Ok,I’ve sent a letter to the Hull Daily Mail aswell.I know it’s hardl likely to make a difference,but it can’t hurt to try…
“Dear Editor,
I’m writing in response to the article you ran on the ‘saving’ of the Blackburn Beverley aircraft by the museum at Fort Paull.Whilst this news may at first appear to be good for the aircraft and it’s supporters,it is in fact a very disappointing outcome.
It should be realised that Fort Paull will make a very poor home for the aircraft due to the salty air and the lack of any protection from the elements, which combined with the lack of skilled maintenence staff will mean that the aircraft will corrode very quickly to a point where it becomes structurally unsafe,not to mention unsightly.In effect, moving the aircraft to Fort Paull will put it in an even worse position than it is in now.
If Fort Paull is such a bad location,then why take it there in the first place?The answer,sadly,is money and it has nothing to do with the preservation of the aircraft.If the aircraft lasts for,say,five years (that’s an optmimistic estimate by the way!),then the revenue from the number of extra visitors the aircraft attracts will have covered the costs of the aircraft’s movement and will also line the pockets of the museum.
I say again,the location of the aircraft to Fort Paull has nothing to do with the aircraft’s preservation,it will simply corrode and will have to be scrapped in just a very few years.
If this sounds rather drastic and melodramatic,I assure you it’s not.As a stark example of this,there was at one time an aviation museum at Southend in Essex.This entire collection lasted less than ten years and nearly all of the aircraft on site had to be scrapped when the museum closed due to the condition that they were in,including a Beverley.
There are many who share the view that the last remaining Beverley should NOT be going to Fort Paull and should instead be heading for somewhere like the Yorkshire Air Museum,where it can be restored and looked after by museum staff and where it will not be at the mercy of the salty,coastal environment.You may say that atleast if it does go to Fort Paull then that’s better than it being scrapped,but in fact as an aviation enthusiast,I think I would prefer to see the aircraft reduced to scrap tomorrow rather than having to watch it fall to bits at Fort Paull in the coming years.
Yours Sincerely,
Anthony Harrington
London,UK”
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