Having consulted with Air-Britain, my memory is now revived. Sadly, I don't think my accident has anything to do with the initial request but it was an interesting story anyway.
The Rapide 4 (with the VP props) was G-APJW which was operated by a subsiduary of Tarmac Ltd of Wolverhampton. We met the aircraft and the captain (who was quite pompous) at Perth and he regaled us with how good the VP props were and announced that he was on his way to the strip at Gleneagles.
My boss pointed out that the strip was, in his opinion, too short for a Rapide (and he knew very well what he was talking about) and furthermore pointed out that VP props were not much of a help on landing!
News soon came back that G-APJW had tangled with a barbed-wire fence on landing. Air-Britain gives the date as 3.6.59.
The same guy borrowed Rapide G-AHPT from Don Everall (Aviation) at Wolverhampton and struck a lorry on landing on an unopened section of the M1 near St Albans on 7.7.59 whilst on a flight for Tarmac Ltd. He and one executive were killed.
Sadly, the captain's name was Ashton and, after the Gleneagles incident, he had gained the rather prophetic nickname of "Crashton".