Alan Bristow Helicopter Pioneer - autobiography

[Heliport]

By the end of the first chapter, I was gripped and eagre to read more. By the end of the book, I didn’t know if I would have liked him or loathed him but I was sure of one thing: I wish I’d met him.

‘Alan Bristow: Helicopter Pioneer’ tells the story of an extraordinary man's extraordinary life.
As everyone who worked for Bristow Helicopters in his day has told me, 'the Old Man’ was an almost mythical figure, sometimes frightening, bombastic, capricious, unpredictable, sometimes generous and forgiving, but always a one-man show, able to do any job in the company from writing the contracts to flying the helicopters to maintaining the engines and even sweeping the hangar floor.

Aged 16 the day war broke out, Bristow joined the Merchant Navy. Two ships were sunk under him before he ran away to join the Fleet Air Arm and learned to fly on Cornells and Harvards in Canada.

Diverted to helicopters against his will, he went on to become Westland Aircraft’s first helicopter test pilot working under the great Harald Penrose. Characteristically, he was sacked after knocking out the sales manager, picking him up by the ears and banging his head against the wall.

Bristow flew Hillers in North Africa and had many crashes, then went to Indochina where he won the Croix de Guerre evacuating wounded French soldiers under fire.

He fell in with some ex-SS mercenaries who were leaving the Foreign Legion to go whaling and sold helicopter services to Aristotle Onassis who had a pirate fleet in the Antarctic. Bristow had many narrow squeaks, including landing an iced-up Hiller on an iceberg when it would fly no more.

His big break came in 1955 when he met Douglas Bader, then managing Shell’s aviation assets, and began supplying oil rigs in the Persian Gulf using piston-engined Whirlwinds. Bristow clearly loved the camaraderie of the campfire and kept flying in Bolivia until the late 1950s, but when Freddie Laker bought Bristow Helicopters on behalf of Air Holdings Ltd in 1960, Bristow was already a tax exile in Bermuda.

During the 1960s the company expanded across the world and launched the North Sea services which it was eventually to dominate, with Bristow at the helm except for a three-year secondment as CEO of BUA.

Ousted by Lord Cayzer in an argument over a Board position for the son of the Indonesian President, Bristow launched a takeover for Westland Helicopters, which led to the famous ‘Westland Affair’. Bristow’s insider take on the political events of the time is particularly fascinating – the book says he was twice offered a knighthood to switch sides.

Perhaps the man himself sums up the flavour of the book in part of his own summary:

“I have drunk champagne with billionaires in the best hotels in the world and hauled my men out of some of the seediest whorehouses in South America. I have been court-martialled for desertion and awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Order of the British Empire. I have triumphed in shipboard brawls which would have appalled the Marquis of Queensbury and have represented my country at four-in-hand carriage driving with the Duke of Edinburgh. I have put a lot of backs up and disjointed a lot of noses, physically and metaphorically, and in an era when most companies are controlled by risk-averse men in suits shuffling other people’s money and creaming off their cut, my way of doing business is perhaps an anachronism. But by God, it was fun while it lasted!”

Full of adventure and humour, a great life properly celebrated. Very well written - not surprising because it was co-written with Patrick Malone who is a superb aviation writer and also an enthusiastic pilot.
Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the helicopter industry.

.

[SASless]

It is a rare treat in life to meet a person like the "Old Man".....by God he was a "Real Helicopter Pilot"....and the absolutely best Boss Fellah I ever worked for anywhere at any time! Shame leadership like his is so rare!

[parabellum]

It will be interesting to see if he goes on to mention why he eventually lost the Shell contract and Shell launched their own in house helicopter operations in Doha - at a meeting at which Bristow and Bader disagreed and got a bit heated Bristow called Bader a "tin legged git"!!!

[kwikenz]

Where'd you get it Heliport? I have done a quick search and only found one site that still shows it as being in pre-order status.

Ta.

[heli1]

Lots of anecdotes in the book which is being officially launched at the Helicopter Museum on 26th ..all ex and present Bristow people welcome.

Alan said a couple of years ago that he would tell his story after seeing the "official " Bristow 50 Years book.He managed to finish just before he passed away which,looking at some of the content ,is probably just as well !

[Droopy]

called Bader a "tin legged git"

I can't see him using a three letter word when so many four letter ones were available.

[WLM]

Where can I get it online please? love to show it to the Malaysian Operator to remind them how they started lol...

[Heliport]

I was given a copy of the final proof.

The book - hardback 384 pages - is being printed now and will be available at the end of this month: ISBN: 9781848842083

Good value IMHO, and even cheaper if pre-ordered on line: More info here

Heliport

[heli1]

Cheapskate Heliport...Order it from the Helicopter Museum here [email protected] and support the cause!

[SASless]

Which event was it when Mr. Bristow chunked Bader into the swimming pool....tin legs and all?

[topendtorque]

Deference when it is due

It would appear that this thread has lost a bit of steam.

Perhaps it is because it appears that the 'fabled', is being big noted for his dexterity and lack of grace - regardless of the provocation - in manhandling double amputees into swimming pools?

??

I have just finished reading a book about the fighter aces of the first world war, both sides. Phew boy, tough times, very tough times.

Of course most of my age group (who were interested in aviation) grew up devouring names like Bader, Tuck Galland, Malan, Johnson, Finucane, Gibson, Wallis, Boyington, Caldwell, etc etc.

All of whom have each led more people to the fabled and delightfully imaginery world of aviation than the so called fabled of this thread. Perhaps even he?

Unless I have misplaced my entire upbringing.
cheers tet.

[Heliport]

I didn't expect this thread to have any steam - only to provide information. Until people have read the book, which won't be published until the end of this month, there's not much to say which wasn't said about Alan Bristow on this thread which attracted 87 posts and almost 13,000 views: http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/371...istow-rip.html

Whether the swimming-pool story is true or apocryphal, Bristow and Bader became, and remained, friends. Both had very strong personalities so I wouldn't be surprised if there was the occasional clash. Neither was universally popular; both were respected more than they were liked.

In the autobiography, Bristow describes Bader in respectful terms and as one of his personal heroes. He says being allowed to run Shell’s helicopters was the trigger that ultimately transformed Bristow Helicopters into the world force it became.

“In a breathtakingly short period of time BHL had become a major contractor in the international oil industry, and I owed it all to Douglas Bader.”

Over the years they became friends, but Bristow remained deferential: “Not until after he had become Laurence’s Godfather did I consider we were close enough to call Douglas Bader by his first name.”

The friendship continued after Bader retired, and until his death in 1982. Shell gave Bader a Piper Apache as a retirement present which he soon found he couldn’t afford to run on his pension. Bristow hangared it and maintained it free of charge for the rest of Bader’s life.

.

[Oldlae]

I can confirm that Bristow maintained Douglas Bader's Beechcraft Baron reg G-APUB as it was serviced by the BHL Flying Training School at Redhill when I was the Chief Engineer. The aircraft was hangared at White Waltham however and I often went there to sort out some problem or other. The first occasion that the aircraft came to me I had to tell Jack Woolley that the aircraft was ready for Sir Douglas, Jack asked me to his office and said that he had to go to a meeting and would I drive Douglas to the FTS and he gave me the keys to his Daimler. When we were settled in I realised that the car was an automatic which I had never driven before. Sir Douglas came to the rescue and instructed me on what to do and saved me a lot of embarrassment.

[TipCap]

I remember Douglas Bader's aircraft being hangared in Aberdeen too. Couldn't forget that registration...............

John

[heli1]

On the shelf from today at The Helicopter Museum.
Mail order by e [email protected] or call 01934 635227 between 10.00-16.30 Sat/Sun/Wed/Thurs/Fridays.
All profit goes towards restoring Wessex G-AVNE.

[oynian]

Alan Bristow

It is amazing what people say about someone once they are dead. Alan Bristow was an amazing man, created an amazing "empire", but if you read his book he was the only one there. Him, his pilots and his engineers. There were tons of other people, secretaries, storeman, ground handlers, labourers, traffic staff, operations staff without whom his company could never have worked.
Its a shame that they are all lost in a self centered acclamation of one man.

Early days yes he made it, but in the later years without the others he was nobody.

We also supported him through the Aberdeen strike, and were acclaimed he title of "locally employed staff" i.e. natives.

And then to see the pall bearers "pilots", yeh sums it all up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[stacey_s]

what part of 'Autobiography' don't you understand?
Good man, good book, and one of the antics I was involved with is in the book, not by name but there, and I was only a fitter, lots of others are there as well, why so bitter?

S

[Thridle Op Des]

Courtesy of CCC I acquired my own copy of AB's excellent autobiography. Maybe it would be interesting to work out some of the other names. I suspect that if I scanned an image from the book I would be in a world of trouble vis-a-vis copyright, so here goes: In the batch of photos between page 288 and 289 there is a group photo of the BHL executive team, only three are named (well two, but since it is an autobiography as Stacey has succinctly put it - we can take AB himself as a given!)

As far as I can work out, back row L-R:

John Griffiths
?
?
?
?
?
Laurence Bristow
Bryan Collins
?
?
Bill Petrie
?
?

Front Row, L-R:
Ernie Perrin?
?
Bob Roffe
?
?
George Fry
AB
Jack Woolley
?
Alistair Gordon
?
?
?
?
?
?

I have a feeling that the photo was probably taken late 70's than early 80's, but frequently proven wrong.

TOD

[HOGE]

John Hall, back row, 2nd from right.

[Dave B]

Alan Bristow

I imagine the anecdotes about the old man would fill another book. I had only been with the company about Three weeks, when I took my wife to the Redhill Christmas party. She come up to me and said, "who is that man over there", "I said that's Alan Bristow", she said "well I think I may have just lost you your job, he pinched my bottom so I belted him", I said " I don't suppose that will worry him", and of course it didn't.

ps my wife packs a quite a punch