If only there was surplus available like this again!!

Bunsen Honeydew,

Just harking back to the Staravia auctions at Marlow, I’ve located the catalogues.

Yes, there were two auctions (I thought so but my memory was a bit short on detail).

The first was in October 1994 and featured a Hunter single seat nose (unidentified in the catalogue but listed as ex-Royal Danish Air Force). The rest of the catalogue was mostly airframe spares – Gnat, Meteor, Vampire, Piston Provost, Jet Provost, Canberra, Jaguar, Auster, etc (even a few Sabre canopies). Leonides, Goblin and Derwent spares, eight Martin Baker seats and lots of G90 and F96 cameras.

I don’t recall much about this auction and I can’t remember whether I bid on anything or just spectated.

Auction No. 2 was in April 1995. This one featured the two-seat Hunter nose, ex-Dutch Air Force and identified as N320. A few more type specific lots but the majority was of more general equipment, suitable for a range of types. The catalogue confirms there were hundreds of tea chests crammed with all sorts of stuff.

Your estimate of prices is more accurate than mine – I think my recollection of £2 is per tea chest rather than per lot.

The two Marlow auctions were then followed by one at Bournemouth Airport in August 1995, described as a major clearance sale by Anglo American Airmotive Ltd. The same Auctioneers ran all three.

A lot of it looked just like the stuff from Marlow, all packed in tea chests – whether this was where it originated I wouldn’t know.

Prices were crazy cheap as not much of it was exciting stuff. There was quite a lot of AGS material and these lots attracted some of the higher bids.

God knows how many hundreds of tons of spares were shifted in the three auctions. The scrappies probably made more money out of it than most.

From the three auctions, my best buy would be the new, old stock Mosquito throttle box. Still got it of course, but now the Mosquito production line is open once again, who knows…?:)

All those lovely instruments and, of course, not a single mention of the “R” word!

Thanks for posting Dave, pure nostalgia. Makes me wish I’d kept a few old copies of Exchange and Mart to browse through.

Just spotted the Mk IX Bombsights, still crated, for 6 quid, filed under miscellaneous!

Lance?. What’s his handle on here?. I have lived here for 37yrs, and never knew of any such premises down Barrington Gate, or any old Antique shop, we only had one shop like that, owned by a chap named Clements.The Dave I knew sold Chipmonk spares from a detached shed/store along Holbeach Bank.
Jim.
Lincoln .7

Used to go to a shop called `Secondfront Militaria` on Lincoln Road in Peterborough,Pete used to get the usual east german army stuff in but every now and then came up with some `gems`.It was him who put me onto all the RAF surplus being sold off in Farcet when this old chap passed on..wish I`d kept it..before the days of the internet ,I never knew what rare stuff I`d got..sacks of wiring looms with mikes for the D -type masks,a chap called Simon Lannoy had those off me nearly the next day and anotherchap Mitch Barnes from Ealing.I also found a collection of thousands of WW2 aircraft photos..beautiful and some very rare shots.Ken Ward nearly fainted when he pulled out a close-up cockpit shot of `Over-exposed` B29 that crashed on Glossop showing all the artwork on the nose,if only I knew..was a bit slow then.

Dave,Do you still keep in contact with James?Haven`t seen James for years,I used to go over his folks place in Long Sutton and we spent hours swapping stuff in his shed.When his collection got bigger he moved it into the basement of this big bric-a-brac /antiques centre in Holbeach,Went off and joined the RAF in the end,last time I saw him was at `Merlins` at East Kirkby.
That sounds like Lance Jim,think he`s a member of the Forum???

They moved onto the main Abbeydale Road drag, but before that they were in a little double fronted shop on a side street on the Heeley side of the road.

I believe it was Sellers Street. Many a Saturday afternoon spent there deciding what to spend my weekly pocket money on. Sigh.

Done Wisbech Car boot a few times..there was a lad there called Jamie who used to sell stuff for(or from) K+L Aero (I think) in Holbeach.He had some quality WW2 stuff there some for as little as £5.I used to go to London Bridge Market (stall out sometimes) on a Saturday morning then catch the tube up to the military market at `The Angel`.I`m sure there was a big army surplus place I used to go to in Islington too,they had boxes and boxes of `Night Gunnery Simulation` Goggles…Happy and far cheaper days.Was this chap an older or younger guy Jim??

I would estimate he is in his mid 60s, and has his wife is with him every time I see him, put him about 5ft 9, stocky “Farmer” type build, also sold camo clothing, Arthur Pike gear also.The odd bayonet, a few medals, if you get my drift.
Jim.
Lincoln .7

YES.
A very small world indeed. do you remember me Dave, the Copper who used to drop off at your place for a cuppa. 😉

Jim.
Lincoln .7

And some more Aerospares stuff!

Hope this works!

Aerospares Cat 500 by

Regards

Dave

K&L Aero

Yes, I know K&L Aero as it was my Dad’s business until he retired a few years ago.

He started going to surplus sales with his dad just after the war to buy DC-3 spares and started from there, worked for Williamson the camera people and Handley Page, then went into car accessories for a while before buying a job lot of Chipmunk spares from Lufthansa. The rest of the spares and equipment came along naturally so to speak.

Had many happy days sorting stuff for him both when the stock was at home (in a prefab bungalow in the garden) and later when he moved all the stuff into Barrington Gate in Holbeach. Then the lot of Dove and Heron spares came along (more summer holiday sorting), so I’m continuing on a smaller scale so it definitley must be in the genes as his brother was in the aircraft spares business too although somewhat bigger stuff than the Chipmunk!

James (Jim) used to work for my dad, and also collected his own stuff, as I did. He appears at Newark too…..very small world.

Regards

Dave

You accept US$??

Done Wisbech Car boot a few times..there was a lad there called Jamie who used to sell stuff for(or from) K+L Aero (I think) in Holbeach.He had some quality WW2 stuff there some for as little as £5.I used to go to London Bridge Market (stall out sometimes) on a Saturday morning then catch the tube up to the military market at `The Angel`.I`m sure there was a big army surplus place I used to go to in Islington too,they had boxes and boxes of `Night Gunnery Simulation` Goggles…Happy and far cheaper days.Was this chap an older or younger guy Jim??

If it’s the same chap we are on about, fregsample a Spitfire boost guage was £20.00.

Jim.
Lincoln .7

There was( or maybe still is )a chap selling ww2 aviation stuff in the market at Market Deeping..he seemed to get all his stock from Lance and still sold it for quite a reasonable price.

There is a chap in Boston who seems to have loads of instruments, he has a stall at Wisbeach car boot sale WW2 stuff mainly, he must have quite a stock, as he seems to have loads to sell every week.
Jim.
Lincoln .7

He normally has a pitch at these gatherings – only about six weeks to go!! 😉

Lance Corke, well known to most aerojumblers and collectors.

Good to see his son picking it up too.

There is a chap in Boston who seems to have loads of instruments, he has a stall at Wisbeach car boot sale WW2 stuff mainly, he must have quite a stock, as he seems to have loads to sell every week.
Jim.
Lincoln .7

I remember buying a cardboard box full of R.A.F. Course & Speed Calculators MK.IIA from Watson’s Garage at Aldeburgh in the 1960s. Alas long since disposed of.

Goldilocks

I too have a Dalton Computor somewhere, and also an English Electric heliograph, made of glass, both obtained from the Exchange and Mart.
If only I had a time machine to go back in time.

Jim.
Lincoln .7

And more

Moggy