Castle Bromwich Spitfire Gate Guard

What a great in detail update from someone that was there, Brilliant Thank you

Thank you , amazing what information is still out there after all these years.

Thanks MartinS, very interesting reading your post and also the links you put in your post. Much appreciated.

Hello. I realize that this thread is very old, but I do have information to offer about where the “Gate Guard” Spitfire was located in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham. 

I was born at Marston Green Maternity Hospital and spent the first year of my life living in Millington Road, Castle Bromwich with my parents. My God parents lived next door. In 1953 we moved to Erdingtion just off Short Heath Road. Throughout my early childhood, my Mother would take myself and my younger brothers to visit my God parents in Castle Bromwich on the # 28 bus, which was a direct route, heading down Chester Road in Castle Bromwich, past the Spitfire. 

The Spitfire was parked in a more substantial steel fenced compound on it’s own, on the left side of Chester Road, opposite Fisher and Ludlow (Pressed Steel Fisher) now Jaguar, I believe being approximately 100-150 yards down from the traffic island where the Tyburn House pub is located on the corner of Kingsbury Road at the traffic island. These are quite clear memories of a healthy 69 year old, who was approximately 1-8 years old when visiting the area regularly and able to notice landmarks.

I concur with a previous comment that the Spitfire was in camouflage, not bright aluminum finish. The nose of the plane faced directly across the Chester Road to the factory, so the photo describing the demise of the plane is a bit puzzling, since it is clearly facing a house. There were no houses facing the plane. However. Castle Vale housing estate was being built on the site of the old airfield from where the Spitfires and Lancasters flew.

As a youngster, I never noticed the building behind it, but the fence was higher than the picket fence shown in earlier photographs, presumably to prevent vandalism, possibly in dark green metal with spikes to prevent access. I have attached a screen snip with an outline marking the approximate spot of where I recall the plane being parked. It was parked directly across the Chester Road from the factory main gate, where it was built and where I would later work as a tool and die-making apprentice in 1968-1971. Gates 2 and 3 are quite close.

The date scribbled in blue in looks like 1958, which would mean that I would have been 6  years old. I have clear recollections of many early childhood years from a very early age, so that date may be in keeping with the news clipping timeline. 

I was a frequent visitor to the Birmingham Science Museum formerly on Newhall Street with my Dad. I was attraced to the motorcycles, blue lightweight E-Type Jaguar, the Napier Railton Special and many artifacts, but never saw the Spitfire during my visits. I always enjoyed seeing the very same tram that I had traveled as a baby in arms! Perhaps the Spitfire had not been readied for display at that time. 

I believe the location would have been opposite Gate 3 or possibly 2, since the plane always seemed to come into view from the top deck of the double decker bus almost immediately after rounding the traffic island.

Castle Vale airfield from where the planes flew on test and delivery flights, was behind and to the south of the position that I have when viewing the Castle Bromwich Fishers Plan. It was definitely not any further to the south, where the entrance to the Castle Valve housing estate is located.

As an apprentice, I worked in the apprentice building, which I believe was built on the site of the Ashold Farm site, then in F block which was the Press Shop. In 1968 The new Jaguar XJ6 bodies were manufactured there and parked in rows awaiting repair along the outside of E Block.

So, whether the information about my memories of the plan above is of any particular interest I couldn’t hazard a guess, but the Castle Bromwich  ‘Gate Guard” Spitfire most definitely stood proudly directly across the Chester Road in Castle Bromwich opposite the factory in which it was assembled.

FWIW, as an apprentice, I used machine tools on which some of the components would have been made. My last visit to the factory was in 2004 when I returned to Birmingham from Canada to bury my Dad. I visited a co-worker at the factory working in the tool room repairing press tools for Jaguar production. The same old machinery that I’d used as an apprentice in the apprentice building was still stored on site at the time.

An aside note. My Dad worked as prototype engineer at Perfecta Aircraft and Motor Equipment in Digbeth, Birmingham on automotive prototype vent windows and door frames for Jaguar, Triumph, Rootes, Ford and Reliant. Perfecta was a manfacturer of canopies for aircraft, which was used on the company pin as linked here. Pin, Lapel, War Worker, Perfecta Motor Equipment Ltd. | National Air and Space Museum (si.edu) Somwhere, although I cannot lay my hand on it at this minute, I do still have my Dad’s Perfecta lapel pin.

Perecta was also on the list of suppliers for the DeHavilland Mosquito  De Havilland Aircraft: DH 98 Mosquito: Suppliers – Graces Guide as was Standard Triumph as a manufacturer. Mosquito Makers – Standard Triumph Works Directory

While not being an avid aircraft enthusiast, I just wanted to add my recollections of the “Gate Guard Spitfire” to the mix in the hope that it supports and clarifies the puzzle!

Funny, I used to have grandparents that lived in Bournemouth which would explain the frequent passing of this particular site. We probably took a similar route (from Rugby) as I can remember crossing Salisbury Plain with all the tank crossing places and signs with dire warnings “If you see a tank do not touch it – it may explode!”

I remember crossing Salisbury Plain. Although I saw the tank crossing signs I never did see any tanks.

Going by the dates and your description this may have been LA226 when it was outside of the Vickers site then at South Marston near Swindon (now a car factory site).

Yes, that sounds like it could be the one. Thanks.

You mean this one Tim?

Funny, I used to have grandparents that lived in Bournemouth which would explain the frequent passing of this particular site. We probably took a similar route (from Rugby) as I can remember crossing Salisbury Plain with all the tank crossing places and signs with dire warnings “If you see a tank do not touch it – it may explode!”

Thanks for the link to the photographs (the top one looks like I remember it).

You mean this one Tim?

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=78262

Going by the dates and your description this may have been LA226 when it was outside of the Vickers site then at South Marston near Swindon (now a car factory site). I’m a Brummie and I’m not aware of any Birmingham factory site at that time which had a Spitfire on show – unless one of the RAF travelling exhibits was temporarily on show (one was placed outside the Meteor garage in Moseley along with the MAM’s Meteor for a few weeks and the Lucas factory used to occasionally have an aircraft on show such as a borrowed Gnat).

Tim

Sorry, that can’t be it as (thanks to your information) ML427 was moved inside before I was born!

I’m clearly misleading you here as it probably wasn’t Castle Bromwich.

The Spitfire, and I’m sure it was a Spitfire, must have been there until about 1972 and was there for a number of years. My recollection is that it wasn’t at an RAF base or a museum but outside a factory; the reason being that they were built there during the war, hence my assumption of Castle Bromwich. Possibly it was just components that were built there; Merlin engines perhaps?

The Spitfire was always camouflaged when I saw it and could be seen as you drove past the large factory building. It wasn’t on the ‘gate’ as such but stood on a concrete pan facing the factory surrounded by some fairly large trees. In fact it was fairly difficult to see, through a long railing fence across a stretch of grass, as you drove past.

Hope that helps and doesn’t confuse things further!

Two press cuttings form the period.

P. Hodgkiss collection.

ML427/6457M

Mark

Image: P.Hodgkiss

Spitfire Mk.IX ML427?

1958 Museum of Science & Technology, Birmingham
1954 Gate Guard Castle Bromwich
15.10.47 Inst a/f 6457M
31.10.45 Sold to Vickers
31.5.44 Fighter Leader School
29.4.44 9 MU