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Previous to the late fifties when it relocated to Lulsgate, south of the city, Bristol Airport was situated at Whitchurch (now a sprawling housing estate). It was mainly used for pleasure, air displays and flights to Ireland. As the threat of war intensified flights increased as did security. It was fenced off and eventually its grass runway was concreted over.
It’s not generally known but during WW2 Bristol airport was the only civilian airport still open and the reason is interesting. From Bristol – although not entirely out of range of bombing raids – it was ideal for direct flights to neutral countries. One of them was Ireland but the other more important one was Lisbon in neutral Portugal. From here it was deemed safer to connect with flights to the United States of America.
It is documented that many celebrities and politicians flew from Bristol to Lisbon and then on to the USA and other places. You saw this happen in the film Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman along with spies, spivs and intrigue.
The same happened at Bristol. Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands arrived along with what was left of the Dutch Air Force. Hollywood film stars, royalty and more questionable characters also flew from Bristol.
It’s hard to believe there was such a top-secret facility so close to the red brick council estate of Knowle West that had sprang up between the wars.
The likelihood of spies trying to slip in and out without being noticed was top priority for the intelligence services. They kept a weather eye on the airport throughout the war and rumour had it that their monitoring of flights in and out did result in the apprehension of some dubious characters. Not all on board were who their documentation said they were.
So there you have it – James Bond types at Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport. Who would have thought it?