A short-lived company, but a long-lived Civilian April 2, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, London, Second World War, Wales, aircraft.Tags: 'push-rods', A.B.C. Hornet engine, Air Show, aircraft, airports, Armstrong Siddley, Armstrong Siddley Genet Major 1A, auctioneer, auctioneer's hammer, Aviation, Biggin Hill, Cardiff Airport, Carmarthen, Civilian Aircraft Company Ltd, Civilian Coupe 2, D H Mosquito, Derby, Derbyshire, England, Flight magazine, fuselage, G-ABNT, Glynn Rees, Great Depression, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, GVFWE, hangar, Hedon, Heston, historic aircraft, Hull, Hullavington, London, municipal airports, passenger seat, plywood, plywood panelling, port, propeller, radial engine, River Humber, Second World War, Secretary of State for Air, Shipping & Airlines Ltd, South Wales, Wales, wings, wire, Yorkshire
add a comment
- Civilian Aircraft Company Coupe 2
Throughout the 1930s many towns like Derby and the Yorkshire port of Hull joined the rush towards modern transport by establishing municipal airports. Hull’s was sited about 5 miles out of town at Hedon on the banks of the River Humber, and the civic authorities tried to attract aviation concerns to the new airfield. ‘Flight’ magazine in its March 27th, 1931 issue, mentioned that the Civilian Aircraft Company Ltd. had established a small manufacturing works on the southern edge of the site and was producing a two seat aircraft. Sadly, the first example of the ‘plane, which was first shown to the public at Heston in 1929, was powered by an A.B.C. Hornet radial engine, which vibrated rather badly. The Series 2 of the Civilian Coupe had solved the engine problems by fitting the Armstrong Siddley Genet Major 1A of 100hp. The aircraft’s fuselage was so narrow that the passenger seat had to be offset slightly behind and to one side of the pilot’s (rather like the much later D H Mosquito). There was some use of metal tubing in the fuselage, but the majority of structure, including the wings, was covered with stressed plywood panelling. Technically interesting, because it was one of the first aircraft to use ‘push-rods’ to connect the controls, rather than wire (leading to crisper responses), the Coupe was the right aircraft at the wrong time, as it appeared just as the civilian market was under immense pressure due to the Great Depression. A small series of aircraft was built, but it was already too late, and ‘Flight’ noted the demise of the company in its April 15th, 1932 issue.
One of the breed survived by sheer chance; Serial No. 03, a Civilian Coupe 2, was bought by Mr Glynn Rees of Carmarthen, South Wales and hangared at Cardiff Airport. Little flying took place (a total of 130 hours only), and he stored the aircraft before the outbreak of the Second World War. The aircraft’s registration was cancelled, by order of the Secretary of State for Air, on 1st December 1946.
After being stored for more than 40 years, G-ABNT went under the auctioneer’s hammer in Wales in February 1978. It was sold to Shipping & Airlines Ltd of London, along with a quantity of spares, including wings and a propeller. Careful restoration, and a move to a hangar on the historic Biggin Hill airfield, ensured that this highly significant aircraft is still with us today. Here she is in the historic aircraft park at GVFWE, Hullavington.
Romilly Park February 22, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, Wales.Tags: Annual Scout and Guide Fete, Barry, Barry Carnival, Barry Town Council, bowls, Boy Scouts, circus, flower show, Girl Guides, Guide, motorcycle display teams, public park, Romilly estate, Romilly Park, Scout, South Glamorgan, Teddy Bears' Picnic, tennis courts, vegetable show, Wales
add a comment
- Romilly Park
Romilly Park is close to my brother’s house in Barry, and I have strolled its close-mown grass many times. This 19th century park has a mix of woodland and grassy areas, with tennis courts and a children’s playground, and lots of grassy slopes to enjoy; there is also a bowling green, which was laid out more than one hundred years ago. Safe and, in today’s dire ecomony, a cheap alternative to other forms of entertainment (harking back to the Victorian craze for public parks as recreation for the industrial masses).
The Second Severn Crossing (Ail Groesfan Hafren) February 15, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, England, Great Britain, Wales.Tags: Afon Hafren, Ail Groesfan Hafren, Atlantic Ocean, Aust Ferry, bore, bridge, Charles, England, longest river in Great Britain, M4 motorway, Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II, River Severn, Second Severn Crossing, Severn Bridge, Severn Estuary, shipping channel, solitary wave, soliton, South Wales, suspension cable, UK, Wales, Welsh, West Country, Western Approaches
add a comment
The Second Severn Crossing
The River Severn (Afon Hafren in Welsh) has a lot going for it. It is the longest river in Britain at 220 miles (345 km) and has, at times, a tidally-generated ‘bore’ up to 7ft in height, which travels up the river. The bore is a soliton, or self-reinforcing solitary wave. The Severn is not just the natural barrier between two countries, England and Wales, but is a major access point to the Western Approaches of the Atlantic Ocean, and, as such, has huge importance to shipping both in times of peace and during wartime. Engineers and business interests have always sought a way to directly cross the Severn Estuary, to link the commercial areas of of the West Country of England with South Wales. At last, in 1966, the Severn Bridge (near the old Aust Ferry) was opened by Queen Elizabeth II, and road traffic began to flow across the estuary.
Need outstripped capacity, and in 1996, Charles, Prince of Wales opened the Second Severn Crossing (Ail Groesfan Hafren). Further south than the original bridge – which is still in operation – it carries the M4 motorway between England and Wales, a distance of just over 5 km. The longest single span (over the shipping channel) is 456 mts, and the height of the road deck above the water at that point is 37 mts. The pre-stressed concrete towers which carry the bridge’s suspension cables are no less than 149 mts high.
The photograph was taken through the windscreen of my hired car, on the way to visit my family in South Wales, during one of my periodic trips back to the UK.
Setting a pit prop…… February 1, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, Derbyshire, Scotland, Wales.Tags: Blaeafon, coal, coalminer, Coleorton, colliery, dendrochronology, Derbyshire, England, First World War, France, geological problems, German Navy, Gwent, Lanarkshire, Leicestershire, Loscoe, Middle Ages, Nottingham University, oak, Ormonde Colliery, pit prop, prop setter, Pwll Mawr, Russia, Scottish coalfields, self-advancing roof supports, Sitka spruce, steel roof supports, Stirlingshire, Sweden, Wales
add a comment
Setting a pit prop, Pwll Mawr
The scene is deep underground in a Welsh coal mine, Pwll Mawr, Gwent. A miner is at the coalface, ’setting’ a wooden pit prop to hold up the roof, whilst he works to extract the coal. This is a temporary solution to hold back the millions of tons of rock above him. You can the the modern steel frames (with the spaces between them filled by wooden beams) further down the ‘roadway’.
Wood has been a vital part of mining since the Middle Ages. Indeed, a laboratory at Nottingham University used dendrochronology to establish that oak timbers found in a pit at Coleorton, Leicestershire dated from 1450.
During the First World War, the German Navy threatened the importation by sea from Sweden and Russia of the huge quantities of softwood pit props needed to keep the Scottish coalfields of Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire in production. Britain did not grow enough suitable wood of its own to keep the coal supply flowing. Indeed, in the 1960s UK forestry interests were still planting the rapid-growing Sitka spruce for use as pit-props, and large quantities of pit-props and pit-bars were being imported from France!
A wooden prop needs to be replaced after two or three years, as the rate of failure increases markedly after this time. The death-knell for the large scale use of the pip prop was the introduction of steel prop and roof arches from the 1920s, onwards. The modern ‘mechanised’ pit, with it’s self-advancing roof supports (as installed at Ormonde Colliery, Loscoe, Derbyshire, before it’s unfortunate closure due to geological problems) was the future.
The prefab – Homes for Heroes January 17, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Second World War, Wales.Tags: Birmingham, Cardiff, Hall Green, Ministry of Works, Museums, National History Museum of Wales, prefab, prefabricated house, Preservation Order, Second World War, St Fagan's, Wales
2 comments
Prefab home - National History Musuem of Wales, St Fagan's
During the Second World War, the UK lost tens of thousands of homes, either destroyed or made unihabitable due to damage; some where even lost to ‘friendly fire’ when they became part of army firing ranges or were demolished to make way for vital airfields. The result was a Ministry of Works programme to build prefabricated homes (or ‘prefabs’ as they became known). The cost (in 1945) ranged between 663 – 1,161 Pounds Sterling , and there were several types, including a steel-tubed framed house, a timber with asbestos cladding model, and an aluminium design. Here you can see a fine example of the last one. This house used to stand in Llandinam Crescent, Cardiff, but was removed, and re-erected at St Fagan’s, as part of the National History Museum of Wales collection. Prefabs were supposed to only last around 15 years, but a number survived into the 1960s and 70s. I can remember visiting a school friend who lived in one, and they were quite comfortable inside. When local government tenants were eventually asked to move out into newer housing, many resisted. There are a few still standing (in Hall Green, Birmingham, for example) mainly due to the fact that Preservation Orders have been enforced; these are now recognized as being nationally significant buildings.
The Big Pit – Pwll Mawr January 15, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Museums, Wales, World Heritage Site.Tags: beef, Blaeafon, cawl, coal, colliery, Gwent, headstocks, lamb, miner, Museums, mutton, National Coal Museum of Wales, pit, pithead, Pwll Mawr, South Wales, Wales, Welsh, World Heritage Site
add a comment
Headstocks and pithead buildings at the Big Pit, Blaeavon
One of my greatest joys is to visit a museum – ANY museum – not just for the objects being conserved and displayed, but for the way in which they are presented to visitors and the educational aims being fulfilled. In other words, when I visit a museum, I automatically see it through the eyes of a long-time museum professional, and this can colour my reactions to the site/collection.
The Big Pit (Pwll Mawr) at Blaeafon (‘the head of the river’) in Gwent, South Wales is the National Coal Museum of Wales (Amgueddfa Lafaol Cymru). The headstocks which you can see, along with the winding engine in the winding house, and the colliery buildings are a stark reminder of the price paid for coal – in the blood of miners. This pit closed in 1980, and is now a ‘living museum’ in that you can actually descend 300ft into the mine to view the former workings, in the company of an experinced miner/guide. It is an experience which is nothing short of breath-taking; I was incredibly moved, not just as a museum professional, but as the son of a coal miner, and as someone who lost a relative in one of the last colliery disasters in the UK. The whole area has been declared a World Heritage Site by the UN, and the designation is well-merited.
If you do visit, remember to have a meal in the modern cafeteria – try the cawl, it’s delicious! (Cawl is a Welsh stew…usually with mutton or lamb, although in this case, Pwll Mawr’s cawl is made with beef)
‘The Blue Anchor Inn’, East Aberthaw January 10, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Wales.Tags: Barry, East Aberthaw, Inns, South Glamorgan, The Blue Anchor Inn, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales
add a comment
'The Blue Anchor Inn', East Aberthaw
When I visit my family in South Wales, one of the venues for a pleasant lunch is this inn, ‘The Blue Anchor’ in the little village of East Aberthaw in the Vale of Glamorgan. A thatched mediaeval building, it first opened its doors as a hostelry in 1380, when East Aberthaw was a significant port (bigger than nearby Barry, for example). The Inn suffered a major fire involving the upper story in 2004, but has been successfully restored. The food here is absolutely splendid, and I really enjoy each visit.
Oh, and the name of the Inn? The local bay, where the trading vessels used to anchor, has a layer of blue marl clay on the bottom, so when a ship hauled anchor to sail away from East Aberthaw, it’s anchor was liberally coated with the stuff!
Welsh dresser – 1830s house, St Fagan’s January 10, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, Museums, Wales.Tags: child's chair, China, Museums, National History Museum of Wales, pewter, pewter mug, row houses, St Fagan's, stone tiles, stoneware, transfer-printed china, treenware, Wales, Welsh dresser
add a comment
- Welsh dresser, 1830s house, National History Museum of Wales, St Fagan’s
I think that one of the greatest joys in life is a well-designed museum. Whatever the subject matter, you can come away after a visit, uplifted, entertained and educated. As a museum professional, I rejoice every time I go to St Fagan’s. Not just because it means I am only 15 miles away from a branch of my family, but because I regard the National History Museum of Wales as being an object lesson in good museum design.
Caerleon amphitheatre January 10, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Wales.Tags: amphitheatre, Caerleon, Camelot, Gwent, Isca Silurum, King Arthur, Legio Augusta, Newport, Roman baths, Romans, Wales
add a comment
Amphitheatre at Caerleon
The remains of the amphitheatre at Caerleon, on the River Usk, close to Newport, Wales, are spectacular. They should be, given that the Roman fortress here, Isca Silurum, was the headquarters of the Legio II Augusta for more than 200 years, from 75 – 300AD. There were many municipal buildings, and the Legion’s engineers built extensive bath houses (which have been excavated, and now form a spectacular museum). Later, Caerleon was associated with King Arthur, and given as one of the possible sites for Camelot. Obviously, with the withdrawal of the Legions from Britain in 410AD, this place fell into a slow decline; it wasn’t until the establishment of a stone-built castle in the 13th century that it began to grow again.
Now, when you stand in the amphitheatre, you can almost feel the sand under your feet, and hear the roar of the beasts, matched only by the roar of the crowd. This site positively reeks of history. If you are ever in the County of Gwent, in South Wales, do NOT miss this; it is well worth the trip.
Mam Tor, the Shivering Mountain January 8, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Derbyshire, England, Prehistory, Wales.Tags: Castleton, Derbyshire, England, Peak District National Park, Prehistory, Wales
1 comment so far
Mam Tor, viewed from Castleton
One of the most spectacular sights, in a county of spectacular sights, is Mam Tor (which roughly translates as ‘the mother’s peak’) near Castleton, Derbyshire, in the heart of the Peak District National Park. Wildly unstable, in geological terms, its layers of shale and sandstone are constantly on the move; in the 1970s, the Sheffield to Manchester road which used to run around the southern edge was finally closed, and subsequently destroyed by a landslip. The huge ‘bite’ you can see on the south summit happened much earlier. Topped by the remains of an Iron Age hill fort, Mam Tor offers wonderful views; you can see the city of Manchester, Stockport and even into Wales if the day is a clear one. One word of warning – if you do visit, watch out for the very strong ‘venturi effect’ wind on the summit; you can literally be blown off your feet!
