Flying Memories

My very dear friend Tony Chetham, whom I knew when we were small boys together in Mombasa, keeps sending me little gems to feed my memories. This is a selection from the latest crop, starting with a picture of what I take to be one of BOAC's Solent flying boats on what I think was called the Empire Service.

My parents, brother and I flew from Southampton to East Africa in one of these in early 1949, and I vividly remember....

....the journey ashore at Wadi Halfa. Heaven knows what modern health & safety officers would think of these arrangements for transferring passengers.

Of the flight up the Nile south from Khartoum my mother wrote, "It was very trying flying at that time as the hot air coming from the land caused the plane to rise and fall dramatically and every one was sick except Dad and Jonathan. Jonathan had seen that there was fruit tart for the second course of our lunch - the staff had abandoned serving us - and so they went up to the galley and found the stewardess and stewards lying on the floor. So they helped themselves to tart and ate it and came back wondering why everyone was being sick!" And, yes, I do remember that!

Here's another little gem. This was a standard proforma filled out by the captain during the flight to update passengers on progress. I think there must have been two of them and they were passed from the front of the aircraft back along the rows of passengers.

Many thanks, Tony, for the memories.