Six years after the Wright brothers' historic flight, an amateur inventor from Aston, Alfred P Maxfield, took to the skies in a homemade aircraft in Castle Bromwich. This daring feat occurred 30 years before Birmingham's first proper airport, Elmdon Airport (now Birmingham Airport), opened in July 1939.
The First Brummie Aviator
Alfred P Maxfield, a motor engineer from Victoria Road, Aston, was an adventurous inventor with a dream to fly. According to historical records and the UK Airfield Guide, he built two aircraft himself and transported them to the playing fields in Castle Bromwich in 1909. His first two attempts failed, but on September 27 and again on October 7, his third attempt succeeded: he climbed to around 50 feet above the ground, officially becoming Birmingham's first aviator.
A Third Attempt Success
The successful flight was documented in reports of the time, though little else is known about Alfred's subsequent aviation career. It remains unclear why he did not pursue flying further. Nevertheless, his achievement marked a milestone for local aviation, predating the city's official airport by three decades.
A Pioneering Spirit
Two years after Alfred's flight, in 1911, Essex aviator Benfield Charles Hucks visited the Castle Bromwich Aerodrome, flying a Bleriot monoplane and offering pleasure rides to Brummies. That same year, on April 17, a crowd of 25,000 gathered at the Men's Recreation Ground in Bournville to witness Claude Grahame-White land his biplane, fresh from a 12-and-a-half-hour, 103-mile journey from Hendon, London. He landed near the Cadbury factory chimney stacks, delighting the massive turnout.
A Legacy of Aviation
The Castle Bromwich site later became famous for producing over 10,000 Spitfires and Lancaster bombers during World War II. But before that, it was the stage for Alfred P Maxfield's homemade flying machines. His story, though sparse in detail, captures the early spirit of flight in Birmingham. If anyone has old family photos or stories of Alfred, they are encouraged to share them to fill in the missing pages of local aviation history.
