Nice to see those photographs! My Father was in 3rd Bn AIF, and wounded in the attack on Lone Pine, 8th August 1915. Who knows your Grandfather and my Pa might have met.

Regards,

SoG

Interesting to hear about the mine shafts at RAF Portreath. I’ve lived in this area for all my 50 odd years and remember well the era of the use of the airfield by the MOD for production of chemical weopons. Cornish aviation enthusiasts must have long speculated about the military materiel thrown down these shafts, but I have never before heard reports of disposal of scrap brought there from elsewhere.

More sinister was the supposed dumping of chemical waste in these shafts, some few hundred yards from the North coast of Cornwall. There was some recent speculastion about intentions to excavate these shafts to find and remove any such materials, but I don’t know if anything ever came of that.

I speculate that the MOD would dearly like to dispose of RAF Portreath but dare not in view of the likelyhood of contamination. Can anyone throw more light on this?

SoG

G-ANFW was the original glider tug at the Cornish Gliding (& Flying) Club at Perranporth, going back I think to 1958 (?). FW belonged to the CFI, George Collins, a very well known ex-RAF Lancaster pilot, and he bought it from the Air Ministry, collecting it from Aston Down in 1946, with the intention of aerotowing from St Eval where he was CFI of the ATC gliding School. George Collins notes in his book “Sails in the Sky” that on April 19th 1957, “…we aerotowed the Olympia with the Tiger Moth from Culdrose…and imdediately put them at the disposal of our new Club, which had obtained a T31, a Tutor, and was anxiously awaiting delivery of the new T21.”

The registration was cancelled in 2000, and I have a feeling that the airframe is now abroad, in a museum. Can anyone confirm?

I think Gliding has now ceased at Perranporth. Can anyone say what happened to the Gliding Club?

Thank you,

SoG

Good to see you Setter!

SoG

That is a truly amazing sight, a wonderful photograph, quite historic. I live in Cornwall and going to airdays is difficult (exception, Culdrose) so these photographs from the day are important, highly valued and much appreciated by me.

Could we not expect these Brisfits to be seen together again?

SoG

Well done, Sir!

It’s funny isn’t it – people don’t seem to want to remember the past, as if there’s likely to be some sort of ghost lurking there ready to bring back something hurtful. It wasn’t all a walk in the park – there were bad bits, and we don’t care to go there in case they hurt us again.

My Dad was an ANZAC (3rd Bn, 5th Reinforcements), and was wounded on 8th August 1915 at Gallipoli – Lone Pine attack. I wanted so much to hear his account, but he wouldn’t utter a word about it. He was wounded twice more in France, Pozieres etc, for those who are familiar with the AIF in the ‘first lot’. “You don’t want to know nothing about that, boy, those days are gone and that’s that.”

What he did tell me was that he shot down a Rumpler Taube using a lewis gun mounted on a railway sleeper. He knew nothing about aircraft, but spoke about a ‘Dove’ or a ‘Taub’ and said it had Dove shaped wings and he drew them for me, quite perfectly. Not until some yers later did I learn about the Taube with its warping dove like wings.

He said ‘we were all firing at it, even with rifles’ so I can’t really claim a’kill’ for dear old Dad, just a part of one.

SoG

SoG

My heroine, who I never had the pleasure of meeting…Ann Welch:

Ann was an Air Transport Auxiliary Pilot during WW2, an internationally renowned figure in gliding, and President of both the British Hang-gliding and Paragliding Association and the British Microlight Aircraft Association and also a dedicated instructor.

SoG

The size of the wheels give an indication of the object’s actual size; I think it best to forget the camel, as Father Ted said…”Dermot, these cows are further away…”.

I venture a suggestion – there appears to be a lot of welded seams, and the object is obviously streamlined – is this some kind of cargo or under-wing stores pod? The rusty condition of the item suggests that it isn’t made of a metal usually associated with aviation structures.

I know my suggestions are often outlandish – but what do you think? Where did you find the image anyway?

SoG