Latter days of Saunders Roe

[Genghis the Engineer]

If anybody's interested, and sorry for the late notice, there's a free lecture tomorrow evening (Thursday 14 October) hosted by Chilbolton Flying Club.

The title is "The latter days of Saunders Roe", and it's presented by Dick Stratton, who is fairly well known for his appearances on Discovery Wings, as well as having been (amongst other notorieties) Flight Test Engineer on the development of the Saunders Roe Princess, and later Chief Technical Officer at the British Gliding Association.

Time is 1930 for 2000 local time, venue is the White Lion pub, in the middle of Wherwell, a village about 5 minutes drive from the A34/A303 junction in Hampshire (or about 5 miles from EGHP if you prefer to navigate by airfields).

G

[ChrisVJ]

Genhis

Can't be the same Dick Stratton, surely?

When I were a sprogget training at Oxford I was given a ride in a Comanche by Dick Stratton who was getting some instruments from Boscombe Down. He had flown with my dad (Mike Graves) during the war and picked me out from a bunch of us for the ride.

Nicest chap imagineable.

If you meet him please be kind enough to present my compliments and ask for an address.

Thanks ChrisVJ

[Genghis the Engineer]

Hell of a lecture accompanied by some amazing slides, you missed something there. Dick was a flight engineer on Sunderlands, then No.1 flight (test) engineer on the Saunders Roe Princess, ran flight testing of the Saunders Roe rocket fighter, and went on to be head of helicopter development. He proudly proclaimed himself to be 81½, and had spent a great deal of time at Boscombe Down - so probably the same fellow that you knew.

I've got his address, will PM it to you next week (temporarily displaced from address book).

G