What it doesn’t say is that if you can land an Auster you can land anything.

It is, after all, a man’s aeroplane rather than a boy’s aeroplane!

Am I right is saying that around 150 Prentices were stored at Southend and a further 100 at Stansted, making around 250 in total?

G-ANGM ended its life on the dump at Ipswich – I still have the control column.

Goldilocks

….along with G-AEMH and G-AHPH!

There was one hanger on the far side from the Control Tower near the runway crossover where I’m sure there were stacks of Rapides, including wings stacked against the rear wall. Near where the Avian fuselage was. There were a lot of aircraft scrapped in a dump with what seemed like hundreds of radial engines in wooden pallets stacked about 6 high.
Seemed to me to be WW2 stuff by the age of it (early 60’s) with dirty cracked perspex etc…. fascinating stuff for a kid and fed my aviation interest…. dunno about ‘elf n safety though!! Crawling through wrecks 5 or 6 high and squirming into cockpits imagining I could fly!!

Would that be the flying club hangar on the bottom right-hand corner of the main picture?

Many thanks Graham.

Ken Woolcott was the official photographer for Channel Airways.

Please keep them coming – much appreciated.

The sound of a skylark hovering over the airfield on a warm summers day. Reminds me of West Malling in the days when the USN were based there. Not a single movement all day, just a Neptune sitting on the apron and the skylark chirping away!

The shot of the Viking and the Dove were actually taken at Jersey and was used on the official Channel Airways postcard.

Although it is a vague connection with the sea, I remember HMS Bermuda anchoring off Southend (near the pier) in July, 1961 and and along with loads of other kids took the opportunity to go on board.

The following day, Saturday, 22nd July I remember taking off from runway 06, sitting in the jump seat of a Viking and whilst climbing out Captain Johnny Wallens noticed the Bermuda at anchor. He immediately put the nose down and we did a very low pass right over the top. Not sure what the other 40 odd passengers thought but I bet the crew of the Bermuda got a bit of a surprise!