John Roast Ex Reflectair, NX611

many thanks for the responses,i have alot of respect for a man who managed to initially save NX611 and have her flown fourteen times during his ownership,(getting sponsorship along the way,not easy at any time) it was very disappointing the lavenham museum couldnt come to fruition leaving the squires gate option as the only viable alternative,what happened up there with blackpool corporation(i gather they doubled his rental agreement ) was appaling leaving john roast no other choice than to auction off the reflectair collection rather than have blackpool take over the collection (with the prospect of every tom dick and harriet clambering all over the aircraft willy nilly) it was quite a coup on johns part, NX611 is the luckiest lancaster having survived standing for years outside scampton exposed to the elements. had the lavenham project be successful she,d have remained airworthy probably till today without the need of a respar which is understandable as there was some minimal corrosion found when the RAF dismantled her at squires gate, im digressing from my main aim which is to find john roast, if he has indeed passed away then im sure he will be looking down on NX611 willing her back into the sky, people like Mr Roast are thin on the ground for without dedicated individuals like him the classic aircraft movement would be extinct.:cool: 😎 😎

I can confirm that John Roast has indeed passed away.

‘Victor45’ – I have read your comments regarding John Roast and am interested to know whether you were personally involved with HAPS (Historic Aircraft Preservation Society) or Reflectaire Ltd during the time that NX611 was in airworthy condition. From your comments it would appear you have a very high regard for John so I’m wondering what your involvement may have been, especially as you are trying to find out what happened to him.

As I was personally involved with NX611 during the time when NX611 was being maintained in flying condition during the late 1960s / early 1970s, from her time at Biggin Hill through to her final static ‘display’ at Squires Gate Airport Blackpool I have many wonderful memories of those early days.

I was originally a member of HAPS and became so passionate about Lancaster NX611/G-ASXX (“Guy Gibson” – as she was named in those days) that I gave up my full time Civil Service job in early 1969 to become one of the full-time members of staff of Reflectaire Ltd (John Roast was one of the directors, alongside his (then) wife Joan, and a couple of others) and as such I have quite a personal insight into the trials and tribulations that were experienced throughout those years, both from certain areas of officialdom and from unfortunate personality clashes (I’m being very discreet here!!! I’m sure many Forum readers – including Roger Smith who’s already contributed to this thread – will have a very good idea of what I’m eluding to if they were around the active aviation preservation scene at that time !).

The fact that NX611 made a total of 14 flights after arriving back in the UK in 1965, the first being a successful airtest from Biggin Hill on 6th May 1967 and her last (to date anyway!) being from RAF Hullavington to Blackpool Airport on 26th June 1970, is certainly testament to all the hard work and dedication of the small band of aviation enthusiasts within HAPS and those who subsequently diverted their efforts towards ensuring that the Reflectaire “dream” of setting up a Historic Aircraft Museum was in fact “got off the ground” so to speak. Most people know the (‘published’ version!) of what subsequently happened to prevent that ‘dream’ from ultimately coming true, with the Lancaster. Seafire, Sabre jet etc. languishing on the airport’s perimeter compound at Squires Gate with little protection from the elements or the ‘sticky fingers’ brigade, but I wonder if they realise just how much NX611’s current existence is largely owed to the unswerving dedication of those youngsters of the local ‘Air Training Corp’ squadrons (Blackpool & St. Annes ) and ‘Girl’s Venture Corp’ who volunteered to assist us (the small compliment of Reflectaire staff) in ‘manning’ the aircraft and military vehicles etc. on static display to the public. That band of volunteers, together with all those members of the HAPS/Reflectaire Preservation Groups who actively gave of their time and effort in the seemingly impossible task of ensuring the survival of these historic items of Britain’s heritage, have never really received the recognition that they undoubtedly deserve.

I recognise that John Roast was indeed a ‘driving force’ in the attempt to ensure the Lancaster’s survival but he was far from being alone in that respect. As history (and hindsight) has probably shown – the way things were done in those heady days could probably have been done somewhat differently and personal aspirations of certain individuals would have benefitted from a more cohesive ‘team’ spirit than was often the case – I’m sorry to say.

I, like many others I’ve spoken to over the years, have to agree that the actions of the then Blackpool Corporation officials – in their decision to impose a crippling increase in the cost of the lease of the ground and buildings on the airport site that Reflectaire occupied for its proposed museum proved to be a final nail in the proverbial coffin. There was simply no way that sufficient funds could be found to cover the lease and to continue to maintain the exhibits for public display. The rest is history !!

There’s been many a Forum thread on the subject of whether NX611 ‘Just Jane’ should ever return to the skies. As someone who was extremely fortunate to have had the chance to fly as a passenger in this ‘iconic lady’ (I was on the flight of NX611 from Biggin Hill to Lavenham (Suffolk) on 30th March 1969, piloted by that equally iconic pilot – Neil Williams) I have very mixed emotions on this subject. Yes, my first reaction was to say I’d love to see (and hear) that wonderful aircraft take to the skies again where many say she naturally belongs – BUT….. I must say I’ve agonised over this for some time and after hearing both sides’ comments, both for and against, I really do feel that ‘Just Jane’ is simply too valuable a piece of British aviation history for the Panton Brothers to risk the possibility of her suffering irreparable damage should the ‘unthinkable’ ever happen if she were to be made fully airworthy once more. As others have already said – without the LAHC’s ‘main attraction’ would the present museum continue to be the successful public venue that it undoubtedly is today. With the recently introduced ‘tail-up’ taxy runs that the LAHC has thrilled the public with over the past months I am convinced that they, the Pantons, have now got it ‘just right’ and this wonderful ‘old girl’ should not be exposed to any greater risk of potential damage by any endeavour to widen her horizons – so to speak.

Despite all these considerations – Should the unthinkable ever happen to ‘PA474’ in the future then I’m sure the Panton Bros. would think long and hard and …. who knows!!!! NEVER SAY NEVER !!! That was the ‘motto’ we adopted when NX611 first returned to the skies in 1967 and I’m sure the surviving members of 617 Squadron who attended RAF Scampton on 19th/20th May 1967, on the occasion of the anniversary of the ‘Dambusters Raid’, were greatful for that.

That’s enough of my memories for now – I’d still like to know if you were around in those days ‘victor45’ – do please let me know whether your ‘real’ name rings any bells from the past. I know Roger (RPSmith) was around – we’ve spoken fairly recently when I was arranging the HAPS / Reflectaire reunion at East Kirkby in 2005.

john roast

many thanks for the responses,i have alot of respect for a man who managed to initially save NX611 and have her flown fourteen times during his ownership,(getting sponsorship along the way,not easy at any time) it was very disappointing the lavenham museum couldnt come to fruition leaving the squires gate option as the only viable alternative,what happened up there with blackpool corporation(i gather they doubled his rental agreement ) was appaling leaving john roast no other choice than to auction off the reflectair collection rather than have blackpool take over the collection (with the prospect of every tom dick and harriet clambering all over the aircraft willy nilly) it was quite a coup on johns part, NX611 is the luckiest lancaster having survived standing for years outside scampton exposed to the elements. had the lavenham project be successful she,d have remained airworthy probably till today without the need of a respar which is understandable as there was some minimal corrosion found when the RAF dismantled her at squires gate, im digressing from my main aim which is to find john roast, if he has indeed passed away then im sure he will be looking down on NX611 willing her back into the sky, people like Mr Roast are thin on the ground for without dedicated individuals like him the classic aircraft movement would be extinct.:cool: 😎 😎

You could try contacting Bill Fisher of F and H aircraft sales. He was very much involved with Reflectair

http://www.fandh-aircraft.co.uk/personal.htm

Bill Fisher was very involved with the Historic Aircraft Preservation Society but, I think, not with Reflectaire. I don’t think Bill liked John Roast.

Roger Smith.

You could try contacting Bill Fisher of F and H aircraft sales. He was very much involved with Reflectair

http://www.fandh-aircraft.co.uk/personal.htm

Here is the story of NX611, the LAHC link at the bottom of the page doesn’t work.

http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/oldstuff/justjane/Justjane.html

I think John Roast passed away some years ago – may be wrong.

Roger Smith.