Vikings to West Africa
The once a week BUA/B.Cal One-Eleven route was one of the last "nightstopping" routes from the UK. Left London on Tuesday to Lisbon and Las Palmas, stopped the night there, continued on Wednesday to Bathurst, Freetown and Accra. Returned the same way on Thursday and Friday. Obviously handled by a single crew throughout. It changed over from a Viscount in February 1965.
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I have a picture of a BUA VC 10 and 1-11 both together on the apron at Freetown in the mid 1960s taken by my father when he worked there. I used it as a picture over on the "Which Aerodrome" thread
G - AGRW
Duns-Scotus - there is a lovely photograph of RW in Hunting Clan livery landing at Bovingdon (Hunting's London base) in the early fifties on Page 27 of Halford-MacLEOD's Britain's Airlines 1951-64.
I knew RW in its final flying days with Autair. Based in Berlin it carried flowers to that city each weekday from Amsterdam. I once got a ride on a Viking airtest but I can't remember whether it was RW or G-AHPB - exciting stuff stooging around East Anglia on one engine.
RW's final flight was from Luton to Soesterburg (Holland) where together with PB it went into the catering business. RW still survives today, nicely restored and displayed outside a MacDonalds Restaraunt at Schwechat Austria. How the mighty are fallen, but better than being reduced to scrap.
Google in Viking G-AGRW for several interesting websites including EBay!
I knew RW in its final flying days with Autair. Based in Berlin it carried flowers to that city each weekday from Amsterdam. I once got a ride on a Viking airtest but I can't remember whether it was RW or G-AHPB - exciting stuff stooging around East Anglia on one engine.
RW's final flight was from Luton to Soesterburg (Holland) where together with PB it went into the catering business. RW still survives today, nicely restored and displayed outside a MacDonalds Restaraunt at Schwechat Austria. How the mighty are fallen, but better than being reduced to scrap.
Google in Viking G-AGRW for several interesting websites including EBay!
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Argonauts, Vikings, Stratocruisers and William Boyd etc at Accra
In 1955 my father and mother whisked my sister (6months) and myself (3yrs) off to the Gold Coast where my father had been appointed as a technician in the physics department of Legon University. This meant air travel and that has left a huge impression on me ever since.
We lived in a university bungalow in Achimota and I went to a nursery run by Miss Pittam who still wore a pith helmet. After I graduated I went to the Achimota Infant School with William Boyd as one of my classmates. His dad Sandy was the university doctor and once lanced a nasty abcess behind my ear. William published a "Protobiography" in 2005 one of the chapters of which was devoted to his Gold Coast childhood. When I read it I realised that for 3 years or so we lived virtually the same lifestyle. I wrote to him via his publisher Penguin and sent a photo of us sitting outside our bungalow at my fourth birthday party. He replied with a very kind letter. His father, who featured in his "A good man in Africa", died relatively young in Nigeria from a fever but his mother was still alive and well.
One of the most evocative parts of his "Protobiography" was his description of travelling to and from the UK and the aircraft on which we flew. On Sundays a regular haunt was the Lisbon Hotel next to Accra Airport where I would drink Coca Cola and watch the aircraft come and go. My father is an inveterate airspotter so there were two of us putting pressure on to go there. There were the regular BOAC Argonauts and Stratocruisers and, possibly Hunting Clan Vikings with their red tail planes although my father doesnt recall them. I also seem to remember Avro Yorks but this may not be so. There were DeHavilland Herons and we used to wait in our garden during the short tropical evenings for the "6 o'clock Heron" to fly over on its way to Nswam. Now and again there were Constellations and military aircraft like a Lockheed Neptune and a Vickers Valiant. Every week I would go to the BOAC desk in the terminal to collect a timetable - not something which could be done today.
When annual leave came we actually went onto a plane!! To start with they were Argonauts flying via Kano, Tripoli, Rome to London. Later they were Stratocruisers with a downstairs bar where I was taught by a steward to throw peanuts up and then catch them in my mouth. The long trans Sahara leg was at low altitude so you could see dunes and abandoned outposts. Occasionally there was severe turbulence and I have a vague memory of a stewardess nearer the ceiling than the floor next to my seat. My father stays she spilt champagne in his lap as she levitated. The aircraft were usually reliable but on one occasion engine problems necessitated a return to Accra after jettisoning fuel and an oil leak once required an engine to be feathered. Even when we were on leave we would visit London Airport to stand on the roof of the Queen's Building for hours spotting aircraft. My father, now 85 with failing eyesight, lives near Brize Norton and he can still identify all the aircraft using it just by their sound. Once it gets you it never lets go!!
We lived in a university bungalow in Achimota and I went to a nursery run by Miss Pittam who still wore a pith helmet. After I graduated I went to the Achimota Infant School with William Boyd as one of my classmates. His dad Sandy was the university doctor and once lanced a nasty abcess behind my ear. William published a "Protobiography" in 2005 one of the chapters of which was devoted to his Gold Coast childhood. When I read it I realised that for 3 years or so we lived virtually the same lifestyle. I wrote to him via his publisher Penguin and sent a photo of us sitting outside our bungalow at my fourth birthday party. He replied with a very kind letter. His father, who featured in his "A good man in Africa", died relatively young in Nigeria from a fever but his mother was still alive and well.
One of the most evocative parts of his "Protobiography" was his description of travelling to and from the UK and the aircraft on which we flew. On Sundays a regular haunt was the Lisbon Hotel next to Accra Airport where I would drink Coca Cola and watch the aircraft come and go. My father is an inveterate airspotter so there were two of us putting pressure on to go there. There were the regular BOAC Argonauts and Stratocruisers and, possibly Hunting Clan Vikings with their red tail planes although my father doesnt recall them. I also seem to remember Avro Yorks but this may not be so. There were DeHavilland Herons and we used to wait in our garden during the short tropical evenings for the "6 o'clock Heron" to fly over on its way to Nswam. Now and again there were Constellations and military aircraft like a Lockheed Neptune and a Vickers Valiant. Every week I would go to the BOAC desk in the terminal to collect a timetable - not something which could be done today.
When annual leave came we actually went onto a plane!! To start with they were Argonauts flying via Kano, Tripoli, Rome to London. Later they were Stratocruisers with a downstairs bar where I was taught by a steward to throw peanuts up and then catch them in my mouth. The long trans Sahara leg was at low altitude so you could see dunes and abandoned outposts. Occasionally there was severe turbulence and I have a vague memory of a stewardess nearer the ceiling than the floor next to my seat. My father stays she spilt champagne in his lap as she levitated. The aircraft were usually reliable but on one occasion engine problems necessitated a return to Accra after jettisoning fuel and an oil leak once required an engine to be feathered. Even when we were on leave we would visit London Airport to stand on the roof of the Queen's Building for hours spotting aircraft. My father, now 85 with failing eyesight, lives near Brize Norton and he can still identify all the aircraft using it just by their sound. Once it gets you it never lets go!!
Last edited by Frogmore; 23rd Aug 2010 at 14:50. Reason: Additional information
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Argonauts, Vikings, Stratocruisers and William Boyd etc at Accra - some pics
My dad has just sent me a couple of photos taken at Accra in 1957.
The little guy in the foreground is me !!
The little guy in the foreground is me !!
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Another Gold Coaster
I was just being anorakish - if that's a word - when I came upon this thread on Google regarding Vikings to West Africa. Too many memories came back so, sorry, but I just had to add my two-penneth.
In about 1954 I flew with my mother to Accra on a Hunting Clan Viking. It took about two days and the stop-over was Tangiers. Can't remember there being any other stop-over, but it was a journey of lots of little hops round the west coast of Africa. At times the turbulence was such that I can still hear the immense rustling of sick-bags! - Sorry if you're reading this while having breakfast or similar.
Other memories:
Well, I too would visit Accra airport to watch the planes come and go while drinking coke or fanta over the road at the Lisbon Hotel, behind the car park, where only a white picket fence kept onlookers from the tarmac.
Favourite was the Air Liban DC 7C; I think I just liked the 'Christmas tree' on the tail.
And yes, I too went to Achimota school, probably from about '54 to '57 when I returned to the UK to boarding school. I would have been approx. two years older than William Boyd, although we sometimes shared lifts together as I lived at Mile Seven on the Accra-Aburi road and William might have lived at Legon at that time, again memory fails me. Sandy was also our doc. and of course played golf with my dad. I think they won a pairs cup together at some point. Although whether at the Accra course or Achimota I can't remember.
Also a frequent flyer on the 'lollipop specials' first with Argonauts and then Strats. and Britannias finishing with 707s. Didn't fly VC10s until being posted to Kuwait with my job in 1979, probably one of the last scheduled flights. In the early days they would route across Europe via Rome or Frankfurt to Tripoli and then Kano, sometimes Lagos, and then Accra.
Does anyone remember the old Arab with the camels at Kano airport who would periodically blow a huge horn?
I was last in Ghana in Jan. '67 for the Xmas holidays and my father eventually left in '69. He worked for a construction company, George Watson and Co. and was involved in building many parts of the university at Legon and other projects. Like a lot of the men the golf club was the cornerstone of the community, and the clubhouse was humming every evening until the men were persuaded home by the wives and families. Lots of Star and Club beer involved of course!
Lots of happy memories and good to know there's still a few young 'Gold Coasters' kicking around out there. And all this because of a few old plane nuts too!
In about 1954 I flew with my mother to Accra on a Hunting Clan Viking. It took about two days and the stop-over was Tangiers. Can't remember there being any other stop-over, but it was a journey of lots of little hops round the west coast of Africa. At times the turbulence was such that I can still hear the immense rustling of sick-bags! - Sorry if you're reading this while having breakfast or similar.
Other memories:
Well, I too would visit Accra airport to watch the planes come and go while drinking coke or fanta over the road at the Lisbon Hotel, behind the car park, where only a white picket fence kept onlookers from the tarmac.
Favourite was the Air Liban DC 7C; I think I just liked the 'Christmas tree' on the tail.
And yes, I too went to Achimota school, probably from about '54 to '57 when I returned to the UK to boarding school. I would have been approx. two years older than William Boyd, although we sometimes shared lifts together as I lived at Mile Seven on the Accra-Aburi road and William might have lived at Legon at that time, again memory fails me. Sandy was also our doc. and of course played golf with my dad. I think they won a pairs cup together at some point. Although whether at the Accra course or Achimota I can't remember.
Also a frequent flyer on the 'lollipop specials' first with Argonauts and then Strats. and Britannias finishing with 707s. Didn't fly VC10s until being posted to Kuwait with my job in 1979, probably one of the last scheduled flights. In the early days they would route across Europe via Rome or Frankfurt to Tripoli and then Kano, sometimes Lagos, and then Accra.
Does anyone remember the old Arab with the camels at Kano airport who would periodically blow a huge horn?
I was last in Ghana in Jan. '67 for the Xmas holidays and my father eventually left in '69. He worked for a construction company, George Watson and Co. and was involved in building many parts of the university at Legon and other projects. Like a lot of the men the golf club was the cornerstone of the community, and the clubhouse was humming every evening until the men were persuaded home by the wives and families. Lots of Star and Club beer involved of course!
Lots of happy memories and good to know there's still a few young 'Gold Coasters' kicking around out there. And all this because of a few old plane nuts too!
PHJ, welcome to PPRuNe. Sorry to be one of those "old plane nuts" 
, but a few comments and updates, which is sort of what we do here.
Here's the timetable for the route by Viking, in 1957; three very full days to get to Accra, overnighting at Tangier and Bathurst. Do you remember those hotels shown ?
http://www.timetableimages.com/ttima...7/hcaw57-2.jpg
Air Liban never had DC-7Cs, lucky them; they did have DC6s (so they were spared the DC7s tempramental engines); here's their West African timetable from 1961, for example, showing they operated a circular route from Beirut through Casablanca and right round to Lagos, then back direct, passing through Accra anticlockwise on Friday evening and clockwise on Sunday morning.
http://www.timetableimages.com/ttima...n61/ln61-3.jpg
, but a few comments and updates, which is sort of what we do here.
In about 1954 I flew with my mother to Accra on a Hunting Clan Viking. It took about two days and the stop-over was Tangiers. Can't remember there being any other stop-over, but it was a journey of lots of little hops round the west coast of Africa.
http://www.timetableimages.com/ttima...7/hcaw57-2.jpg
Favourite was the Air Liban DC 7C; I think I just liked the 'Christmas tree' on the tail.
http://www.timetableimages.com/ttima...n61/ln61-3.jpg
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Thanks WHBM, that clears up a few cloudy bits.
I remember Tangiers very well but not Bathurst. We were flying with a friend of my mother and her daughter who was a youngster like me. My mother had gone along the corridor to her friend's room to check if they were ready for dinner. As she'd been gone a long time I decided to venture down the corridor and hurry them all up. Along the corridor came a group of arab women in full regalia, niqabs and all. I took fright, chased along the corridor, hammered on their door and rushed in, tripping on the carpet and cutting my lip badly on the bed. All I could mumble between sobs was that there were 'bandits' coming along the hall.
As for the DC 6, well it's a long time ago and I shall allow myself one slip-up.
I remember Tangiers very well but not Bathurst. We were flying with a friend of my mother and her daughter who was a youngster like me. My mother had gone along the corridor to her friend's room to check if they were ready for dinner. As she'd been gone a long time I decided to venture down the corridor and hurry them all up. Along the corridor came a group of arab women in full regalia, niqabs and all. I took fright, chased along the corridor, hammered on their door and rushed in, tripping on the carpet and cutting my lip badly on the bed. All I could mumble between sobs was that there were 'bandits' coming along the hall.
As for the DC 6, well it's a long time ago and I shall allow myself one slip-up.
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Goa in 1952
Some time since the posts about Vikings from Blackbush to Kano in West Africa but I just read my mothers letter written after flying on an Airwork Viking named " Empire Trader" to Kano in 1952 . I traveled with her and can remember landing twice in the desert to refuel. The letter says the first stop was a Foreign Legion stip and the second was Goa. I recall the sand , the 2WW steel surface which formed all the hard standing - airstrip and pathways - made for a rough landing . Hot as hell, shade in a "huge hangar" , no seating but cold drinks. Mum recalls an "RAF Bomber" as the only thing in sight. I wonder if there were contingency plans!
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Norwich - How I envy you with that painting. it was painted by Arthur Whitlock who was a BKS pilot and an excellent artist. He went on to write his autobiography called "Behind the Cockpit Door" an excellent read if you can obtain a copy all the illustrations are line drawings. Great read!!!
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Carrycot flight
My father was Chief Pilot and Training Captain with Airwork - The route in his log book was - Blackbushe - Bovingdon -Bordeaux - Gib - Oran - Adulef - GAO - Kaduna - Lagos -Accra. There was another route - Blackbushe - Nice - Luqa - El Adem - Wadi Halfa - Seidna - Khartoum - Geneina - Kano. Don't know if that rings a bell.
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Vikings to Nigeria
As a child in the very early 1950s I travelled to Lagos Nigeria from Southern England and back more than once . I remember CruiseAir and Hunting Clan , we travelled in Vikings , Yorks and finally a Hermes . I remember Blackbushe and Stansted in England , at Stansted the last time I was working there 20 years ago the green Nissan hut was still there on the airfield , this was our departure terminal . I remember Gib and Kano but there must have been other staging posts that I don't recall can anybody help .
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West African flights
In the early to mid fifties as another child of what was then the British Empire, the highlight of the year was the annual flight, as an unaccompanied minor, from London Blackbush/Northalt to Bathurst on the Hunting Clan/Airwork Viking via Biarritz, Lisbon, Tangier, Agidir, Villa Ciceneros and Dakar. There was an overnight in Tangier at the Hotel Miramar which I remember was just across the road from the beach. I was really well looked after by the aircrew and fondly remember as a twelve year old, being taken around the Kasbah in Tangier by a very attractive Rhodesian hostie I also remember that BOAC used to run holiday Argonaut “specials” to Nigeria and Kenya to transport the summer holiday kids to their parents. Another way of getting to West Africa and Bathurst In particular was to take the the first leg of the South American trip flown in those days by KLM, PANAM or BOAC from London to Dakar ( which was the final refueling stop before the South Atlantic hop). From Dakar we would catch the WAAC Bristol Wayfarer shuttle which did the Bathurst, Freetown and Lagos run. The memorable part of that flight was that the aircraft was so noisy that the crew issued cotton wool to the passengers to stuff in our ears!
Last edited by Passinja; 19th Jul 2018 at 06:47. Reason: missing info
