DC-3 at Pendeford in 50s
I thought I would show my latest painting It isacrylic on canvas, around 30" x 20" and depicts
a Douglas DC-3 flown by Don Everall Airways taking off from Pendeford Airport.
I grew up near Pendeford Airfield on the outskirts of Wolverehampton. Boulton Paul used
this place as their own airfield and every Defiant and Balliol would have taken off from here.
During the fifties and sixties Don Everall operated his small airline from Pendeford and
I depict one of their DC-3s taking off toward the end of the fifties. This plane was actually
written off in 1960 when it crashed on take off from Elmdon, Birmingham.
Don Everall were a big travel company in the fifties, sixties and seventies with over 50 travel
agencies, a huge coach fleet and numerous holiday parks around the country. Their small
airline consisted of a couple of DC-3s and some Dragon Rapides.
As far as the picture is concerned, there was a lot of research I had to undertake to
reconsturct the buildings. A lot of photos exist depicting various bits of the site but it was
quite tricky reconstructing the view in the painting. One of the tools I used was to take many
stills from the movie "The Man in the Sky" starring Jack Hawkins.
Sadly the airfield closed in 1974 and now suburban housing sits on the ghosts of it's airstrips.
Happily the picture will be staying with the family as Don Everall's great nephew Guy Everall,
who still works in aviation, has agreed to buy the original painting.
Thanks for looking