Egg Packing Anson
 

When I was a kid, about '52 or '53 I guess, an Anson taking off from Northolt had double engine failure, and landed on the roof of an egg-packing station in South Ruislip. I persuaded my dad to take me down and I took a photo with a box Brownie. Over the years I have lost the photo. Anyone else remember the incident or, even better, have a photo

Wander00

Add 7 years or so.

This was Anson T.21, VV298 on 1st June 1960.

Regards
Ross

remember this...pretty sure it landed on a dairy, but pictures were in national press and would be in local as well...suggest newspaper library-believe it is in Colindale/Hendon.This is not a yoke.

Egg Packing Anson
 

Thanks Ross and Robmack

Revised date figures (many thanks), as I now recall we had just acquired a (b&w) TV and that is how I knew the Annie was on the roof. I'll try the Harrow Observer.

Funny, another Annie, TX219 I think, was the first aircraft in which I ever flew, as a 13 year old CCF cadet.

Wander00

Egg Packing Anson
 

Attached is a photo of the incident to which you refer. The Anson belonged to the Met Comm Sqn and I always had it recorded as a dairy rather than an egg packing plant but anyway it was somewhere in Ruislip and occurred shortly after take off from RAF Northolt..

http://i28.tinypic.com/2eoboki.jpg

I lifted thjis image from the internet many years ago and sadly I did not record the owner or photographer. I hope I am not infringing copyright!!!!!


QP

Egg Packing Anson
 

Wow - thanks for that - drew a blank with local papers. Any one got pics of the Anson being lifted off the roof?

Wander00

Croydon closed to flying 9/59, but before moving to RAE the AAIB remained there awhile, next to Rollason's, and VV298 was (one of) its last cadavers.

From the photograph, the Annie looks in pretty good shape, considering the damage it had done to the structure of the building!

If it was lifted down by crane, is it even possible that it was repaired rather than struck off charge, and flew again? (Despite the "cadavers" comment above)

As reported in the press at the time.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/Image2-6.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/Image1-8.jpg

Egg or Dairy Anson
 

Warmtoast,
Thanks for providing the newspaper cutting. It answers the question about whether it was an egg packing station or a dairy, rather well I think.
Also I can assure the forum that the Anson was considered Cat 5 and never flew again.

QP

A separate press cutting reports it was the Express Dairy's Main Warehouse

I think the quote

is a jewel of a comment.

"The Sun" has been around longer than I had realised, or maybe the qualifications required for egg-packing aren't that stringent...

:rolleyes:

Anson VV298
 

Anson VV298 was actually from the Bomber Command Communications Squadron base at RAF Booker (between Marlow and High Wycombe). The aircraft was piloted by Flying Officer Bert Gray and was en-route to Marham to film the arrival of a Valiant which had flown non-stop from ( I think) Butterworth. I know this as I was a Nav. on that Sqd. at the time of the accident, and in fact flew to Marham in lieu of Bert and his Nav. where Flt.Lt. Sullivan and I picked up the orchids destined for the Malaysian HC's wife. As I recall, the flowers were shown on the evening news, which was a bit of a let down considering that the object of the exercise was to film the Valiant's triumphant arrival! That was somewhat upstaged by Bert's untimely arrival at the Dairy!

Confirmation
 

My late dad was the wrongly named D Taylor. He hitched a lift back to Northolt in the ambulance for a spare camera and filmed it for the news. We still have some glossies and when I visit Mum at Christmas I will scan them and post. He always said no one was seriously hurt, though he did take up with the RAF the emergency door would not open!

Thanks for all the info that has appeared on this thread. Could not believe it would run so long!

This thread reminded me of this classic double Anson landing:

Anson
 

My father was flying the plane. Anyone got photos?

Memories
 

Bert Gray was my father and my mum told me that after it happened the local primary school children wrote about it and gave him the stories. Sadly they have long gone together with all the photographs he had. Would love to hear from anyone who knew him.

Thanks for rekindling a distant memory