Memories of Concorde visiting Leavesden Aerodrome in 1980s

The last passengers to get the opportunity to fly across the Atlantic did so on October 24, 2003 when they boarded a British Airways Concorde at New York JFK airport.

When it touched down at Heathrow, the world’s only supersonic passenger service came to a close – an era in aviation ended by a combination of high oil prices, low demand and safety concerns following the crash in Paris in 2000 which killed 113 people.

Concorde climbs into the sky (Image: Jim Newman (1933-2014))

Concorde could often by seen in the sky over our area on its flights to and from Heathrow, but in the late 1980s it was much closer to the ground when it visited the open days at Leavesden Aerodrome.

People came out of their houses to witness the incredible sight (Image: Jim Newman (1933-2014))

Jo Newman, a member of the Watford Observer’s nostalgia Facebook group ‘We grew up in Watford’, has kindly given permission for us to share these pictures taken by her late father Jim.

A great view of the aircraft (Image: Jim Newman (1933-2014))

He captured these wonderful images of the plane flying low over the area on June 26, 1987 and we hope they will bring back great memories for anyone who witnessed this never-to-be-forgotten sight.

A wonderful sight over Watford 36 years ago (Image: Jim Newman (1933-2014))

Wheels down... (Image: Jim Newman (1933-2014))

Concorde made its first flight in 1969 (Image: Jim Newman (1933-2014))

Flying off into the distance (Image: Jim Newman (1933-2014))