Book Publication – 'Story Of A Lanc' – 5TH Edition – Available Now

Hi Dick, Can you please respond to my PM please?

Cheers,

James – Book request – I’ve just sent ‘pm’ with some good news. (Good chance to ‘Bump’ thread also!!)

Cheers

‘Dick’

Message for DaveM2

Hi Dave, just received your message – I’ve replied to you by ‘pm’ on this forum – it should be with you now. Give me a ‘pm’ with the information & I’ll deal with asap.

Regards

‘Dick

Hi James, sorry for delay – ‘pm’ reply should be with you now.

It is, thanks, Dick!

Hi Dick, Can you please respond to my PM please?

Cheers

,

Hi James, sorry for delay – ‘pm’ reply should be with you now.

Kind Regards

‘Dick’

Hi Dick, Can you please respond to my PM please?

Cheers,

‘Eye Tech Engineering’ in Eye Cambridgeshire

‘Dick’

That would be Eye in Suffolk.

Will order my copy in the morning, looks a good read

Mine arrived today….it didn’t have too far too travel.;) Clive.

Good to hear, Clive – Hope you enjoy!! 😀

Would be good to get some feedback when you’ve got a spare few minutes.

Regards

‘Dick’

Mine arrived today….it didn’t have too far too travel.;)

Clive.

Sorry Richard, my memory is playing tricks.

The old book i have is called ‘The Last Lanc’ by Patrick Kilvington circa 1982. A cursory glance shows that it appears to cover the flight from Oz with the last chapter covering the period up to Scamptons gate. But i guess your aware of it anyhow ? Care to comment on it’s accuracy etc… please ?

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XM692 (How I really hate not knowing who I’m talking with on forum sites!! (Could you please ‘pm’ me with who you are ??) – anyway…..

I wouldn’t presume to comment on the accuracy of a publication, especially when the author had actually experienced the events described, and recorded the comments of fellow crew members; I just admire, in this case especially, his abilty to record, and indeed, recall such detail and emotion as was obviously expressed during the epic return journey of this Lancaster.

I have read the book ‘The Last Lanc’ at great length, as has my co-author on the re-write of ‘Story of a Lanc’ (Edition 5), and between us we have noted a very few ‘inaccuracies’ in Sir Patrick’s published version of events on the trip home to the UK in 1965.

It transpires that a Mr. Maurice Cooper had joined the crew of Lancaster G-ASXX (NX611) at Changi for her flight to Butterworth. He was apparently an official photographer working for the MoD / FEAF and had been assigned to fly to Butterworth on the Lanc and then to record her departure on the leg to India. To do this, Maurice had boarded an RAF Valetta of No.52 Sqn. and successfully photographed the Lanc’s departure, accompanied by a number of escort jets (Victor, Vulcan, Sabres, Canberras and Javelins). The results of Maurice’s photographic ‘mission’ are illustrated in the new book, as well as in the September 2009 edition of ‘Flypast’ magazine. Exhaustive attempts have been made by myself & Brian Goulding over the past months to make contact with Maurice, but have proved fruitless I’m afraid. We had wished to invite him to the “NX611’s 65th Anniversary” celebratory event at East Kirkby this August Bank Holiday Monday, but nobody could put us in touch – IF YOU READ THIS, MAURICE, WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.

Another important person who played a vital role in the safe return of G-ASXX / NX611 to the UK was the BOAC Flight Engineer, on board a Boeing 707, whose timely intervention had prevented the Lanc from almost certain disaster as she struggled to find her way through atrocious weather conditions as she approached India. That BOAC crew member was named, incorrectly, in the Kilvington book as a “Peter Barclay“. During our research for the ‘Story of a Lanc’ re-write Brian Goulding stumbled upon the truth of that particular incident when he was chatting with Peter Scoley (Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre – south of Lincoln). during that chat, Brian was amazed to discover that that very same (former) BOAC Flt/Engineer was himself still alive and well and an active member of the ‘Metheringham Association’ !!! THAT BOAC Flt/Engineer WAS IN FACT “PETER BUTCHER” (NOT “Barclay”!), and his contribution to the continued existance of “Just Jane” at East Kirkby today has been duly recorded in our re-written account if this Lanc’s history, together with a photo of Peter and Peter Scoley on Page 83 of our book, when they attended the “65th Anniversary” event at EK.

Lastly – you will have noticed, I’m sure, that the ‘Conclusion’ chapter of “The Last Lanc” book attempts to describe the events in “Just Jane’s” life, from arrival at Biggin Hill in 1965, through to the early days of her ‘RAF Scampton’ era. Much of that information had been taken from the content of the original 2 versions of “Story of a Lanc” (1974/5), and Brian Goulding gave a good deal of assistance to Sir Patrick Kilvington, both editorial and pictorial, and a number of the B&W photos within Sir Patrick’s book were supplied by Brian (incl. from the Garbett / Goulding Collection) and some of these can also still be viewed in “SoaL”.

With regards to “accuracy” – I can only assure you of one thing as far as I’m concerned – I was personally involved with NX611 from very early on in the 1960s, through to her time at Blackpool, and what you will read in the book “SoaL” actually happened – I was there throughout, and experienced all the emotions you could possibly imagine, from elation through to dark despair, yet I wouldn’t have missed any of it for the World – “JJ’s” in my blood !!!

Hope that gives you some interesting ‘food for thought’.

Regards

‘Dick’

Sorry Richard, my memory is playing tricks.

The old book i have is called ‘The Last Lanc’ by Patrick Kilvington circa 1982. A cursory glance shows that it appears to cover the flight from Oz with the last chapter covering the period up to Scamptons gate. But i guess your aware of it anyhow ? Care to comment on it’s accuracy etc… please ?
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[/QUOTE]
XM692 – Ordered mine. Will be interesting to compare to the first edition i have :D[/QUOTE]

Good to hear you’ve placed your order for a copy of this 5th edition. I expect you’ll easily be able to spot the difference when you compare that with the first (1974) edition of the book (‘cover’ image below), published when NX611 was first ‘installed’ as RAF Scampton’s Gate Guardian. Enjoy the additional 88 pages – full of colour images, which have replaced the B&W shots wherever possible – Enjoy !!!!:D
Regards
‘Dick’

…please show your support for this project by ordering your copy of the book – it’s already selling quite fast, so don’t miss out.

Ordered mine. Will be interesting to compare to the first edition i have 😀

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……… The CAA are very difficult to satisfy since they mounted the goalposts on castoring wheels ……….
A

I really do know what you mean, Al, things have certainly changed over the past 43+ years – but let’s try to keep hopeful in these ‘belt-tightening’ days. Maybe you need to start practicing your archery skills on some of the ‘Whitehall mob’ – we need a few ‘bulls eyes’ to get them to take some notice of the ‘normal’ members of society in this country !!!

Meanwhile, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens @ EK, after all is said & done, NX611 was only 22 / 23 years old when HAPS succeeded in getting her back in the air, after nearly 2 years ‘effectively’ grounded at Biggin – now, she is some 43 years older than when Neil Williams flew her to the Dambusters Re-union at RAF Scampton (1967) – it really is a different ball-game.

Regards
‘Dick’

It’ll be a whole lot harder to achieve than it was in 1967/68 and significantly more expensive. The CAA are very difficult to satisfy since they mounted the goalposts on castoring wheels and at risk of being placarded a ‘DOOMSTER’ again, I’ll be surprised if it happens.

Couldn’t do EK in August but hope to be there for the 70th!

A

Is it ‘on’ then Dick? Are they going to put her back in the air?

Hi Alan – missed you at the “NX611 – 65th Anniversary” re-union event @ EK.

I’ve had chats with both Fred & Harold on the airfield over the past months following on from the Pantons’ “official statement” in February this year, and there is a real sense of commitment to their plans to make every effort to prepare ‘611 for a return to flying condition. They have already started to resource a supply of spares (oleo legs etc from Canada – from the Nanton Lanc Society) and have already taken delivery of 2 of the 3 ‘new’ (zero-houred) Merlins ordered from ‘Eye Tech Engineering’ in Eye Cambridgeshire and are expecting a third later this year I understand. I also hear that Andrew Panton has managed to source & acquire a ‘Martin’ mid-upper turret, which they hope to fit as a replacement for that currently fitted.

Fred has told me that they will ensure that they have the necessary equipment and spares before any work starts to get her overhauled, inspected etc. He also maintains that “all the work will be undertaken ‘in-house’, in the hangar, at EK” and that “they have a team in place to undertake the requisite work necessary to get her airworthy”. With regards to the potential impact such work would have on the functioning of the Centre (cessation of the much loved taxying of ‘JJ’ whilst the work was being undertaken, etc.) Fred was sure that the visiting public will be able to view the ‘work in progress’ inside the hangar and should provide a different, yet added, attraction.

As far as the ability to fly ‘611 from the current airfield, Fred showed me around the remains of the former ‘American’ extension runway, where ‘JJ’ performed her ‘fast tail-up’ runs for the BBC film ‘Night Flight’ in early 2001, and said that he is confident that, with a little extra length of runway at the western end, the Lanc would be perfectly capable of operating from East Kirkby.

That, Alan, is as much as I’m personally aware – we all await further developments with eager expectation. It’s interesting reading the rather sceptical remarks that have been expressed in other forum threads, in Flypast Forum and others, by some people since the Pantons made there intentions public – but just such comments have been heard before, haven’t they – back in the mid-1960s – when people thought that we’d never get NX611 (G-ASXX) back in the air, following her return to the UK from Australia – HOW WRONG THEY WERE!!!!

‘Dick’

All proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to the ‘Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre’, as the authors’ personal contribution to help towards the funding of the project to return NX611 to an airworthy condition.

Richard J. A. (‘Dick’) Taylor

Is it ‘on’ then Dick? Are they going to put her back in the air?