Fradley

Fradley is a village in Staffordshire, England close to Lichfield and Alrewas.

Fradley was first mentioned in 1768 when the Engineer James Brindley won the contract to build the canal from Coventry, to link with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Fradley. It was not until 1783 that this canal was completed, meeting the Trent and Mersey at Fradley Junction.

St Stephens’s church in Fradley is home to the graves of the Australian soldiers who lost their lives in the Second World War, there is a memorial site opposite the church in honour of those soldiers. Also roads on a newly built housing estate in Fradley South are named after some of those brave men.

Fradley Aerodrome

The Fradley Aerodrome was started in 1939 and was known as RAF Lichfield. It was first built of turf but large aircraft that used it soon got bogged down, so the airfield was eventually concreted. Soon after the war Fradley was to change, houses went up on the airfield to house RAF personnel 85 in total were built. In 1959 these houses were sold off to Lichfield Rural Council to house council house tenants from around the city, Some of these residents are still on Fradley South which it is now known as.Over the last 15 years the former aerodrome has been renamed Fradley Park where a number of major developments have occurred including industrial units over 750 new homes.As of 2008, it is one of 15 sites shortlisted as an Eco-town.

External links

* [http://www.afspc.info/fradley.php Village web site]