Introduction to the BGGC
Development of the BGGC
Landmarks
This
page gives a brief history of the Bristol (and Gloucestershire) Gliding
Club. A much more detailed history "Landmarks
in the development of
the Bristol (and
Gloucestershire) Gliding Club" is
in development and is available to download below. The
intent of "Landmarks" is to describe how the Club
came to be as it is, and who deserves the credit. Although at
present it only goes as far as the first years at Nympsfield, the
intention is to continue up to the present day. The author invites
additions, comments and corrections and of course new photos and
anecdotes!
The
Pdf files below can be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader ; if you are not on broadband please note that these files are typically 3-6 Mb (larger for Chapter 8).
Landmarks 0 - Introduction.pdfLandmarks 1 - The Early Club.pdfLandmarks 2 - The Pre-war club.pdfLandmarks 3 - Restart after the war.pdfLandmarks 4 - Lulsgate 1946 to 1949.pdfLandmarks 5 - Roundway I.pdfLandmarks 6 - Dual training at Lulsgate I.pdfLandmarks 7 - Purhcase of Nympsfield.pdfLandmarks 8 - First Years at Nympsfield.pdfLandmarks General Appendix.pdf  Brief History
The club was formed as the Bristol Gliding Club
in 1938 by two
enthusiastic ex-members of Cambridge University Gliding Club and
members flew from Leighterton airfield, Gloucestershire, with two
gliders and a tow car until the war put a stop to private flying in
1939. At that stage it had 30 members.
After the war a new set of
enthusiasts revived the club, starting from
scratch as little remained of the old club beyond about £70. They were
fortunate to get the use of the disused RAF aerodrome at Lulsgate, near
Bristol, and with a combination of enthusiasm and prudent finance were
able to build up a respectable fleet of gliders and a thriving
membership in a very few years. In this they were assisted both by the
Kemsley Flying Trust, which gave low-interest short-term loans, and by
a scheme for block membership for employees of Bristol Aeroplane
Company.
For a few years the club ran an outpost for hill soaring at
Roundway Hill, near Devizes, Wiltshire.
In 1954 it was announced that Bristol Airport was to move to
Lulsgate,
and the club had to look for a new site. Again they were fortunate in
finding their present site at Nympsfield for sale (early picture
above), and see here
for an article from "The Aeroplane" in December 1954 describing how
John Parry-Jones led the selection process.
In the event
they were only able to finance the purchase of the field, the erection
of a hangar and the conversion of the barn to a clubhouse through a
loan from the Kemsley Fund. The move was completed at Whitsun 1956, and
in 2006 the club celebrated 50 years’ use of the Nympsfield
site. Conditions were rather
primitive, with no mains electricity or water,
but over the years the facilities were built up, and the loan was paid
off by 1965. Development has continued steadily since then. A new
hangar was built for 13 gliders on the south of the field in 1967. The
field was extended in 1982, and a new hangar was built in 1983 on the
north side for on-site maintenance and repairs and a new clubhouse was
built in 1989.
Recognition of the new siting of the club led to a name
change to Bristol and Gloucestershire Gliding Club in 1969.
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