Memories of a Mayo aerodrome and pilot Captain William Dykes
LOCAL HISTORY: BY ALAN KING
In 1978, Captain William Urquhart Dykes (1897-1979), former pilot in the Royal Flying Corps (precursor of the Royal Air Force), recalled in a book ‘Reminiscences of a Pilot’ his time as Flight Commander of the British air force squadron at Castlebar Aerodrome during 1918 to 1920.
Captain Dykes, a native of Scotland who had fought in Flanders, moved in August 1918 to Castlebar as part of the 105 Squadron to establish an airfield, parallel to the road and railway line in an area where Baxter is located today on the Breaffy Road.
At the time of his arrival, the field comprising ninety acres was very boggy, with cows grazing in long grass.
Dykes and fellow officers were billeted in nearby Maryland House - a seven-bedroom mansion on twenty-eight acres (on the site of the Maryland estate today).
The ground crew lived in wooden huts at the Aerodrome. Maryland House, rented from Sir Malachy Kelly, Chief Crown Solicitor for Ireland, had a large ballroom in which numerous dances were held at the time. Officers also availed of the three tennis courts attached to the house.
A camp consisting of tents/wooden huts and a Besonneaux canvas hangar was built on the site and local contractors were employed to lay down an ‘apron’ of rough granite stones, levelled with loose chippings.
Planes took off from the grass strip located near the hangar. Main water was piped to the camp but although Castlebar had a gas works and electricity supply, it was too far outside the town to avail of either supply.
A lorry engine was used to generate electricity until 10 p.m. each night to light the camp.
In general, the relationship between the RFC and the local people was initially good and they bought milk from local farmers. Every day one of the camp lorries would call at the railway goods yard to collect stores.
Ten days after their arrival, a gale nearly blew down the hangar and the men spent the night filling sandbags to keep it upright.
The Border Regiment, under the command of Adjutant Captain Carmichel, was also stationed at the Aerodrome. Initially it housed six R.E.8s aircraft, which were added to by three Bristol fighters a few weeks later.
Training was given by a Lt. Harrison and once operational, they started patrolling the countryside. Each R.E.8 had a pair of bomb racks, located close to the port and carried two pairs of 20lb bombs.
During patrols, if they noticed anything untoward, they were strictly forbidden from engaging but instead returned to base to inform the Officer Commanding.
In March 1919, when John Charles Milling, a local Resident Magistrate was killed in Westport, they were ordered to fly five aircraft over the town and discharge shots from the Vickers guns as a ‘show of force’.
In June 1919, when notice was received that Alcock and Brown were trying to cross the Atlantic from west to east, an aircraft flown by Dykes took off from Castlebar to search for them.
He spotted their plane in a bog near Clifden and later notified the Air Ministry by telegraph. At times, various pilots got into trouble: a Lt. Dick, known for low flying, flattened a hedge belonging to Dr. Ellison, RMS of Castlebar Lunatic Asylum, and on another occasion, the Air Ministry received a complaint from Major Dominic Brown of Breaffy Demesne after his duck ponds were ‘shot up’ from the air.
During his stint in Castlebar, Capt. Dykes noted the burning of three railway hotels by the IRA - Mulranny, Newport and Recess in Connemara. At least five aircraft were lost, mainly due to mechanical failure, with three deaths.
The Aerodrome closed in November 1920 and a year later, George Garvey C.E., who oversaw the dismantled aerodrome site, was ordered by the Air Ministry to take up duty in Fermoy. Mayo County Council bought the field which later became part of the St. Mary’s Hospital farm.
Capt. Dykes and his wife Ruth later became well known motor racing drivers in later years and held some early land speed records. He visited Castlebar in 1951 and spoke to several local residents he had known, including Pa Gavin of Spencer Street.