Preservation Pioneer Peter Thomas RIP

PETER THOMAS & SKYFAME

Hello to all of you who have been kind enough to put up messages about my father, Peter Thomas. I have joined this site in order to be able to reply and thank you. Hardly anyone knew Dad was ill, because to the end, he was a proud man, and fought his illness with all the strength and courage he used throughout his life, to build up Skyfame, and to fight the constricting bureaucracy which tried to hamper him at every turn.

I did note in one message that it was noted that Skyfame sadly “failed” eventually. This is not strictly true. Skyfame was running and becoming increasingly well known year by year, but by the mid-seventies, aircraft preservation was suddenly becoming “Big Business”! This is when the big money boys decided they could earn themselves a fast buck by buying up old planes, still reasonably cheaply, and then selling them on at vast profit. Dad was never one of these, thankfully, although sadly to his and Mum’s financial cost. The reason Skyfame had to close was because Gloucestershire Council realised that this was becoming big business, and conveniently ignored all the years Dad and Mum had struggled to keep going since 1963. They trebled the rent/rates on the hangar at Staverton Airport in one go, and although Dad tried to fight it, they insisted they would not back down. Just as Skyfame was financially sound and viable, the Council’s greed forced its closure.

A funny story about this time, (although it was so sad when it happened) is about the Hastings. Certain people at Staverton assumed that the Hastings would be too big to move, and that they would inherit a nice plane to have on permanent static display, after Skyfame had been forced out. Someone happened to mention this to Dad, and his reply was – “I’d rather dynamite it than leave it here!” That was his spirit, right to the end, and of course, the Hastings is now standing proud among the rest of the aircraft at Duxford – no dynamite was needed!

Delighted to see Malcolm Payne’s comments. Thank you Malcolm. I showed all the messages to Mum and she was delighted, and tearful at the same time. Take care!

JDK,

Pesonally I think it would be a shame that these aircraft are not safe even in this day and age. Perhaps Rob Greinert can be of some help there as he is the godfather of historic aircraft in Oz.

Cheers

Cees

Thanks Mark 12, for the reminder. …And a DC-2 at Albury is about to be chopped up, unless someone stops it. (See seperate thread) YOU can make a difference NOW; no time machines needed.

It’s all very well being misty eyed, but it’d be nice too if some folks did rather than just talked. That certainly was Peter’s view! (This is not directed at Mark or Cees, both of whom have done a lot, but how’s your concience?)

Thanks Mark, I had a feeling when I typed that I was missing something. Thanks to both 😮 for saving PN323. And just to think that you walked around her when she was still in one piece.

Ahhh, where is a timemachine when you need one.

Cees

Cees

Yes, and in year 2050 I’ll wager another generation and a half on will be saying:-

“Do you know they chopped up a Vulcan at Blackpool in 2005 and a few years before that a Beverley at Hendon”.

Mark

Cees,

Strictly speaking that was Graham Trant, but Peter Thomas provided it with a safe home.

Mark

Thanks Mark, I had a feeling when I typed that I was missing something. Thanks to both 😮 for saving PN323. And just to think that you walked around her when she was still in one piece.

Ahhh, where is a timemachine when you need one.

Cees

Peter Thomas

One of the titles that Peter used in connection was DFCDFM, which stood for Desmond and Forces of the Commonwealth Distiguished Flyinng Museum. He , I beleive, intended that Slyfame should be a living memorial to his brother, Desmond, who lost his life flying Wellingtons out of Malta.
I have an musing story regardin Peter, and I a sure he would not object to my telling it. We were doing a display as part of an Air Day at Filton and Peter said he would come with me and wind the gear up and down as it was manually operated. To cut a long story short, we were just required to take off, do a flaypast and then land back on. All went reasonably well until the time came to lower the gear on the down-wind leg. Peter wound like mad until he was almost exhausted, but there was no cockpit indication of gear down and locked, so I told him to keep winding. Turning base it became evident that not only did we have a problem with the gear but the radio had failed as well. One more attempt by Peter still got no indication so, deciding that it would be less spectacular to do a wheels-up back at Staverton we flew past the tower rocking our wings and set course for home. Halfway back Peter realised he had been winding the handle the wrong way.

He had the foresight to save the cockpit of Halifax PN323 before it too was scrapped.

One of the pioneers.

Cheers

Cees

Cees,

Strictly speaking that was Graham Trant, but Peter Thomas provided it with a safe home.

Mark

He had the foresight to save the cockpit of Halifax PN323 before it too was scrapped.

One of the pioneers.

Cheers

Cees

I never met Peter, But I have worked with people who knew him and occasionally corresponded with him.

Thanks for saving some rare types and long may you Rest In Peace

Tim

Very sorry to hear of Mr Thomas’ passing. Every so often on one or the other of the Web fora there’s a “preservation hall-of-fame” thread, and Mr Thomas’ is always one of the first names mentioned. Had there been more like him, there’s no telling how much the richer we aerophiles would be for it…

Godspeed Mr Thomas and many thanks,

S.

peter Thomas

Sorry, I got my dates wrong. It must have been 1964 that I got involved.

Peter Thomas

Like so many others I am very sorry to read of Peter’s death. I got involved with Skyfame after leaving the RAF in early 1962 and I followed John Schooling as the demonstration plot on the Anson. I also converted to the Oxford just before it was grounded for glue deterioration. I always found Peter a real gentleman to deal with and I was very sorry for him when rising costs forced him to close Skyfame. I still have a letter written by him when I wrote to congrtulate him on his MBE(?) which was for his wildlife preservation work in Scotland. My very sincere condolences to his wife Gwladys and his family.

And thanks to his son for inspiring my interest. Deep sympathies.

So sorry to learn of Peter’s death. He certainly was a leading light in the preservation movement and we have much to remember him by. I recall him taking time to show my 8 year old lad and I round the Skyfame collection at Staverton in the mid 1970’s when I was on an air taxi charter.
Cheers,
Trapper 69

This great man not only saved unsung types (Oxford, Anson etc) but also some absolute gems….he certainly started many ‘modern’ preservationists off. A sad loss and a huge legacy….

Peter Thomas

Seeing, and going into, the Sunderland at Pembroke Dock when a child was probably my first contact with aircraft preservation. A few years later visits in the early 1960s to Skyfame at Staverton (and Shuttleworth) started a life-long passion in me.

Peter Thomas had his detractors and it was sad that Skyfame Museum eventually failed. However I feel we owe the man a great debt of gratitude – not just for the aircraft he saved but also for his drive that was so influential in the sparking off of the British aircraft preservation movement.

RIP

Roger Smith.

We all owe this guy a huge debt of thanks.

Moggy

Sadly I never met Peter, but I did get to see Skyfame, and it made a big impression. Though gone, the collection of the IWM at Duxford would be the poorer without the Skyfame segment, and the saving of the Sunderland ML824 now at RAF Hendon was a vital step.

One of the right people at the right time.

Cant agree more. Peter was a real gentleman and was willing to provide advice and encoragement. He saved far more aircraft than the Skyfame collection its self.