Kentlsh Gazette/Home Bay Press/Whitstable Press, July 14, 1978

  V|LLAGE'S OWN AIR SHOWS

by David Collyer

AT the end of World
War I most of the

equipment left
behind at Bekes-
bourne , Aerodrome

was put up for sale
by the Aircraft Dis-
posals Board, and
various private
flying enthusiasts
acquired aircraft
cheaply.

It was not uncommon for
an Avro 504 trainer to be
sold for as little as £5, and
among those who bought
aircraft to fly at the airfield
Iwere Count Zborowsky, of
,I-lighland Court, and his
mechanic Wig lesworth.
The count is bet er known
as the builder and driver of
the original Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang racing car, his
interest in aircraft being
confined to experimental
flights. A civilianised BE
2C (G-EAQR) . was,
registered to Wigglesworth
in Januar , 1920, and’
scrapped he following‘
Augus .

Another interestin
character who arrived a
Bekesboume in 1919 was
DrE. D. Whitehead-Reid, a
former captain in the
RAMC. He was later senior
surgeon at the Kent and
Canterbury Hosfiital.

Dr White ead-Reid
bought two u lus RAF
aircraft,’ a e avilland
DH6 trainer (G-EAPW),
and a civilianised SE5
fighter (G-EAZT) from
Wig lesworth. I-Ie‘bought
‘the attervin August, 1922,
but it soon nosed over on-
landing and was replaced
with a. similar aircraft (G-
EBCA), which he also kept
at Bekesboume.

- I-Ie,used his aircraft for
visits to his patients in out-
lying farms and so could be

called the ori inal Flying‘

Doctor. The octor's air-
craft were maintained by
his mechanic, Lee, and also
included one of the
ubiquitous Avro 504-

company test pilot, recalls
having 0 deliver this air-
craft to Bekesboume in
October, 1927. He flew from
Yeovil, but had to land at
Farnborou 11 overnight
due to ba weather. The
following mornin he
arrived at the aero rome
and, to his chagrin, the new
owner insisted on a demon-
stration flight. Being a
rather large man, he had to
squeeze himself into the
cockpit in front of Penrose,
who had never carried a
passenger before.

The take-off used u
most of the length of the
aerodrome but, on landing,
the upwards slope assisted
in bringing the aircraft to a
halt just in front of the
han ar doors without the
slig test effect on the un-
_ru fled passenger. ,

Dr Whitehead-Reid flew
this aircraft at air races
and dis lays until October,
1930, w en on the night of
the 10th he had a cal to a

atient near Maidstone.

he weather was misty and
on a preaching Detling
Aero rome he brushed the
tops of the trees in East
Sutton Park and crashed,
wrecking the aircraft and
killing himself.

Other aircraft flown
from Bekesbourne at this
_time included another Avro
504 (G-EAAY), owned by
L. R. G. Errington from
July to October, 1919, and
the DH 53 Humming Bird
(G-EBXM) owned by Capt
A.~V. C. Douglas.

ITS FLEET

In the late 1920s, Kent
Aircraft Services, origin-
ally based at Kingsdown,
arrived at the aerodrome
and maintained its fleet of
Avro 504 oy-riding aircraft
(G-AAU , K L, and
AAWD), there during the
winters.

About this time, the Kent
Flying Club was formed by
another local man, Mr
Robert C. Ramsey, of How-
letts, who was re uted to be
the oldest pilot Britain.
He learrfed "to flv at '71 and

bourne during an aerial
treasure hunt before World
War II.

By 1933, Janes"All the
World's Aircraft listed the
Kent Flying Club, and
membership subscription
was just’ £1/1/-. Unlike the
Cinque Ports FC at
Lympne, the aircraft used
by the club for flying train-
ing were Miles Hawks and
no the usual Gipsy Moths
used by the majority of
flying clubs then.

In fact, there, was
friendly rivalry between

P the Cin ue Ports Club and

Kent F to see who could
train their pilots the
uickest. The course at
ympne took an avera e of
four to five hours, bu did
not include instruction in
gunning, whereas on the
ent F course one got in-
struction in spinning, but it
took "an extra two hours of
flight time to complete.

The club advertised ab
initio and advanced train-
ing, blind flying, as well as
instructors’ courses, and
qualifications for both A
and B licences could be ob-
tained. Three Miles Hawk
Trainers (G-ACHZ, DBK
and DGJ) were used for
initial trainin at £2 per
hour dual an" £1/10/- per
hour solo, while advanced
training on the Miles
Falcon was £2/10/- dual,
and £2 solo.

The chief flying in-
structor was Mr . K.
Brown, who had served
with the RAF at Hawkinge,
and been employed as chief
flying instructor at
Lympine before joining
K nt lying Club.

Unfortunately, Brown
was killed while flying
from Bekesboume in a
head-on collision with a
Hawker Horsley ov.er Til-
manstone, the other air-
craft being flown from
Manston by a R Aux AF
unit on annual summer
camp.

With Brown's death,
flying instruction was sus-
pended for a time, but
another chief instructor
was soon a pointed. He
was Flt-Lieu _Barrington,

- other clubs. *

an advert asking for
owners to bring their Fleas
to the aerodrome.

Two Fleas were con-
nected with Bekesbourne,
one constructed by a Mr
Little and registered on
December 13, 1935. This
was flown, or rather
"ho ed" on August Bank
Hol ay Monday, 1935,
when 3,000 people turned
out to see, he spectacle.
The other machine was
built in Canterbury by a Mr
Brown and Mr Sowerbutts,
and was registered'G-
AEBR in February, 1937.

However, these “packing
case” aircraft started to
crash with alarming
regularity and the Royal
Aircraft Establishment,
Farnborough, then dis-
covered that at certain
angles of flight it was im-
possible to 1111 them out of
a dive. he Flea was
banned in this country in
1936.

Another aircraft to end
its days at Bekesboume
was the Martinsyde Racer
(G-ABKH), owned by C. B.
Friend, which crashed into
a telegraphFpole while
landing on, ebruary 5,
1933. .

Mr Peter
former ,meniber of Kent
Glid1nghClub_at Lenham,
gained eKent,Flying Club

n the late 1930s, and

remembers that training
methods then were rather
grimitlve, and sometimes
angerous.

As well as tra'inlng',pi1ots
to fly, Kent . lying Cluh
took partin,an organised,
various com titions with
e favourite
was the" “dawn patrol"
which involved fl ing into
another club's teld first
thin in the znorning and
Ian ing without having
your machine‘!_s registra-
ion letters noted by the
home club ilotspatrolling
their alrfle d. ""‘ .-
Air displays wer.e
another ‘feature of the
inter-war years and for the

  
 

Corona on of ~ 6, 1937-,
the , put 0 la splay at
Bekesbourne, fol owing

this later with an Emnire

 

Classified Section

Bekesbou_rne’s flying past

13

  

Beechey, a.

ACROSS

6 When you both cooked
the Sunday lunch? (5, 6).

7 Broke something in the
art gallery (4).

8 Giving each a tin,
3/rapped up, of leaves (5,

9 Is very angry as had.
fisrhaps, been forecast

10 Very small time (6).

12 "House Guest," the
yéinner of the long race?

15 It's obvious the boy's
name and age should go
inside (6).

17 Admitting of exami-
nation by the doctor.
very likely (8). _

19 Reduce by a gunner,
which is shrewdl )

20Do they rush about
everywhere together?
(4.7). ‘

DOWN

1 How you regretted
buying the unsweetened
variety? (8). -

2 Has for sale in the plants
depar_tment'(6).

3 Declare in a
resolute way?

A cs... on-and can uuioln -ukao

loud and

I N I

E

6  only to get the ball in
11 Ob-servln

outside 0 the cake (8). V

13 Having a right to quarrel
aboutghe price list (6).

14A _s|ig_ht application

that it Isn't the 1

 

 

again of the pollshar? (6)

exact (6).

champion (4).

5 The resume is not quite

16 Turn u the radio playing
music 5)

.. 18 Stake about 5p on the

Answers to Crossword 7.7.78

Across: Look down on, dull, limp. those (anag),
AI.

rose. make clnnr. nnnaafahla

I-Inca

ions‘...

In.


joy-riding outfits.

He bought the prototype
Avro 548 variant in 1922 and
this lasted until 1927. The

V last aircraft bought by the

00d doctor was the
iminutive-. Westland
Wigeon II rasol mono-

lane (G-E JT). built by
he Westland Co at Yeovll
for the‘ Daily Mail light
aviation trials at Lympne
in1926.

Harold Penrose, the

A Marflnsyde racer photographed at llekesbourne in 9
February, 1983.

Cievra Autogiro (G-
ABUH).
Mr Ramsey was a‘

farmer and landowner and
all his children learned to
fly. His daughter served
with the Air Transport

Auxiliary in 1941 to 45, de-
jlivering fighters

and

bombers from factories to
airfields.

Tra ically, his oldest son
was k led while flying his
Moth Major from Bekes-

  

 

A DU 60 thought to have been photographed at the
village during the Cobham Air Circus.

 

A Tiger Moth at the village. ‘G

 

Unuler and, nnauy, Mr
Drew. '
Mr Ramsey owned

various aircraft, including
Gi sy Moth (G-AAEU),
w ch was at Bekesbourne
from July, 1933, until it
crashed at Charing in
December, 1934, but most
of the time he flew his
Miles Hawk Major (G-
ADCY), which he kept in
the back of the hangar.

TAKE OFF

When he wanted to take
out his aircraft he insisted
that all other aircraft were
moved out of the way so
that he could taxi straight
out and take off. This was a
source of irritation to the
other members, especially
if their aircraft received a
bump from the Hawk's
wingtip en route.

“Everybody would stand
to attention," recalls Mr
Beechey, “waiting for the
crash, including he CFI.
He would otter around the
countrysi e, frequently
getting lost and upon

‘arrival back at the aero-

drome would taxi ri ht up
to the hangar regard ess of
whose aircraft was parked
in the way.”

Sir Alan Cobham used
Bekesbourne for at least
one of his National Aviation
Day displays and I have a
programme of the events
which comprised an auto-
towed glider, parachute
descent, autogiro demon-
stration, and a demonstra-
tion of continuous rollin of
an aircraft. Format on
aerobatics, an aircraft v

_ gpeedway rider race and

r Henr Seagrave’s car,
Golden rrow, completed
the programme.

Also there were
passenger flights which
gave many {people their
irst taste 0 flying and
whetted many a ‘young-
ster's apgetite for service
withthe AF. These flights
could be taken in a
Desoutter Mono lane, a
side-by-side seat luebird,
a glider, or even an auto-
giro.

Bekesbourne did not
escape the Flying Flea
craze of 1935-6 and one
home builder even towed
his Flea from his home in
Princes Risborough to
Bekesbourne when he saw

As  '~ war ' became
imminent, it. s decided to
set up an or anisation to
train pilots prepare for
service wit the RAF
should the conflict break
out. Mr Beechey and Mr

Pembroke jzined this or- '

anisation, nown as the
ivil Air Guard, and Peter
Beechey recalls: “Air
Commodore Chamier,
head of‘ this Air League of
the Britis Empire,vwas a
great patriot. He reckoned
hat things were getting to
the same state as they are
now with the run down in
the forces.

“He could see what was
coming, and he did ever -
thing 0 encoura e peop e
to learn to fly 0 get a
nucleus of pilots in case
war came. Anybody who
oined the Civil Air Guard
ad to promise that the
would serve with the RA 1
if there was an emergency
and war came."

ON TLOAN

Various types of aircraft
were flown from Bekes-
bourne during the
immediate re—war years.
Kent Aircr t Services had
been replaced by‘ Air Sales
and Service. w 0 had an
agency for Miles aircraft
so these types predomi-
nated.

However, various other
training aircraft were
flown, including: the little
’I‘i‘ps¥ Mono lanes (G-
A R and -A VP)‘, which
were used by the CAG. The
Czech designed and built
Praga mono lane was de-
monstrated y a former
pupil, Mr Wesson, on June

7, 1937, while on loan to the
club.

Another example of the
up-to-date equipment used
by the KFC was the
DeHavlliand DH- 94 Moth
Minor (G.-AFMZ) re 1-
stered to the club in Ju y,
1939. '

When war eventually
came several of the club's
aircraft were pressed into
service with the RAF,
includin the Moth Minor,
which ecame AW151,
Miles - Hawks, DGI
(AW150). CTO (AW152),
Mr Ramsey's Hawk Major,
DCY (BD141), and Falcon
Major, EVA (DR612), plus
both Tipsy Trainers.

fi§l_:|ng"f4')_"_ ‘H "' Down: L-o-Iita,_sklppar. port-a-I, an-go-ra, under,
5 witness 3 set_back ;n a flush, e-on, has-his-h, s'alon (rev), or-not-e, sh-err-y,
race (6). licked, stabs.

115 isplmugue WHEEL , . .

were so PLEASED wwu Imam
RECENT ADVERTISEMENT run
may sent us me souowme

4d:/effil

mm gapmning W139?‘

Pages Downs.
Barham.

Nr. Camerhu|')’-
Kent. England-

   

Phone: Bnrlmm 236
en) Code: 022 782)

‘ , , , .- Iwlwreu
rm mu Walla! (0%:»vg7£sfikg;$'3f,/‘mm,

C"’I"‘;""";‘,,,‘::€,,-‘[1,, /cw mllrx /mm Hm waxr
hruun :1 HI" - _ .. .-—

17th June 1973

The Editor

Kentish Gazette Ltd‘
St_ Georges Place
CanterburY-

Dear Sir.
. ou for
I am writing i’-0 thank Y tte
in the Kentish Gaze

the write-“P

. Hotel
and advertisement of our “arts.
reciative of Y°“‘ ‘3 o

1 am very E-IPP
Yours s'ncere1Y-
/ ~82 ‘
/ . Q/\ F’
Gregor)! Pillai
Managing Director

« yesterdaY ~

 

Gregory Pillai is just one of the many satisfied adver-
tisers using the Kentish Gazette series of newspapers
every week. For complete details on advertising ring

CANTERBURY 54754

(T