If you were taking a leisurely stroll in Kings Wood, South Croydon, heading towards Kingswood Lane in the 1930s, there was a chance you would see and hear aircraft as you approached the site now occupied by Kingsmead Equestrian Centre and the Croydon Post Office Sports & Social Club.

This was the home of Hamsey Green Airfield, also known as Gardner’s Airfield, a privately owned piece of land purchased from Hamsey Green Farm in 1933. Richard Exton Gardner and his wife Gertrude Vere Gardner lived at Overhill in Warlingham and the family owned Yardley Cosmetics, a well known global brand. Their two sons Charles and Jimmy (also Richard but known as Jimmy to avoid confusion) both took flying lessons and gained their licenses in 1931 and 1934 respectively.

In April 1933 Alan Cobham held one of his National Aviation Days in Warlingham. The aircraft used Hamsey Green airfield as a base but the display took place over fields to the west of Limpsfield Road where Princes Avenue and Wentworth Way are today. These events were very popular and involved all kinds of aerobatics, wing-walking, parachuting, pleasure rides and much more.

Charles Gardner entered a number of air races in the early 1930s and was very successful, notching his first win in Yorkshire in July 1933. He also flew to India on a 16,000 mile round trip in 1936. Later that year he entered the King’s Cup Air Race at Hatfield and won. A year later in 1937 he entered the race again at the same location and won for the second time in two years.

Jimmy Gardner was not involved with air racing, his story happened a few years later.

A couple of notable events took place at the airfield in the mid-late 1930s. Richard Taylor used it as a base to construct an aircraft of his own design called “The Experimental”. He was very enthusiastic about his project and had plans to develop follow-up versions. In January 1937 he took the aircraft on a test flight, it had only flown minutes rather than hours at that point. He took off successfully, turned into the wind to land, the port wing folded up, and the machine plunged to earth, Richard Taylor died instantly, aged 40.

In 1938 two young RAF apprentices decided they were bored with life and made for Hamsey Green airfield, with a firearm, and set about stealing one of the Gardner’s planes from the hangar. They woke a local garage owner in the early hours of the morning to obtain fuel for the aircraft – a Percival Vega Gull.

They managed to get it going then proceeded to crash it into a hedge causing significant damage to the aircraft. They were dealt with appropriately by the authorities.

A list of aircraft that were based at Hamsey Green from the 1930s–1940s:

The airfield was closed to civilian flying during World War II, but it was the home for 143 & 162 ATC Gliding Schools from 1942-1955 when activities moved to 615 Gliding School at RAF Kenley where it is still in operation today.

Charles Gardner worked for the Air Ministry in Bristol during the war. As he wore glasses it meant that he would not be able to fly for the RAF.

Jimmy Gardner joined the Fleet Air Arm. He was promoted quickly and in June 1940 transferred to the RAF where in July 1940 he joined 242 Squadron under the command of Douglas Bader. He was awarded the DSC in 1941 and after various postings and promotion to Commanding Officer his tally was 6 x destroyed, 4 x shared and 1 x probably, sufficient for him to be an “Ace”. He was awarded the OBE in 1945.

In the late 1950s the airfield was sold and became the Civil Service Sports Ground. It changed hands again in the late 1960s/early 1970s to become the playing fields for Old Josephians school, Dulwich and the current owners have looked after this site for at least the last 20-30 years.

In 2023 I met up with Charles Gardner’s son, Rick. As well as learning more about his father’s life and successes I also discovered that in the 1960s Charles and Jimmy took up powerboat racing where more family success followed. Charles started sailing as a boy so there was an existing connection with competition on water. They raced in various locations around the world but at home the big annual race was the Cowes/Torquay/Cowes race and the Gardner brothers won it on three occasions, in 1964, 1967 and 1968.

Charles Gardner passed away in 1998, aged 86 and Jimmy Gardner passed away in 1999, aged 84.

When I first started to research this story I was amazed at what a historical treasure trove it was. It connects our national history to our local history and I am extremely grateful to the Gardner family for putting it on the map!

Hamsey Green Airfield & The Gardner Family

Woodside Court, Addiscombe