These are marvellous photo’s and really bring back memories. I probably viewed most of these through my dads binocs in the early fifties as they passed over our house near Brighton. en route to the far and middle East. Could not read the registrations of course, but certainly the type, airline and livery.

This is slightly related to Bri’s question. When I’m sitting quietly on the can
in my upstairs bathroom I can clearly hear the sounds from outside, almost amplified. Particularly loud is the engine noise from an Avanti that passes over at a fair height once a week. The Army choppers (Sioux) pass regularly over at around a thousand feet, filling the room with sound. Also coyotes yapping in the fields across the way, yipping pups especially are amplified. Canada Geese honking on the river about quarter of a mile away, come in strength five.
Could it be the vent pipe as in Bri’s case except no mushroom, which of course is open to atmosphere (apart from the extractor fan) I hardly have a stealth bathroom. it’s actually more like an echo chamber. I’ve often wondered if sounds from my bathroom do not flow in the other direction also, and are broadcast throughout the neighbourhood. Some of my neighbours are not terribly friendly. I always thought it was my accent….

Very many thanks for posting these pics. An Avanti passes over my place once a week, very high . Can hear those unmistakeable engines from miles away….

Cultural differences? I hardly think so in this case:

A dog-sled company in Whistler, British Columbia, ordered the killing of 100 dogs in April, 2010, when bookings for adventure tourism slumped after the Olympic Games.

Vancouver radio station CKNW obtained documents revealing that 100 healthy sled dogs were killed in a mass slaughter at Outdoor Adventures Whistler last April 21 and 23.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the story actually gets worse. From CKNW: (Warning – this is pretty gruesome reading.)

Worksafe BC documents obtained by CKNW say an employee has been granted compensation after developing post traumatic stress disorder for having to kill the dogs himself over a two day period.

Lawyer Cory Steinberg says the employee “….. ended up having to do it…I guess the only way to describe it was “near misses”. It wasn’t always a clean, one-shot kill. Inevitably he ended up seeing and having to put the end to some horrific scenes.”

Steinberg speaks on behalf of the worker who doesn’t want to be named.

In most cases dogs were shot more than once, or had their throats slashed before they were pitched into what is described in the documents as a mass grave. Some were still alive.


The company didn’t contest the Worksafe injury claim. In fact, they even made a correction, where the worker stated he had killed 70 dogs, the company corrected and wrote he had actually killed 100.

According to CKNW, Mary Moriarty, the head of cruelty investigations at the BC SPCA says they are launching an investigation, after reviewing the Worksafe BC file. She adds that it’s a dirty secret of the industry that so many dogs are bred purely out of greed.

Moriarty says there appear to have been breaches of the animal cruelty act in the cull and criminal charges are a possibility.

Well, yes. A brief reading of Canada’s Animal Cruelty Act states that there is zero tolerance for animal cruelty.

It’s hardly surprising that the Outdoor Adventures employee suffered post traumatic stress disorder and is entitled to compensation, but there is no way to grant compensation to those dogs.

Let’s hope this heartless organization is prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and that we never have to read about such cruelty again.
Read more: animal welfare, euthanization, sled dogs, adventure tourism, british columbia canada, animal cruelty act

Many thanks for posting this site Tony. It’s quite addictive. I’m sure that I’ve
seen some of these in very early Janes……

Watched Neville Shutes “No Highway in the Sky” last night. First time I have seen it since the 50’s. Lovely opening shots of what looked like the Whittle jet prototype at Farnborough with an Anson or two in the background. Can anyone confirm my ID as I only caught a glimpse of it taxiing while I was making coffee. Other backgound a/c were a Bristol Freighter at Gander (was it really Gander?) and maybe a Lancastrian with serial number NX 636. An excellent film for the time. I almost leapt off the couch when Honey suddenly raised the U/c of the “Reindeer”while on the ground at Gander. Nice seeing Glynis Johns too. had a crush on her for years ….

Great photo’s…loved the J29 really took me back.

Superb pics…. loved the Messenger
I remember when the airfield at Shoreham had several Messengers
permanently stationed there,in civvy markings of course