THE Lancashire aircraft industry is today flying high, thanks to full order books for the next five years — and 100 years of history.

And you can follow the county’s contribution over the last century in a new book by author Ron Freethy, who has made a point of talking to local people about their memories.

He charts the time when the industry first started to beat its wings in 1909, the year early aviators took to the air in a ‘flying circus’’, staged at Blackpool.

The event created so much aviation fever that the Northern Daily Telegraph kept its readers informed of progress of the men in their flying machines by hoisting a flag at its Blackburn offices to show when they were airborne.

With hundreds of thousands of people travelling to the airfield, William Cooke, of the Burnley Motor Pleasure Company, who had brought the first charabanc to town, ordered an aeroplane, which cost more than £1,000. The plane arrived for display on Brunshaw Athletic grounds but it failed to get off the ground.

Burnley also used to have its own aeroplane company, based in Brown Street. Directors Wolfe and Ashburner sold postcards and charged admission to those wanting to see work in progress.

Inventors in Blackburn also tried their hand at construction and one was a weaver called James Shaw, although his effort was more of a glider.

But it was at Samlesbury where English Electric decided to enter the world of aeronautics and they produced Hampden and then 2,145 Halifax bombers to contribute to the war effort. Then came the first jet propelled fighter, the Vampire.

In 1939 Samlesbury employed 1050 men and 150 women — by 1943 this had increased to 7,500 men and 5,500 women.

It’s not realised that during the war, there was also a second aircraft company there. Samlesbury Engineering had a small airfield and what we now know is that Bristol Beaufighters were secretly flown in and out, for experiments with radar.

Engines were also tuned using new techniques, which made them so quiet in flight they were known as whispering death.

Donald Campbell later visited the site and employed men to work on his Bluebird speed boat.

Rolls Royce in Barnoldswick has also played an obvious role in the industry over the years and those helped develop the aero engine site were Frank Whittle, Fred Morley, Alan Oddie, who was born in Waddington and learned technical drawing at Blackburn Tech, development engineer, Arthur Redsell of Barrowford and David Davies.

Fuel combustion was the expertise of Joseph Lucas in Burnley, with factories at Hargher Clough and Wood Top and where chief designer was Fred Stringer and Freddie Williams, who started as an apprentice, became managing director. Dr J S Clarke was chief engineer.

Jim Ashton, of Huncoat, also tells of the Bristol Aircraft Engine Company at Clayton-le-Moors during the war, where he was an apprentice tool maker.

As many of the workers came from out of town, a mini village of chalet type buildings, nicknamed sawdust city, was created, while another estate was built in Queens Road West.

l Memories of the Lancashire Aircraft Industry is published by Countryside Books, which is offering copies to Looking Back readers for the special price of £10.99 — that’s £2 off the cover price and includes postage and packing.

Send your name, address and title of the book, along with a cheque payable to Countryside Books, to: The Lancashire Telegraph Offer, Countryside Books, 2 Highfield Avenue, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 5DS.