I had been an ATC cadet for about a year when they started filming 633 Squadron. Along with a mate, Mike Cobb, we went to Bovingdon one sunny day in the school summer hols, and were rewarded with being able to get really close behind the camera for the filming of two scenes of dialogue involving Donald Houston and Cliff Robertson. We were also able to closely examine the Mossy which was to do the crash landing scene; even from a few feet away those bullet holes looked genuine rather than just pieces of painted plywood stuck on the fuselage.
There was a total of 12 Mossies at Bovingdon but only 4 or 5 were in flying condition; one other was just a fuselage used for cockpit scenes.

[QUOTE][WILLHUNG Slight thread creep. I married a delightful girl from Chesham Bois. Her mother worked in the Post Office there./QUOTE]

Would that have been the old post-office opposite what is now the best Butchers in Bucks ? Try their Bangers !

Oh for the days of a local PO. When I need to, I now queue up up for 20 mins at the main one in town. That's progress I guess !!!!

(Gives me an excuse to resurrect an excellent thread)

Trouble is Will, people on here but not from the Chesham/Amersham area NEVER pronounce 'Chesham Bois' properly!!

Yes, Will Hung, you are correct.Drove past Bovingdon the other day [stayed at the 'Bobsleigh']. Brought back many memories of interesting aircraft, and Bovingdon was instrumental in my passion for aircraft that continues to this day.

Will, My wife lived above the Butchers shop before I married her!! Her name was Teresa Zastempowski just in case you knew her or her Mum.

Well it's not the sort of name one would forget, that's for sure !

Sorry, Jem, I'm from Croxley originally, so wouldn't have known your wifes' family.

Will Hung - Did you see the query (here) as to whether Bovingdon was the location for the opening sequence of The Prisoner?

RAF Bovingdon
 

Hi Mellywell

I've just, belatedly, picked up your message posted in Jan. 2008 regarding pics. in Aircraft Illustrated.
I used to go flying from Bov. very often in the mid-50s whent I was in the 23f Bushey and Oxhey Sqdn of the ATC. There were a number of us kids, all aged about 14yrs, who used to cycle out from Watford at every opportunity.
I am particularly interested in the pic.of the SM102 which I remember very well. It had wicker seats in it with oxygen masks hanging above.
I remember also that we used to climb inside this aicraft to eat our packed lunches in the flight deck. It was only after some time that we learned that the airplane belonged to "the Italian Embassy".
I often think to myself if the crew ever wondered where all the egg shells were coming from!
I have a number of photographs that I took at the time. If you would like copies I could email them to you.

RAF Bovingdon
 

I once worked with an engineer who was ex Bovingdon and worked on Yorks
He came from Hemel Hemstead , and if my memory serves me right was called Bill . He joined Euravia, then Britannia as the flight line boss, !960's onwards .
One of the memories he recalled was when the Americans left Bovingdon, they dug a large hole and filled it with loads of redundant tools, alot, brand new snap-on etc and they had strict orders not to touch them . They must have cried in their beer.

Ah, the hole-in-the-ground story again. Has anyone actually ever found one of these fabled dumps on any former US airfield? I'd read that one at Stansted had been raided, but the diggers swore to keep mum about what they'd found. :ooh:

Just read a nice story about how US servicemen from Bovingdon turned out in force to help at the site of a nasty train crash at nearby Bourne End in September 1945.

Apparently, a USAAF pilot spotted the incident just after t/o and alerted the tower.

yes we were given tools ect and snap-on tool chests by the Americans before just befor they went in the "hole " and if you look with a mine detector in the area by the cross roads you may find it but it was very deep , I still have a 2 stacker chest and a few tools after all these years

If you go to British Pathe ( note the incorrect spelling of Bovingdon) there is an interesting newsreel clip on the Aldbury air disaster in Hertfordshire. This aircraft in question had just departed Bovingdon when it crashed killing 16 passengers and crew.

LTNman: Thanks for the link. What a tragic story for the Service. I wonder if there's a memorial at Aldbury.

Bovingdon
 

AvionicType
Ah, so the Bovingdon Hole story was true and not a joke . thanks for the proof.
An ex Bovingdon person in the York days, I worked with at Brits had a nickname "Jeb"

yes merve also not in the hole but scrapped were 3or 4 tractor tugs, 2 fork lifts,and other ground equipment, and last but by no means least a complete Dak minus its engines which was destroyed by bulldozing over and crushing it, all motorised stuff was drained of oil and the engines raced at full throttle till they siezed solid That bought tears to the eyes as they were practicly brand new .
we lived on number 2 site in Shantock Hall Lane where I believe people were still waiting for housing in the middle 50s, we left in 1947/8for L.H.R.:{:{:{

WRT 'holes in the ground'; at the risk of thread creep:
My 2 i/c at Marlow ATC was an erk in the late 50's early 60's. He was posted to North Coates to re-open the station when it was selected as a Bloodhound site. An SNCO took him and others to a locked Robin hangar to see what was in it; on cutting off the padlock, they found it was stacked full of Beaufighter toolkits*. As they were not in the inventory and thus would need to be 'explained', the SNCO told the erks to dig a hole and bury them!

*I was told 'toolkits' but did toolkits for specific types exist? Could he have meant spareskits?

I went to Bovingdon with my old boy in the 70s and there were half a dozen or so Mitchells on the taxi-way. I believe they were part of the film Hannover Street and I remember having a good look around them (inside and out). I've just found this picture on the internet and the memories of a very excited 10-ish year old boy have come flooding back!

http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~pep1...eet/b25-10.jpg

Merv,

Jeb was the hanger foreman for Skyways in my days there as an apprentice on the last York and all of the Hermes.

Speedbird 48.

Bovingdon
 

Speedbird 48
Yes that is the same Jeb and also another ex Bov /Skyways was Bill Atkins
Jeb went on a P and W JT8D course with me to Hartford Conn, prior to the first arrival of Brits 737's

Yes it was Hannover Street; never seen it myself but the B25s were the subject of a documentary (B25 Mitchells do fly in IMC) and they ended up at Blackbushe amongst Doug Arnold's collection - whether he actually bought them I don't know but I do know he already had problems with customs for importing some T28s as they were classed as 'munitions of war'.
They're actually parked on an apron, it was much wider before that bulldozer got to work on it!(Photo taken from the old Control Tower.)

Thanks for the reminder - still got it on tape, must transfer it..:D

Flew...
 

...over the other day and there seems to be some clearing work going on around the old control tower. All the old shrubbery has been removed and you can now see the tower quite clearly.

Anybody any idea what (if anything) is going on?

RAF Bovingdon
 

Very nice to see that aircraft. TX195 was the first Anson that I flew as a Navigator on the Coastal Command Comms Flight on 25 April 1962. Others flown were; 858, 859, 981 and 987. Correct me if I am wrong but I make that 5 Ansons not 4. Maybe that last one was added after you left? I flew it on 23 May 1965. I left the Comms Flight on 19 June 1965 to go and fly Valiants. Agreed there was a VIP Valetta as well.

Nav Rad, your first trip was with me! My logbook shows: April 25th 1962, Anson 195, Bovingdon-St Mawgan-Bovingdon - 1.30 Day each way. I left CCCF for Argosies in Sept 1962. My last Anson flight was to Leuchars- Stornoway-Prestwick-Bovingdon on Sept 19/20 in 815, a Fighter Comm Sqn Anson. P/O Piper, the Nav, was filling in time on FCS, so I must have helping them out. While I was on CCCF the fleet consisted of 3 Anson 19's, 195,858,859 and a Mk21, 981. Our Valletta was 504. I do regret not entering full serial numbers in my log book.

Was the VIP Valetta red and blue?? I was spectating at the Chesham end one day, and it damn near seemed to take the fence down on take off. I seem to remember that Sir Anthony Eden was on board, going to a conference somewhere, or my memory may just have faded.

I don't remember any red on 504, I think it had a plain blue stripe along the side. However, there was a lot of dark red mahogany in the passenger cabin!

I Remember
 

My introduction to aeroplanes came in the early 1950s when as an infant I was taken to play on the hulks of the old civil Halifaxes that were dumped on a dispersal just off the lane to Whelpley Hill. Several years later we moved to Ashley Green, a couple of miles from the airfield. I remember lying in bed in the mornings listening to the lovely sound of a fleet of C47s being warmed up across the valley before the day's flying.
School holidays were mostly spent perched atop the remains of the fenced hedge at the Chesham Road end of the runway. My pal David was usually with me - his dad had been a skipper at Bovingdon on Halifaxes and Yorks with LAC. We were always full of anticipation when the traffic lights turned red, we munched on our baked bean sandwiches and wondered what would turn up next. It could be very busy. I recall Globemasters (always a thrill), C54s ,C130s, once a B50, Packets, Providers ,Noratlas, Samaritans, Hastings, Shacks, Neptunes, Devons, Herons, Pembrokes, Varsitys, Valettas, Meteors, Vampires including one that overshot and ended up astride the Chesham Road, T33 and the Fouga Magister.
One foggy morning, much to our glee, a Shackleton landed short in the field before the runway. It roared snorting like an enraged bull over the Chesham Road and swept the fence away with its tailwheel up the runway.
What else do I remember? The squeaks of taxying C47s, the Pilots waving to us, the squeals of tyres on landing and the smell of newly mown grass blown on warm slipstreams. The song of Skylarks and the gargle of an Anson climbing up into the clear blue sky.

OUAQetc.,
Goodness me, you made it sound like yesterday, all those lovely memories. Did the same thing as you, cycling from near Aylesbury to stay on the same bit of road. Meteor T.7 landed long, swerved off the runway, slid across the skyline in a big cloud of dust, and a collapsed port main u'c. C.47s by the ton, and yes, I even remember a B45.Tornado. I saw it shortly after it had taken off, and was heading west as I was between Wendover and Great Missenden on my push bike.!! Only time I ever saw one flying. No point in me posting same types as you. The sun always seemed to be shining on silver aeroplanes in those days. Happy times, started my lifelong interest. Cheers, John.

How much more exciting the 1950s were to those of us in short pants at the time. So many different aeroplanes to be seen, both civil and military, dozens of RAF bases scattered around the UK - and steam trains belting along the main lines in defiant mechanical fury. There were still the quiet little branch line services as well....the sun always shone in summer and it always snowed in winter.

There was no health and safety nonsense, you accepted risk and acted sensibly.

And your father would still be able to find a long enough empty road where he could try to max the family Zephyr up to 100 mph.

I despair at the ruination nuLabor has brought to the UK....:mad:

... and as an air cadet in 1968, travelling alone from Watford to Bovingdon for a day's gliding.

Great days. Cr*p weather as I recall, but great days.:ok:

brakedwell

You will see from my private message to you the odd story I've included. I note that you feature a number of times in my logbook. Great days!

Nav Rad

Oh, me too! First stop was always the "customs pan" to see what exotic visitors there might be. It was always worth going "round the back" to walk along the footpath behind the USAF hangar, bound to be a nice C-47 of some sort to point the camera at.

Yes, the spot by the traffic lights was best; any long term visitors would taxi right past you anyway to park on the opposite side of the airfield from the hangars.

Anyone else remember the South African Air Force Shackletons?

I never did find the Swift on the fire dump though.

Halifax at Bovingdon
 

This is a long shot but somebody may have been there. April 10th 1951. LAC Halifax G-AGZP takes off at 07:17 (a bit early for casual watchers). Shortly after take off and loses (literally) number one engine. Shortly after that it loses number two through oil starvation caused by the loss of number one. Lands back at Bovingdon 07:42. What I would like to know is where did the number one engine land. I have heard accounts (a) that it landed in a Farm called 'Deadmans Farm' and (b) it landed near the place where he was killed (in G-ALDV) in 1958. Anyone have any recollections of the Halifax.

Oh Thank you OUAQUKGF Ops - I remember those times well !

brakedwell; two of the Ansons were PH858 and '859; if I could find my 3822 I could possibly give more on the others. The Valletta as far as I recall was 'standard' white top/natural metal undersides with broad blue cheatline. If Honey Monster sees this post he would be able to enlarge as he scrounged more than I did.
There was a pilot (Flt Lt Colbourne?) with a badly burned face. His takeoff technique in the Ansons was full throttle down the runway, tail up, then retract the undercarriage without rotating!

I only recorded the number part of the serial numbers in my log book. The other two CCCF Ansons I flew when stationed at Bovingdon was a Mk19 TX195 and a Mk21 ** 981. The Valletta serial number was **504.

Dickie Colbourne was badly burnt in a Mosquito accident when both engines stopped due to fuel starvation after a night take-off. He was awarded the George Medal for rescuing his navigator from the burning wreckage. I flew with Dickie a couple of time and remember him being an over cautious pilot. which doesn't tie up with your description of his take off technique.

This must have been a 'one off' then. The intercom conversation went something like 'ah well we should be airborne by now, undercarriage up'.

Anyone remember the 'At Home Day' at Bovingdon in 1966? Or was it 1967? IIRC, there was an impressive fire-fighting demonstration.

Bovingdon Memories
 

In those wonderful ATC years managed to scrounge a flight to Bovingdon in a Devon from Northolt.
The idea was then you "scrounged" another flight to somewhere else and eventually made it back to where you started from even if it meant a night stop and a meal ticket (1 shilling)
However our plans all went to pot when we landed to find camo netting over the control tower and the remains of a Mosquito still lying on the grass.
It was just after "633 Squadron" with lines of Ansons a couple of Pembrokes and some american "prop" jobs.
In fact Bov was just like Kenley (a time warp) but Bov still had its aircraft.
We missed our return to Northolt due to wandering into the hangar to find "two more" complete Mosquito's with the cockpit doors down and steps in place.
A couple of hours and several missions later we wandered back to the tower to be told that another aircraft was going to Northolt if we wanted a lift back.
Many years later whilst working in the area for a day i went back to find the builders busy building a prison.
The control tower was still nearly intact at that stage so i stood on its balcony (of "you cant kill a squdron" fame) to look across where the ghost of the mossie lay.
BOV still survives though in the odd "Avengers" repeats.
Would have thought the control tower would have made a good ATC HQ for a local squadron (no vision in England)

Didn't Bovingdon GCA have a weird VHF frequency? 140.58 springs to my aged mind.. London Approach used to do the first bit, just like Northolt inbounds off airways then hand off to GCA.

Old Photo
 

Hello Ray - do you remember that old photo that you had of your dad's Halifax after it lost its donk? I think you showed it to me about forty years ago. Any chance you can scan it and post it on this thread? (Don't ask me how!). Cheers Tom.