Henshaw family’s response

I emailed Judith Henshaw with the link to this site. I received this reply today.
It is comforting to know that Alex Sr’s family have read all these tributes.

Thank you so much Bob.

Alex and I have just read all the tributes on the Aviation Forum and found it most moving.

Judith Henshaw

Model vs real a/c

Hi von Perthes
Well I am afraid that I was held victim of the decal co. (Aeromaster) who produced the markings. The didn’t include the outline of the codes. They also instructed the modeller to place the “Spirit of Kent” logo and the White Horse in the wrong locations. I got the Sq. leader’s pennant in the wrong location according to the photos, although I am not sure as it is not seen in the location that your photos shows it according to “Spitfire At War Vol. 3” which I used as reference. I went with the location that Aeromaster showed it.
I’m glad you liked the model. The Mk VII Spitfire is a very interesting version of that extremely fascinating a/c, the Spitfire.
Maybe you could e-mail me direct at
Cheers
Bob S.

Spit pics

Hi Charles
The Sabre was not part of the photo flight.
Mike told me on the phone that he would get me a copy of the video and if I get Mike’s permission, I will make you a copy.
I am in touch with one of the photographers and am presently getting Mike in touch with him directly or through me. I do know that Mike wants photos and will send me copies. I imagine that we will see some photos in magazines before too long.
Yes, you are lucky to have a Spitfire in your area. We had MK923 around here for 22 years and TE308 before that. Mike is very proud of his Spitfire now and loves flying her.
Cheers
Bob S.

Mike Potter and SL721

Hi British Canuck and all.
I talked with Mike last night and he did mention having to get better security around his Spitfire. He can’t get over the interest in it. When I was babysitting Cliff Robertson’s Mk IX s/n MK923 for years we always had to have baricades around the Spitfire at airshows. Most of us aero nuts are OK but there are some real “kooks” at airshows and they will bang away at the fabric or worse, poke a hole in it or cut a chunk out for a souvenir to take home (as happenned to a Mustang in the states years back). The Spit would be sitting in the hot sun, all gassed up and pissing fuel out the overflow with the expansion and some goof would walk up with a cigarette and then get mad when told to put it out. You can always tell a real aircraft buff and there is no problem inviting him behind the barrier for a closer look.
Thanks for the pics of the show.
Mike did a photo shoot with the B-25 and sent me a great shot of him with the CF-18 taken by his wife Veronique who rode in the 25. E-mail me direct and I’ll send it to you so maybe you will post it here. It really is fantastic. Mike was excited about it and mentioned that there were three photographers in the 25 doing all kinds of shot air to air with AU-J. He said that he will send me copies and also a copy of the video that Veronique took from the 25.
I am at [email]robert.swaddling@sympatico.ca[/email]
Cheers
Bob S.

SL721 as AU-J

Thanks for the discussion and photos on SL721. I just got home from Ottawa last night and am happy to see some mention of the presentation of this past Monday. It was expected to draw a crowd of 160 – 200 and the Museum said they counted 2000+ there. Needless to say, they were swamped. Mike was amazed at the crowd. I reminded him that it is a “Spitfire” and it does draw attention.
Mike and I are very aware of the significance of the history of SL721 and the rare blue livery she wore when she was AVM Robb’s personal a/c. The problem was that 99.99% of the public does not understand why it was painted that way and are disappointed with it. When asked what to do if it were “my” Spitfire, I suggested painting her up in camouflage, and in an accurate Canadian Squadron markings. Since 721 is a “low back” I suggested doing her as TB886 AU-J, flown by Bill Harper, since this was the only “low back” Mk XVI to see action while with a Canadian squadron. Mike didn’t want the “Dorothy II” logo on the cowl for personal reasons. Robert Bracken had been a friend of Bill Harper before he passed on and supplied me with all Bill’s personal photos, one of which showed TB886 with the “Dorothy II” logo weathered off the cowl. This meant that leaving the logo off would still make the paint scheme accurate. Robert also told me how Bill Harper had always wanted the McColl-Frontennac “red Indian” decal on his new Spitfire but by that time they were out of the decals. We decided to include it in memory of Bill’s wishes. This makes the a/c distinctly Canadian as most people are not familiar with squadron code to recognise AU as the code for 421 Sq. RCAF. I spen a total of three weeks in Goderich this past winter and spring doing our utmost to get her accurate with no compromises. She is still SL721 with her distintive history and her full wingtips and luggage bay cannon bays with no cannon bulges. Yes she looks glossy but believe it or not, the final clear coat is semi-gloss. I managed to get the mirror taken off of the windscreen.
Mike let many ex Spitfire pilots sit in her on Monday and have their photo taken. It was a very emotional experience seeing grown men break down and weep in the cockpit of a Spit for what they know will probably be the last time(?). Some paint got scuffed and scraped form this and when Mike’s aircraft handler said that they could buff out the marks later he told him “leave them there, they are honourable scrapes and marks”.
I wish that I knew how to display photos on this site for you guys, but can e-mail direct if someone wants to something in particular or has any questions about SL721 or the paint scheme.
Cheers
Bob S.

fish

It is “G” as in “Good”.