PHOTO of the DAY...

[PB]

Christmas Eve Extra...News from RAF Hartford Bridge, 24 December, 1943.


While technical issues in 2022 have limited today's POTD, nothing can change history, some recall of Christmas '44 at Hartford Bridge from the words of Stuart Marshall's recall, "The Wartime Years".

"Christmas Eve saw 107 Squadron attack V1 launch sites on the Cherbourg Peninsular, which was bombed from 13,000ft.

There was an all ranks' dance held in the evening when all base personnel were able to let their hair down and unwind following a few very intense and exacting weeks. Christmas Day followed the usual tradition whereby the officers and sergeants entertained the other ranks and another all ranks' dance was held in the evening. A number of ATC cadets arrived on Boxing Day for air experience flights. Six aircraft and crews were detailed to undertake the flying, which did not go down well as the crews were still feeling the after effects of the previous night's party!"



Walking across the now silent and disused acres of the airfield's eastern end toward where the RAF messes, theatres, and centre of social activity once stood the silence is almost deafening. The extremes of human emotions would have been felt to the maximum, life and death were ever close neighbours, but the spirit of the base and across the nation was resilient. Some 3,000 personnel combined to create the RAF Hartford Bridge 'team' during WW2, so many memories would have lasted long after the war. Walking amid the now silent and naturalised end of the airfield those wartime days seem far removed, but it's not hard to imagine the sound of merriment that must have echoed across the acres when the bombers were safely home and hair was at last let down!




Tech issues resolved, I leave you with a stark contrast to the drama of wartime operations, flying in the peaceful summer skies of England and a sortie with Baders Bus Company! A reminder of days gone by, and longer warmer days to come in but a few months.



See you soon...and as before, "Seasons Greetings"!!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of Christmas Day"
25/12/22


MERRY CHRISTMAS one and all....




A 1950's view of Blackbushe from the A30 London-Southampton road. An Eagle Viscount at rest. Why the picture today? It recalls Christmas Day in 1957 when Eagle Airways were conducting some training flying with Viscount G-APDW.



"POTD" will be back soon, but for now have yourself an absolutely amazing Christmas Day!!

PB

[PB]

Photo of the Day"
26/12/22


Boxing Day...the daylight hours have started to stretch out already, not very noticeable just yet, but we're moving toward another year where hope is in our hearts and memories play their part at what can be an emotional time for many. My father passed away on Christmas night some years ago, words can never express how deeply he is missed, but at this special time of year sentiments run deep. On the other side of the coin our second grandson is on his way and should be on final approach in a couple of weeks. Hope is indeed in our hearts!


For sixty years Blackbushe has provided a wonderful place to make memories as from schoolboy to some kind of vintage specimen the airfield has been a close friend and generator of marvelous memories...

...and so it goes on!! Next year's moments to look forward to will include the arrival of the Blackbushe Heritage Trust's Viking, the first step in the establishment of a heritage centre at Blackbushe where its contributions to the past will rightfully be remembered. Another Open Day Fly-In will be announced for the summer while the Airport continues with its work that will enable the long awaited construction of hangars and a modernised infrastructure.. some of these things take time!




One of our 'moments' from the past, the "Reds" pay their tribute with a 'smoke-on' fly-past during our celebratory weekend in 2017 when Blackbushe's '75th' was celebrated..



For now I'll wish you a peaceful Boxing Day, and thanks for stopping by!!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
27/12/22


It's a funny thing how this time of year captures moments from years gone by. Some joyous, some not, but now and again they just jump out of the memory and show themselves in a way that brings the moments back.

Last night during a nocturnal awakening my mind flashed back to Christmas Eve, 1963. The time when I was employed by Dart Aircraft, AVM Bennett's company formed to administer his new company to manage the affairs of Blackbushe Airport. Life at Blackbushe was shall we say 'remote' on this vast airfield that had, apart from the Terminal, been reduced to rubble. Being of a tender age my means of transport was via a moped, my arrival and departure from the operational airfield always being via the now disused 'east end' connecting from Cricket Hill Lane and the old eastern entrance used by the US Navy, Airwork and others.. The Parish Council had already chopped up the runways on their piece of the airfield and most of the taxiways and apron..There was still a taxiway/service road route that awaited the final removal that enabled a few trucks and my moped to reach the Terminal. My memory of that Christmas Eve was of the first flurries of snow, small icy crystals blowing in on the easterly from a grey scudding overcast, and heading home across the old Airport landscape with all of my 49cc propulsion unit giving its all! Festive greetings exchanged with Bill Freeman, Airport Manager, looking forward to getting home to my Dad - I clearly recall the feeling of solitude as moped and I buzzed serenely over the lunar landscape of what had become of the airport loved by so many - a moment of mixed emotions that for whatever reason gets played back now and again! The past can be very haunting...




Just 59 years and a few days after the flash back to December 1963, the old route across the east end has changed a bit!! The moped is long gone to where ever old mopeds go, so many changes, but the old Blackbushe spirit lives on and on.




A Viking undergoing maintenance in the old Eagle Blackbushe hangar long ago... No new permanent hangars just yet, but we WILL be seeing a Viking return to Blackbushe's historic acres before too much longer. The future is full of promise!!



PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
28/12/22


If you've been following the progress of the Blackbushe Heritage Trust and the fund raising activity you'll be well aware of how the money pot has filled over the past month. Massive thanks to the incredible support by British Airways, British Airways staff, and the ever growing number of individuals who have contributed toward the target that will enable the Viking recovery to go ahead - we are now in a position to look forward to G-AGRW 'coming home' in 2023! Much more will be published as to when when the not insignificant task is through the planning stages...

The next Volunteers meeting is planned for January 5th at the Pathfinder. As usual we'll start at 7pm and all will be welcome to attend. ED 04/01/23 This Meeting is CANCELLED..




An idea of the Blackbushe scene in the 1950s as a Viking rests abeam the Terminal. In due course a similar vista will hopefully capture a Viking of the 21st Century resting in a similar location... That's a dream still some way off, but hopefully one that will manifest itself perhaps at the time when Blackbushe's new hangars start to grow from the Airport's long waiting soil...



A message now from the Forum's editorial desk.. Sometime back in the summer I predicted that judging by the average number of daily visits "Photo of the Day" receives we should pass the 600,000 hits point sometime around Christmas. Yesterday was that day! Eternal thanks to all who dive into "POTD" most days, the editorial department is always delighted to share views, hopes, and opinions on the past, present, and future of the one and only Blackbushe Airport.

There has been a small number of regular followers who kindly add their comments to the "POTD Comments" section, and to them I'm most grateful. Please keep them coming, we all share the same hopes, ambition, and loyalty toward Blackbushe amid the Forum that now has secured 700 members.

The coming year, 2023, promises to be a year of excitement at Blackbushe..

Details will soon be forthcoming regarding the year's next Air Day/Open Day/Fly-in. More on this very soon, but the June 3rd would be a good day to keep free!!

..the Blackbushe Heritage Trust will announce the planned date for the arrival of their Viking!!

and Blackbushe Airport will be steadily working toward securing a time when those long awaited hangars are no longer obstructed by the various hurdles that have delayed things for the past six decades.


The Forum and "POTD" look forward to the future with much anticipation and in particular going forward with your ongoing company!! Our opinions and the benefits of free speech will continue to be shared and expressed!

See you tomorrow as we continue that relentless journey it the future!!!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
29/12/22

The history books have something to offer everyday when it comes to the aviation story. Today, for example, if you pop back to this day in 1948 the Supermarine Swift made its first flight.. Flown by Mike Lithgow, the Swift was a great step forward in jet design with the swept wing truly onboard. The type visited Blackbushe just once, on 13/09/53, when Swift Mk1 WK195 arrived..

Going back further through the calendars of years gone by it was on this day in 1940 that London was on the receiving end of a massive attack by the Luftwaffe with the use of incendiary weapons. What was called the 'second great fire of London' resulted from these devastating attacks wherein the courage and determination of the London firefighters who, despite bombs and incendiaries falling all around, put up a massive attack on the fires thus preventing far greater potential damage.

It remains unthinkable that in these days of enlightenment, technology, and communications etc that a master criminal such as Putin is able to devastate the innocents of Ukraine so liberally.

Blackbushe in war was an airfield that witnessed many aspects of aerial warfare. Fighters, bombers, repatriation flights, counter intelligence flights by mysterious black painted Mitchells, Lysanders discretely delivered their passengers to 'foreign fields', FIDO burned bright and cleared the fog, supply flights across Europe, and as war concluded the realisation of RAF Blackbushe's value to logistics was clear. The airfield became a Transport Command base prior to being handed to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation becoming an essential airport serving the London area...

Back in December, 1945, mail and newspaper flights into Europe were becoming honed to perfection. Just before midnight newspapers were collected from Camberley Station and sorted into destination loads. These were loaded into metal drums that were attached to the bomb racks of resident Mosquitos. Around 04.30 the aircraft made their first drops overseas on targets marked by gooseneck flares. The metal drums tended to split on hitting the ground and were replaced by the use of airmens kit bags! These were far more flexible when hitting the ground, were stored in the aircraft bomb bays resulting in deliveries that did not see newspapers blown away if a strong wind should blow! The kitbags were marked "Return to RAF Blackbushe by the fastest route". Most of them were!




Nowadays, flights from Blackbushe into Europe are far more comfortable, and no call to drop newspapers in metal cans or anything else!


PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
30/12/22

Another years rolls toward its close, another year where plenty of action has occurred at Blackbushe and as it prepares to switch to yet another year we can look forward to the arrival of the Blackbushe Heritage Trust's Viking and the 2023 Blackbushe Open Day, Air Day, Fly-In...on 3rd June. The excellent Pathfinder Cafe will be there to complete your visits to Blackbushe, and the brilliant Twilight Runway Challenge will be taking place where once again all may take part to raise money for local good causes..way in the future, 16 September, 2023, do watch out for details and perhaps participating too!! Working with the local community is an important part of the Airport's outlook..




A family walk yesterday in the refreshing breeze that swept across the Blackbushe area blew away the cobwebs. The disused east end of Blackbushe offers many memories of the pre 1960 era for some of us (!), nowadays it offers a great place to get some exercise while enjoying the flying activity from the adjoining operational Blackbushe. The passing of sixty plus years is evident by some of the aged looking trees that have established! Walking abeam where the main apron used to be in front of the then main car park and full length Terminal is quite haunting. Somewhere in the mix of nature's work I used to stand and stare - as many did - at the spectacle of a major airport at work. So clear are the memories of airliners and passenger being escorted to their waiting aircraft by one of the elegant hostesses, military traffic thanks to the US Navy, and the sound of big radial engines rotating into life with a splutter and cough of exhausts emitting clouds of blue grey smoke.




Days like this seem far removed from yesterday's walk on the wilder side of Blackbushe Airport, but old photos and a still functional memory help keep the days alive, the eastern end of Blackbushe Airport may not serve aviation - but it provides a great place to watch the airfield's ongoing aeronautical activity at the same time keeping the limbs stretched while the mind can travel down memory lane!!



Should you wonder why Blackbushe Airport lost its eastern end we need to go back to the early fifties. In July, 1946, the RAF departed and the airfield was handed to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. Blackbushe was destined to become a civil airport serving the London area while London Airport, Heathrow today, would serve as the main London airport. In May 1960 the MTCA closed Blackbushe and the airfield was de-requisitioned on 31 December, 1960. Gatwick would become the new second airport..

In 1951 land to the east of Vigo Lane was sold to Yateley Parish Council by the Church Commissioners. Vigo Lane was an insignificant track that ran from north to south cutting through where the new Terminal would be built, it also ran through the main apron with well over three quarters of the once vast apron now on Parish Council land.

In 1962 AVM Bennett purchased 325 acres of Blackbushe Airport all to the west of Vigo Lane. And that is where we are today. The east and smallest section of Blackbushe provides a pleasant area to walk, while the extensive western end provides the location of what is and will be a most excellent site serving the needs of General Aviation..

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
31/12/22

Bye bye 2022...

"Photo of the Day" has been on duty every day of the year with perhaps a day when service was interrupted by technical issues, almost 88,000 visits have been received since the editorial staff sat here 365 days ago. Thanks to all who share thoughts, memories, and hopes for Blackbushe by taking a look at our daily link.

2022 has seen Blackbushe grow her air traffic movements while business jet movements to points far away, such as Dubai, have increased the variety of shapes and sizes arriving on the sometimes packed apron.




A new and welcome shape on the Blackbushe apron this year was the Gulfstream GVII-G500!

Very exciting plans await the future, the past year has witnessed the ongoing status of the airfield as very positive steps continue to be taken toward the solution that will eventually witness the fully equipped General Aviation centre at Blackbushe that so many believe will be the perfect application for an airfield as well placed as this one...

The past year saw the Airport celebrate its 80th birthday back in June with a Fly-In and open day where over 80 aircraft flew in and a full-house of public visitors enjoyed the assembled exhibitors, car shows, etc under perfect blue skies.




The 80th Anniversary Open Day in June brought many classic shapes together, none moreso perhaps than these two whose lines are history and the stuff of legends!



While the Airport worked toward the answer to new hangars being built, the Blackbushe Heritage Trust was formed with the ambition of working with the Airport toward a 'heritage centre'beign established at the Airport where here unique history will be preserved for generations to come. The first project around which the Trust has been formed is the recovery of a Viking airliner from Austria. This will reflect totally on the Airport and the Vikings past. Massive steps have been taken toward raising the necessary funds to permit the costly transport operation necessary to haul the aircraft across Europe to her new Blackbushe home...


2023 promises seeing the Viking 'come home' while in June there will be another 'open day and Fly-in' similar to the day we enjoyed half a year ago..




The Trust's Viking flew from Blackbushe wearing Hunting-Clan colours, here one of her Hunting-Clan partner Vikings makes its way across the main Blackbushe apron. The US Navy hangar providing the background.



With hope in the air, a progressive year about to conclude at midnight tonight while another year of excitement and challenges awaits its launch at the same time, a truly Happy New Year is my wish to all who share the Forum's hopes of bigger and better at Blackbushe!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
01/01/23

And so it begins! Another year ahead, a year that is packed with hope and opportunity

The Blackbushe Heritage Trust Viking will be with us once the job of dismantling in Austria and the road trip to Blackbushe have been completed. Meanwhile the Volunteer evenings will continue and fund raising will have to be maintained too, the Trust will update further on their website.

Life at Blackbushe goes on at a pace, some 85 aircraft are now home based, an incredible figure for an airport that has been held back with hangar and infrastructure construction due to the complex legal processes surrounding Blackbushe's particular situation. At this point there is optimism that this year will see progress in the long campaign for a revised Blackbushe and eventual establishment of a prime General Aviation centre. In June there will be another Open Day, keep the 3rd of the month free!!

If we travel back to 1946 for a moment and focus on the New Year 1945/46 at RAF Blackbushe, operations were not helped by a thick fog on New Year's Eve. FIDO was called upon as visibility had deteriorated to 40 yards and the all-weather daily Prestwick-Blackbushe service was inbound. FIDO did the job and the Dakota arrived without incident, no doubt concentration levels on the flight deck were set to high!

It was on this day, January 1st, 1946, that the first commercial flight departed the new airport that would become known as Heathrow. The aircraft was British South American Airways Lancastrian "Starlight" and the commander of the aeroplane was none other than AVM "Pathfinder" Bennett, the man who in 1961 saved Blackbushe from extinction.

Also on this day in 1946, British European Airways, BEA, was formed as a division of the then BOAC, British Overseas Airways Corporation. BEA operated a variety of aeroplanes including that great British design, the Vickers Viking! BEA's Viking fleet were all named, names that began with the letter 'V'. One of those aeroplanes was named "Vagabond", registered G-AGRW. Well, that us the very aeroplane set to return to Blackbushe later this year where after restoration she will wear very significant colours. On one side British European Airways, on the other Eagle Airways who were the largest home based airline at Blackbushe and also the most prolific of the independent Viking operators..



A Viking of British European Airways photographed during a recent visit to the British Airways Heritage Centre at their Waterside HQ..



Seeing a Viking back at Blackbushe will truly be a case of seeing the impossible, or so it seemed back in 1960 when the Airport was closed and the last aircraft had vanished to new horizons..

2023 is going to be an interesting year for sure, "Thank you" to all who follow our daily traverse through the Blackbushe story, and what more is there to say than to wish you the very happiest and healthy New Year for 2023!!

PB

[PB]

"Photo of the Day"
02/01/23

One of the notable events of New Year nowadays is the seeming outbreak of war as at exactly midnight the silent night erupts into a celebratory cacophony as the transition from one year to the next is truly made known! Obviously copious quantities of celebratory noggins are released at the same time, but the free firework sound show at midnight is worth a listen!

Going back to New Year at RAF Hartford Bridge pyrotechnics were unfortunately a frequent sight. Take 1944 as an example. Aircraft on the approach would often be seen firing their onboard flares indicating that wounded were onboard requiring medical attention on landing. By this time emergency crews at Hartford Bridge had become expert at dealing with these emergencies, their skills being required ever more frequently as the months of war passed, they'd be quickly on the scene as the aircraft came to a halt. According to Stuart Marshall's "The Wartime Years" the base hospital was located at the bottom of Cricket Hill Lane in Yateley near the junction with the Reading Road. Looking at the online info regarding hospitals in the area this proved of interest.. yateleylocalhistory.pbworks.com/w/page/9286134/YateleyHospitals

My recall of Yateley Hospital was the hospital on Cricket Hill Lane exactly in line with the approach to Blackbushe's main runway, 26 at the time.. I was taken there by my parents to be seen by a surgeon regarding some suspected leg problems and clearly remember two things. An Avro York roaring overhead on final approach to Blackbushe with its two large main wheel tyres down and three fins as it disappeared over the rising scrub land opposite the hospital at which we had just arrived. I also clearly recall the surgeon saying they would have to break my leg in I think two places. Think I was four so his words were a surprise, but you just accept things. Turns out no surgery was required, none was done, not necessary... BUT, the recall of that York with its four Merlins, three fins, and two great big wheels made the trip worthwhile!! I could not understand hearing how some people objected to the airport called Blackbushe and the sound of aircraft passing overhead the hospital. But just like hearing fireworks at midnight as 2023 dawned no doubt they were not universally appreciated....




Memories of Merlins.. a Trans Mediterranean Airways York transits the main Blackbushe apron in 1958. My York 'encounter' described above would have been around 1950.




French Navy.




The pure magic of a Dan-Air York just a few strides away from the A30.



Back in the early fifties many York movements to/from Blackbushe would have been RAF trooping flights, but through the years Yorks at Blackbushe carried many insignia including Air Charter, BOAC, British South American Airways, Dan-Air, Eagle, Field Aviation, French Navy, Hunting-Clan, Lancashire Aircraft Corporation, Skyways, Surrey Flying Services, and Tropic Air.

Just another chapter of the wonderful Blackbushe story whose pages are sadly fading into the passage of time..

PB