has the Romper Pub been marooned by the ever-expanding Manchester International Airport, it has now closed completely in accordance with the Government's virus containment orders. This is the route of the Old Wilmslow Road, which connected Hale Barns and Ringway to Wilmslow and Alderley Edge. In those days, The Romper had plenty of traffic past its front door, and Ringway Airport was just a few sheds and a Control Tower.