Help with research: 'Skyfame Museum' (2006 Zombie)

Malcolm,

Very nice to hear from you. I think you were flying the Anson at least once when I was on board. It is very good to know that John Cole is still with us. I last saw him two years ago in Cheltenham. I guess that you have stopped flying now? I still keep my hand in (on a Shorts 3.60 freighter).

“Of particular interest to me is the Skyfame collection at Staverton.”

Looking back at one of my earliest spotting logs (that I still have) the military inhabitants on 30th March 1967 were:

N4877 Anson Mk.I
V3388 Oxford Mk.I
Z2033 Firelfly Mk.I
TG528 Hastings C.1A
RS709 Mosquito TT.35
LZ766 Proctor Mk.III
TG263 SR/A1
LA607 Tempest Mk.II

Hope this of interest!!!

Personally I would like to contact any fellow spotters who attended the Skyfame Display on 31st March 1968 as this is subject of a lost log!

Typeflyer

Skyfame aircraft 1966.

Skyfame

Ian, I spoke to John Cole only a few weeks ago. He is 92 and is living in Littlehampton in Sussex. I have amongst my papers a photograph taken from a Rapide I was flying,
,showing the York and Hastings ouside the Skyfame hangar.

I also did voluntary work at Skyfame in the late 60’s/early 70’s. Flew in the Anson 1 couple of times. This is now at Duxford and looking very nice (with dorsal turret added) in the Airspace hangar. The Oxford is hanging ignominiously from the ceiling of the same hangar, which is a great pity – it is probably the best Oxford in existence. Somebody (Shuttleworth, Air Atlantique?) needs to prise it from the IWM and get it flying again.

John Cole was one of regular Skyfame pilots at that time. He was lovely guy; years later, I instructed with him at the Cotswold Aero Club.

It would be good to hear from any of the old Skyfame crew from those days.

Ian Statham

Skyfame

I was one of the Skyfame pilots and I have a copy of the local paper that had a whole page spread regarding the closure of Skyfame. I also have one or two other newspaper clippings.

I do not know where these aircraft are now but when I visited in the 60’s or 70’s there was the York, Hastings, Mosquito (looking very sad painted black and all the tape off the wings hanging and blowing in the wind). I think the Oxford was outside too along with others I cannot remember.

B.P.

The Tempest may still be at Lakeland, Fl, unless it has recently moved to Polk City.

I used to drive past the museum every day and from the Golden Valley By-Pass could always glimpse the York sat stolidly outside the collection.

I think this is the one now at Duxford. EDIT: Or Cosford 😮

Moggy

Skyfame and Staverton

I was there in the late sixties, flying with the Cleeve Flying Group and volunterr crewing for Skyfame. I would have thought that your best informant would be Tony Southern who is current Chairman of the Cotswold Aircraft Restoration Group (CARG) at Innsworth. Their secretary lives in Leominster, I believe, and you’ll be able to find his details on the web.

regards,

Graham Fletcher

Cheers chaps, will chase those up!

For further reading there is a short chapter plus many other references to Skyfame in Alec Brew’s book “Vampires and Fleas” (Crowood, 2003 ISBN1 86126 631 6) and a five page article about Skyfame by the late Peter Thomas in the August, 2003 Aeroplane Monthly.

Roger Smith.

Available ,very cheaply, from the Ian Allen book shops and from Midland Counties as well. A very interesting book, I had one for Xmas.
Alan.

For further reading there is a short chapter plus many other references to Skyfame in Alec Brew’s book “Vampires and Fleas” (Crowood, 2003 ISBN1 86126 631 6) and a five page article about Skyfame by the late Peter Thomas in the August, 2003 Aeroplane Monthly.

Roger Smith.

Ah brilliant, cheers for the info. and link.

Any pictures would be fascinating if it was at all possible to find/show them, there is no great hurry 🙂

Yes the SR-A1 was part of the collection – one of the aircraft which Peter obtained from the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield – another was the Tempest (now with Kermit Weeks). The background to Skyfame’s formation and eventual demise has been discussed on the forum before – when Peter Thomas recently passed away. See: http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=43059&highlight=Skyfame

The museum occupied 50% of one of the T2 hangars (near to the airfield fire station). It included Cierva C.30A (ex Elmdon now at DX) , Halifax nose (ex Radlett now at IWM London), Oxford (ex Wolverhampton now DX), York (ex SKyways now at Cosford), Hastings (now at DX), Firefly (ex Target Tug in Sweden first to DX now at Yeovilton), Proctor (ex Oxford now at DX), Sherpa (ex Cranfield went to DX then Rochester), Auster AOP9, Pou du Ciel (now in Cambs), Mosquito (now at DX), Tempest (ex Cranfield now at Polk City), Anson 1 now at DX, Sycamore (went to Weston), Magister now at DX) plus others e.g. I recall a Sea Venom.

I’ve listed these purely from memory as I’m too lazy to refer to any records tonight … but it gives you a flavour of the significance and diversity of the collection. Some were retained in airworthy condition such i.e.the Anson and Oxford – and until an accident the Mossie. Other a/c were obtained and moved on such as another Mossie, the Consul IKR etc. Others were near to being obtained e.g. one of the Portugese Beaufighters but never made it. Had it not been for Peter, the volunteers, engineers and donors this pioneering museum would never have continued and our present preservation scene would have been the poorer.

I do have b&w and colour shots of the a/c there but can’t lay my hands on them instantly.