The photgraph above shows the the agricultural land around the aerodrome where crops were grown for the London markets.
Heathrow airport started life in the 1930’s as the Great Western Aerodrome, privately owned by Fairey Aviation. It was largely used for test flying, with commercial flights taking off from nearby Heston and Hanworth airfields, whilst Croydon was considered the main airport for London.
In 1944, the Air Ministry requisitioned the airfield for use as a major transport base for the Royal Air Force. Before the work was completed the war ended and as London needed a larger modern airport, the airfield was handed over to the Ministry of Civil Aviation for development. It opened to civilian passengers in 1946.
