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-   -   Grave of Schneider Trophy Winner Henry Waghorn AFC (https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/488153-grave-schneider-trophy-winner-henry-waghorn-afc.html)

ian.whalley 16th Jun 2012 03:12

Grave of Schneider Trophy Winner Henry Waghorn AFC
 
Waghorn AFC - The AUTOSPORT Bulletin Board

The link above should take you to an article which has photos of the grave of Henry Waghorn AFC who won the Schneider Trophy race in 1929.

Does anyone know if the grave is still in the sorry state shown in the photos (which are from 2009 I believe)?

Does anyone live in the area or would anyone be prepared to tidy up the grave and give Henry Waghorn the respect he deserves?

I am in Melbourne, Orstralia so just a little too far away to do anything at the moment. :)

longer ron 17th Jun 2012 07:23

No replies yet Ian...have you tried posting it on Key Historic ?you might get a better response there.

rgds LR

Thunderbug 24th Jun 2012 18:26

Ian

Sorry to say grave site is no better a state from those 2009 pics.

I'm very local and was stunned to find such aeroautical history on my doorstep. I was doing a local history search and came across the Autosport forum.

The good news is that next week the local Beaver Scouts (my lad included) are going to help tidy up the graveyard. It is part of a general rehabilitation of this old graveyard. My wife is helping out too ( I'm working :cool:) and she has instructions to do what she can for Flt Lt Waghorn. I have printed off the Autosport article so the rest of the group understand the importance. It should catch their interest to he Beaver Scouts as they visited FAST (Farnbourgh Air Science Trust) last week.

Will try and post some newer pics.

T'bug

ian.whalley 30th Jun 2012 21:44

Thank you Thunderbug, and please pass on my thanks to your wife and the Beaver Scouts.

I gather the grave does not qualify as a war grave but that does not lessen the respect that Waghorn deserves. I am extremely happy that someone has helped with this.

Does anyone know if there are any living relatives?

Thank you again for all who have offered assistance. :)

CharlieOneSix 30th Jun 2012 22:50


Originally Posted by ian.whalley (Post 7270700)

Does anyone know if there are any living relatives?

On my Helicopter Specialist Pilot Course at RNAS Culdrose in 1964 was a Dave Waghorn. My memory from 48 years ago is not infallible but I'm fairly sure the word was that he was related to "one of the Schneider Trophy team".

After getting his Wings Dave chose not to continue with the Advanced Flying Training Course and I never heard of him again. All this about him being a relation could of course be a red herring and completely untrue - I just don't know.

Photo of Dave below, taken at the beginning of the course at Culdrose in Summer 1964:
http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...aveWaghorn.jpg

ian.whalley 1st Jul 2012 07:37

Thanks CharlieOneSix, I wondered if surviving family (if any) were aware of the state of the grave.

Does anyone know if the RAF would do anything about the grave if they were made aware of its state? :)

ian.whalley 8th Aug 2012 22:46

Any update on whether the scouts cleaned up the grave of Henry Waghorn? Or is there someone in the area who can help?

Grobling About 9th Aug 2012 11:54

Maybe....
 
Ian

I stumbled over this thread a few weeks ago and discussed it with an old friend who works at Boscombe Down. He was able to confirm that the Eagle is still there. More importantly and in a follow up to your penultimate post, I suspect that the RAF would currently find it difficult to do something about the grave in Farnborough. However, why not get in touch with the local Air Training Corps Sqn. Such units are always looking for relevant projects that increase their public profile and potentially improve recruitment. The Sqn in Farnborough is:

457 (Farnborough) Squadron,
Air Training Corps
St Christophers Road
Farnborough
Hampshire
GU14 0AH

with e-mail: http://www.air-cadets-squadron-finde...ning-corps-atc

ian.whalley 13th Aug 2012 00:29

Thank you for your help. Very much appreciated. I will get in contact and see what happens. Thanks again.

Geezers of Nazareth 13th Aug 2012 12:27

I've done a little digging around various genealogical sites and found the following....

Henry Richard Danvers Waghorn (HRDW) born 6 Sept 1904.

In 1911 he was living in St Leonards on Sea, with his mother, an aunt, and a younger brother (David John Waghorn).
His father was John Danvers Waghorn, who died in Switzerland in August 1908.

HRDW married Mary Helen Dymock Watson in Jun 1929, and they had a son (John D D Waghorn) who was born in 1930.

As we are aware from the original posts, HRDW died in May 1931 aged 27.

His wife apparently never re-married, and she died in 1980 in St Austell, Cornwall.


HRDWs brother David seems to have joined the RAF (probably in the 1930s?) and by the end of WW2 he was an Air Commodore. He was killed in a flying accident at/near RAF Benson in 1945.

HRDWs son (John D D Waghorn) married in 1958, and he died in July 2011.
There is a son (at least) from that marriage, butwe're now getting into the area of people who are still alive, so I don't want to be giving away too much info.

There is another (better?) pic of HRDW at King's Cup Aviators - T-Z and search for surnames beginning with 'W'.

Corsairoz 14th Aug 2012 11:34

I am working occasionally at Solent Sky Aviation Museum in Southampton.

Last October I was honoured to be a little involved in the 75th Anniversary of the Schneider race victory when we (the Museum) took our Supermarine S6A to its old home in Calshot.

There we had a hangar with Schneider artifacts, models and the aircraft herself. A special time and a fitting recognition. In the month we had around 3,000 people visit.

As recognition of the event, at the opening ceremony some representatives of the families of those involved were present, as were some of the direct descendants. As a previous posted has rightly said, I will not put any personal details here.

The end story, and the reason I am posting here, is that the museum was delighted to have been presented, on that day, with some artifacts from P/O Waghorn by his family. These included his flying goggles and helmet as worn in the races, his Sword of Honour certificate from Royal Air Force Cadet College, and the Sword itself. The label is from the Sword's leather case.

I thought you might like to see pictures I took on the day of the items. These were taken by me, and have my copyright, so please do not use them elsewhere commerically, but I am happy to put them on here.

The Schneider dedicated section of the Museum is currently being reconstructed and should be open before year end.

C

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u...z/IMG_1866.jpghttp://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u...z/IMG_1862.jpghttp://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u...z/IMG_1792.jpghttp://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u...z/IMG_1870.jpg

ian.whalley 15th Aug 2012 08:47

Thanks for sharing Corsairoz. Magnificent.

ian.whalley 25th May 2013 20:00

Any update on the state of Henry Waghorn's grave? Was it cleaned up? Would someone who lives in the area be able to photograph the grave and share the photo with us please. Thanks folks. Regards, Ian from Oz. :)

ian.whalley 11th May 2014 00:49

Update? Anyone?

Herod 11th May 2014 15:18

Not an update, I'm afraid, but I've just been looking on Google Earth. There doesn't seem to be any churchyard left, although a grassed area some 80m to the north of the church may be the remains of it. It would seem that the land has been redeveloped. However, now that the thread is up again, perhaps someone can update you.

Mechta 13th May 2014 23:32

Herod, The churchyard is to the South side of the church and Vicarage Hill and still shows up on Streetview. I grew up in The Bourne, and will be back in the area next weekend, so will take a look and hopefully a photo too.

Here's a link to a picture of the churchyard entrance:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.20...F1bw!2e0?hl=en

joy ride 14th May 2014 07:34

Reading this thread I suddenly remembered that there is a statute of Thomas Fletcher Waghorn in Chatham, Kent:

Thomas Fletcher Waghorn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perhaps related. The statute often sports a traffic cone perched on its head at a jaunty angle.

A couple of years ago I took my Dad to the excellent Solent Sky Museum where we were allowed up to the flight deck of their Short Sandringham. Later I drove him to Calshot and saw the old hangars and names. Dad had gone with his family one year to watch the speed record runs, but we do not know which year.

ian.whalley 14th May 2014 08:43

Thank you for the information folks. Look forward to hearing more after your visit.:)

Wander00 14th May 2014 15:29

On a similar note, there is a memorial window over the entrance to what is now Harrow High School, but in the good old days was Harrow County School for Boys, commemorating the feat of the then Flt Lt John Boothman in winning the Schneider Trophy for Britain in 1931. He ended up a knight and an Air Chief Marshal.

Mechta 14th May 2014 22:30

You're welcome Ian,

Here are a couple more links which give a fairly recent idea of the condition of the graveyard.

The second link contains further links (under 'material available') which allow you to determine which is Flt Lt Waghorn's grave:

Bourne Conservation Group's Website


Bourne Conservation Group's Website

Deviating slightly from the thread, here is a silent video of the 1929 race:

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/br.../query/waghorn

and close ups of the S6:

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/35...miles-per-hour

and here is a photo of the funeral procession:

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafmusic/rafcm...BE3973600F.jpg

ian.whalley 16th May 2014 21:49

Thank you for the links Mechta. Brilliant. Well worth watching.:)

Mechta 21st Jun 2014 21:09

It took a while but I finally went through The Bourne in daylight yesterday, so stopped and took a look at Flight Lieutenant Waghorn's grave.

As was commented at the start of the thread, the graveyard is somewhat overgrown, however, given that according to the signs, the last burial was in 1967, this is not too surprising.

Flight Lieutenant Waghorn's grave is in good condition, albeit looking a bit empty without the eagle on the plinth and with a few weeds growing through the gravel. Some sympathetic tidying would help, but making it stand out from all the others may not be appreciated.

Unfortunately I was without camera and phone at the time, so no photos yet.

I found this on Youtube with some stills and film of the 1929 Race:


ian.whalley 25th Jun 2014 14:57

Thank you very much for taking the time to visit and report on the state of the grave. A fitting gesture to the memory of a great man.:)

4Greens 25th Jun 2014 18:54

It might be worth getting in touch with the Royal Aeronautical Society for some financial assistance with smartening up the grave.

Gannet Driver 15th Sep 2014 18:21

David Waghorn
 
Re Charlie One Six, June 2012 above. I knew Dave at Dartmouth and Culdrose and yes, he was related. Great guy. Lost touch after Culdrose - I finished Gannet training before he got his chopper wings.

Have tried intermittently for years to find him again, would appreciate any help available.

Rosevidney1 15th Sep 2014 19:45

I seem to remember that an Army pilot also named Waghorn died in the Far East. He was flying an early Westland Scout

CharlieOneSix 15th Sep 2014 21:33


Originally Posted by Gannet Driver (Post 8657446)
Re Charlie One Six, June 2012 above. I knew Dave at Dartmouth and Culdrose and yes, he was related. Great guy. Lost touch after Culdrose - I finished Gannet training before he got his chopper wings.

Have tried intermittently for years to find him again, would appreciate any help available.

Last year I met up with the senior member of our Wings course - who later became Captain of Culdrose - and he and Dave were great friends at the time, being older than the rest of us. Sadly he also hadn't heard of Dave for decades so the trail is still cold I'm afraid.

Gannet Driver 15th Sep 2014 22:51

David Waghorn
 
Well, many thanks for trying. Still hoping.

When were you under training at Culdrose? I was there from May '64 until 849 Squadron decamped to Brawdy This included the farewell variety show, Mess Dinner and Flypast for Percy Gick.

Cheers, Mike

CharlieOneSix 16th Sep 2014 10:58

Gannet Driver - PM sent!

Wander00 16th Sep 2014 12:21

GD/C16 - either of you end up on 360 in the sixties?

Gannet Driver 16th Sep 2014 12:44

Charlie OneSix
 
New to Forum, can't see how to find your PM, pse help!

CharlieOneSix 16th Sep 2014 19:34

Not me - I was rotary.

Gannet Driver 16th Sep 2014 23:06

Wanderoo's question
 
Apologies Wanderoo, didn't quite understand. Please would you drop a hint?

CharlieOneSix 17th Sep 2014 20:11

GD - 831 FAA (Gannet ECM6) merged with 97 RAF in the 60's to become 360 RAF/RN and flew the Canberra. They have a reunion next month, 18/10, at RAF Wyton.

Wander00 17th Sep 2014 21:29

GD - he got there first. We certainly had former Gannet Observers - Lofty Nash was my flt cdr for a while, but sure if any Gannet pilots - most were ex Sea Vixen and Scimitar

Gannet Driver 19th Sep 2014 12:35

360 understood!
 
OK, GOTTIT! Sorry, didn't immediately see 360 as Squadron.

No, I wasn't there but, as you say, several Gannet Obs were - notably Lofty Nash and "Oboe" Jones.

Getting slightly away from the Waghorn focus, but Lofty was an absolute gift to cartoonists in Squadron Line Books. I know the 849HQ one is in the Fleet Air Arm museum and I think Sea Your History has it on line.

Mike

overfly 26th Sep 2014 23:49

Back on topic
 
Visited The Bourne yesterday, was unable to find the grave on first search. However the very helpful ladies in the office at the modern St Thomas' church have a full list with a hand-drawn map compiled by the West Surrey family history society in 1988. Thus armed with copies I returned, located the grave and gave it a bit of a tidy-up. I intend to keep an eye on it from time to time and will see if I can improve it despite not being a gardener!

Wander00 28th Sep 2014 18:50

Lofty was my flight commander for a while and I flew with him too. Great operator


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