Peter Thomas MBE RIP
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Peter Thomas MBE RIP
Many of you will never have heard of Peter Thomas. He died recently at the age of 79 and was one of the few people who realised in the 1960’s how our aviation heritage was being destroyed. Arguably he did more to save WW2 aircraft than anyone else in the UK.
I first met Peter when he formed the "Skyfame" Museum at Staverton. I don't think that he ever set out to collect aircraft but faced with the indifference of the then Air Force Board, felt that he had little option.
He started with the Sunderland flying boat but found the Air Ministry to be obstructionists rather than helpful when he located one from the French Navy. Peter's solution was simple in that he virtually bought it himself. It now resides in the RAF Museum.
He added the Anson, Oxford and Mosquito (all now with the IWM). He suggested that the Air Ministry bought a Hawker Tempest that he found, but was told that they were never "a very popular aircraft". A point that Peter had previously only heard from German troops in Normandy.
By then I had joined him in trying to save some of the aircraft that were being broken up on a daily basis but in my case, with the facilities of the RAF unofficially behind me, I had a far easier task. And one that didn’t require my own money.
I did manage to lend him a few "spare" tyres to keep his Anson flying and was able to arrange a couple of Hastings to escort his next acquisition, the last Avro York, into Staverton from Gatwick via RAF Colerne. Only recently did I learn that this purchase required him to mortgage his house.
We managed to get in touch again recently and he mentioned his illness. I was pleased to hear that his son is involved with the North Weald aircraft. It will be Peter’s lasting memorial that at least nineteen aircraft were saved until such times that the RAF and other official bodies came to their senses. If anyone deserves something tangible to commemorate their name and achievements with historic aircraft…it is Peter Thomas.
I first met Peter when he formed the "Skyfame" Museum at Staverton. I don't think that he ever set out to collect aircraft but faced with the indifference of the then Air Force Board, felt that he had little option.
He started with the Sunderland flying boat but found the Air Ministry to be obstructionists rather than helpful when he located one from the French Navy. Peter's solution was simple in that he virtually bought it himself. It now resides in the RAF Museum.
He added the Anson, Oxford and Mosquito (all now with the IWM). He suggested that the Air Ministry bought a Hawker Tempest that he found, but was told that they were never "a very popular aircraft". A point that Peter had previously only heard from German troops in Normandy.
By then I had joined him in trying to save some of the aircraft that were being broken up on a daily basis but in my case, with the facilities of the RAF unofficially behind me, I had a far easier task. And one that didn’t require my own money.
I did manage to lend him a few "spare" tyres to keep his Anson flying and was able to arrange a couple of Hastings to escort his next acquisition, the last Avro York, into Staverton from Gatwick via RAF Colerne. Only recently did I learn that this purchase required him to mortgage his house.
We managed to get in touch again recently and he mentioned his illness. I was pleased to hear that his son is involved with the North Weald aircraft. It will be Peter’s lasting memorial that at least nineteen aircraft were saved until such times that the RAF and other official bodies came to their senses. If anyone deserves something tangible to commemorate their name and achievements with historic aircraft…it is Peter Thomas.
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Peter Thomas
I fully agreee with Lou Scannon. I first met Peter at Staverton, now Gloucestershire Airport, soon after I left the RAF and started instructing there. I was lucky enough to be alowed to demonstrate the Anson for him. There was one amusing episode when Peter and I demonstrated the Anson at a display at Filton. To cut a long story short we lost our radio when downwind at the end of our flypast and then could't ger the gear down. This was operated by a crank handle that required a large number of turns, especially if you were flying it solo. Anyway, we aborted our approch and decided that we would rather do a wheels-up at base rather than in front of a large crowd. Half-way beck to Staverton Peter reaslised that he was turning the handle the wrong way. One of the biggest blows to him came when a BA pilot practising for a display in the Mosquito took Peter's wife Gwladys with him. The pilot feathered one for some practice but pressed the wrong feathering button to re-start and feathered the good engine. Fortunately they were within giiding distance, such as there was with a Mossie and they did a wheels-up at Staverton, hitting a hay-stack just outside the airfield, fortunately without injury. It had almost new engines, havingbeen used for 633 Squadron and Mosquito Squadron. I have happy memories of Peter.and his family.
