Vampire Jets leaving Thornaby. Photograph courtesy of John Pollock 
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Vampire Jets leaving Thornaby. Photograph courtesy of John Pollock
My great auntie Stella Thompson met her future husband, Wing Commander Richard (Dickie) Bunker whilst he was stationed at Thornaby, during WW2. They had one child, Tony Bunker, who I understand now lives in Acklam.
I remember the Meteors and Vampires flying round the airport. My grandad called them whistling kettles. One day at a display a twin winged plane flew upside down along the runway. It was too low and crashed on turning back over. Probably 1950.
Saw it, when the aircraft disintegrated was the shape of an
aeroplane on impact then scattered.
Ackington should read Acklington on my last comment. The 1957 Battle of Britain displays at Acklington, Thornaby, Dishforth and Church Fenton on 14/9/57 were similar but not identical. The last three mentioned had stiff competition from a strong horse racing card at Ripon on the same day, with Dishforth most affected. British Railways ran the usual special train to the races from West Hartlepool, Billingham , Stockton etc.
Although the programmes had been printed and pre-views wrote for the 1957 Battle of Britain airshow at Thornaby on 14/9/57 the event did not go entirely to plan. Britain was in the grip of an influenza epidemic during September 1957, which distrupted industry, schools, transport and other public services. Some military establishments and HM ships were badly affected. A case of foot and mouth near Stockton also caused concern. Stockton Corporation Transport crews were so depleted by influenza that no special buses could be provided to take customers from the local railway stations to the airfield. With many walking to the airfield from Stockton (c.45 mins), and over 100K arriving at Thornaby by foot, rail, bikes, cars and commercial vehicles the roads soon jammed. British Railways ran a special train to the airshow departing West Hartlepool at 1-20pm (2/4, return), Billingham 1-30pm (1/1), Stockton 1-40pm (5d), returning at 6-42 pm. The RAF promised one of the best and largest displays in the country with a three hour flying display, weather permitting. Variety in the air and on the ground was the objective, asserted the Station Commander, Squadron Leader R. M. Chatfield. The C-in-C of Fighter Command, Air Marshal Sir Thomas Pike, arrived at Thornaby by air and was impressed by airshow arrangements. He later personally flew his Meteor jet from Thornaby to the Leconfield display (not Church Fenton as I previously stated). A former C-in-C of Fighter Command, thought to be Air Marshal Sir Hubert Patch, also departed Thornaby for Leconfield by air during the afternoon. The AOC of 13 Group, Air Vice Marshal Alfred Earle, inspected Thornaby before flying in a Meteor to the Church Fenton display (not Leconfield as I previously stated). The Mayor and Mayoress of Stockton, Alderman and Mrs. H. Atkinson, and the Mayor and Mayoress of Thornaby, Alderman and Mrs. A. Nicholson, were amongst the civic dignitaries at RAF Thornaby. The weather was predicted to be cool with mid-day temperatures around 55F, moderate to fresh winds, sunny intervals, possible showers with variable cloud. On the day, there was little rain, but the cloud base was rather low at 2000 feet with high winds over the airfield. This forced the cancellation of the short landing and take-off demonstrations by the Pioneer. However the Pioneer managed to display at its Dishforth home base, also troubled by high crosswinds, and on a portable runway constructed for it by the Army. It often operated at Dishforth from grass. The non-appearance of the RAF’s newest type of V-bomber, two eagerly anticipated Victors, was disappointing for the Thornaby crowd, although the Vulcan and Valiant did thrill spectators (NE Daily Post, 16/9/57). The Vulcan was reported flying so low at one station that ‘it left hats on the ground and skirts flying in the breeze,'(Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 16/9/57). Late additions to the static display at Thornaby were a Varsity, Anson and Army Co-op Auster, bringing the total to sixteen parked service aircraft. For the published programme see my past comments. The most popular attraction at Thornaby was a tour inside the massive Beverley transport aircraft, capable of accommodating a single decker bus (NE Daily Post, 16/9/57). The Beverley merited two photographs in the Northern Echo (16/6/57), one with the static Hunter Mk.6. The display Hunter Mk.6 was also on the ground for most of the day. Another popular ground attraction was the huge, four-engined, Boeing KB29P Superfortress re-fuelling tanker of the American 47 Bombardment Wing from Sculthorpe, Norfolk, which could replenish fighters in mid-air from a probe underneath its tail. A Sycamore helicopter left its home base of Thornaby early in the afternoon to pick up the Lord and Lady Mayor of Newcastle, Alderman and Mrs J.W. Telford, from Newcastle Town Moor and fly them to Ackington, where the Mayor opened the airshow (Evening Chronicle plus photo on Town Moor, 14/9/57). At the end of the Thornaby display the static aircraft started -up, taxied onto the runway and flew to their home bases in various parts of the country (Stockton Express, 19/9/57).
The Vulcan bomber Fred Starr refers to probably came from RAF Scampton. I spent a few months there on attachment, fitting out the service labs for the electronic equipment they carried. One such aircraft took off & left its nose wheels on the runway, had to dump its fuel over the North Sea. It carried a crew of 5. 3 of the crew were ejected over nearby Waddington, unfortunately a crew member ( a teesside local) lost his life through a parachute malfunction. The plane was brought in safely. Scampton was being refurbished with Vulcans 618 Squadron (I think) as the last occupants were the original Dam Busters. The Vulcan was the only bomber capable of doing a victory roll. Its final job was in the Falklands War, before being decommissioned
There was a single Vulcan flypast at the 1956 and 1957 Thornaby airshows with F/L Lob the pilot flying the Vulcan over Thornaby at 1449 hrs and possibly Acklington just after 1500 hrs on 14/9/1957. The Thornaby flypast was down runway 22-04 (about 2000 yards) and the flypast altitude was ordered to be 800-1200 feet above ground level in common with other jet flypasts that day. The solo aerobatic Hunter of 92 Squadron based at Middleton St. George operated from Thornaby for flying purposes on 14/9/1957. Its manoeuvres should have been completed above 1500 feet, although the minimum height set for completion of ground attack dives was 500 feet. This Hunter (with F/O Roberts) may have doubled as the static Hunter when not in use, otherwise there was another inert Hunter of 92 Squadron present. Circuits were set at 1000 feet at Thornaby, 600 feet for light aircraft. Most helicopter demos were 200 feet and above. The crowd was at least 800 feet from the runway line. Correction above, Castle Bromwich got c.115K for its 1957 show.
I was at that 1957 display and had my photograph taken standing in the cockpit of the static display Vampire T11, along with my friend Robert Alderson. That was that defining moment in one”s life when I knew what I really wanted to do when I grew up. Unfortunately, being vision impaired, I had to settle for maintenance instead of flying and 42 years after finishing my RAF apprenticeship, I”m still working in aircraft maintenance. I have that photo somewhere and I”ll dig it out and send it in.
Does anyone remember a white Vulcan jet bomber flying exactly along the line of the crowd at one of the last Battle of Britain displays at Thornaby, in 1956-58? It was so low that you could feel the air pressure trapped between the wings and the ground.It could only have been flying at about 100 feet maximum.
Static display at RAF Thornaby “At Home” day on Saturday 14/9/1957: Balliol- former 288/Middle Wallop; Beverley- 47 or 53/Abingdon; Canberra-Binbrook Wing; Javelin 5 (flew in from Turnhouse)-converting to 151/Leuchars; Boeing KB29 Superfortress- 47 Bomb Wing USAF/Sculthorpe; Meteor T7- Station Flight(SF)/Thornaby or Middleton St. George (MSG); Meteor NF14- 264/MSG; Mosquito B(TT)35- 5 Civil Anti-Aircraft Co-op Unit/Llanbedr; Piston Provost- RAF Flying College/Cranwell; Spitfire LF16e- Gate Guardian/Thornaby (stored at MSG since 7/1957, likely TB382); Valetta- 228 Operational Conversion Unit/Leeming; Vampire fighter- RAF Flying College/Cranwell; Vampire trainer T11- SF/MSG; Venom- Fighter Weapons School/Leconfield (9/1957 moved from Driffield). Civil- Dove (likely G-AIWF)/Airviews Ltd. 3 x VIP visitors for about 40 mins: Meteor T7- 13 Group Communications Flight/Ouston (with AOC, 13 Group, AVM Alfred Earle, departed to Leconfield); Meteor T7- personal aircraft C-in-C Fighter Command (with AM Sir Thomas Pike, departed for Church Fenton). Pike normally flew in a VIP Devon. Unidentified aircraft with AM or AVM Patch, departed for Leconfield. Thornaby”s Sycamore helicopters were dispersed to Acklington, Church Fenton, Leconfield, Lindholme and Helmswell for flying demonstrations that day. Evening Gazette photos on 16/9/1957 of Comet flying over Mosquito and 4 x Hunter. Another newspaper described the Vulcan as resembling a giant pre-historic bird. Teesmouth and MSG were used as aircraft holding areas for Thornaby. Diversionary airfields were Acklington, Leconfield and MSG. The flightpath between Thornaby and Acklington was carefully planned. In many cases performing aircraft flew overland between the two displays avoiding hospitals, big industrial complexes and large centres of population. Despite Thornaby”s huge crowd potential it was remote Acklington that got the sole north-east flypast from Britain”s latest fighter, the supersonic English Electric P1, on 14/9/1957. This Thornaby airshow had about 31 military flying items compared with Church Fenton or Acklington just above 20, Norton/Sheffield at 25, Lindholme at 30, and Duxford at 43, not counting para drops, height judging, take-offs and landings etc. This was the last Thornaby airshow as the station closed in late 1958. All airshow information from souvenir programmes and many public sources. Note, Worskop should read Worksop in my last comment.
Thirty-seven RAF stations were open for Battle of Britain “At Home” day on 14/9/1957, total attend 1,079,880, with six stations selected for special attractions as they were close to large centres of population for fund raising. Thornaby(T) was one of the six, along with Biggin Hill (attend 220K in 1957), Horsham St. Faith, St. Athan, Turnhouse and Castle Bromwich (attend 160K). Thornaby”s closest competitors were Acklington(A) attend 27K, Church Fenton(CF) attend 17K, got 25K in 1958, Dishforth(D), Leconfield(LE) attend 17K, Lindholme(LH) attend 47K, Norton/Sheffield(N), and Syerston(S) attend 50-60K. British Railways offered reduced fares to some of the big displays. Public programmes were 1/0 or 1/6 at the small venues, 2/0 or 2/6 at the big displays. The weather had been poor for the 1956 Thornaby show limiting the crowd to 85K (RAF estimate)-110K (Evening Gazette = EG, and aviation press) with 1.2K pounds profit. The weather was clear and fine for the 1957 show. With over 100K attending and free admission the local roads jammed, despite a charge of up to ten shillings for parking. Most of the aircraft flying at Thornaby flew over other Yorks bases, and some went to Acklington, Syerston, Helmswell, and Binbrook(B). Dignitaries at Thornaby were the Mayor/Mayoresses of Middlesbrough, Stockton, Thornaby and Hartlepool. 608 Squadron flying Vampires from Thornaby had disbanded on 10/3/1957, so the display was carried by aircraft based at Middleton St. George(MSG). For the first time all types of V- bomber were seen flying at a Teesside display. The Meteor Aerobatics Team of 4 Flying Training School (FTS), Worksop, had practised all week, and flypasts from a new Comet of Transport Command and a Shackleton of Coastal Command were promised (said EG). Cameras were allowed, but the radar demonstration by 3608 Fighter Control Unit was restricted to a simulator as its procedures and equipment were secret. Thornaby runway 22-04 was active, with 18-36 used for parking display aircraft and pleasure flights by a Dove. The Comet shuttling between northern bases on 14/9/1957 was possibly based at Lyneham, but programmes at many bases claimed Watton. Comet XK663 earmarked for 192/Watton in 1958 was seen flying over some northern bases that day. Flying display at RAF Thornaby “At Home” day on Saturday 14/9/1957. Number of type/aircraft type/squadron or unit/base flying in from, or allocated. In consecutive order from 1400-1500 hrs: Sycamore helicopter trailing RAF flag- 275/Thornaby; 4 x Hunter Mk.6, then solo Hunter Mk.6 aerobatics (F/O Roberts), 4 x Hunter (low level battle run flypasts)- 92/MSG; Chipmunk aerobatics- Army Air Corps/Middle Wallop; Sycamore solo demo- 275/Thornaby; 6 x Hunter 6 flypast- 19/Church Fenton (CO, Major Newell USAF); Comet 2 flypast (flew from Watton)- possibly 216/Lyneham or earmarked for 192/Watton (over B at 1405 hrs, LH at 1413 hrs, to CF and D, T at 1440 hrs, A at 1452 hrs, N at 1606 hrs, S at 1634 hrs); 8 x Meteor NF14 flypast- 264/MSG (W/Cdr Forbes leader); Vulcan B1 flypast- likely 230 Operational Conversion Unit/Waddington; Meteor Formation Aerobatics Team- 4 FTS/Worskop (F/L Bennett leader). 1500-1600 hrs: 3 x Canberra B6 flypast- Binbrook Wing (9, 12 and 139 Sqns); Chipmunk second display (departs to D)- AAC/Middle Wallop; Shackleton T4 flypast- Maritime Operational Training Unit/Kinloss (over A at 1456 hrs, T at 1514 hrs, D and CF, B at 1544 hrs, LH at 1557 hrs, N at 1605 hrs); Pioneer short take off and landing demos- 215/Dishforth; Valiant B1 flypast- Marham; Sycamore helicopter rescue demo-275/Thornaby; 4 x Sea Hawk FB3 flypast -738/Lossiemouth (seen as Red Devils Display Team at some stations); Valiant second flypast-Marham; 4 x Hunter display- 92/MSG (S/L Hobson leader); Chipmunk balloon bursting – Station Flight (SF)/MSG; 4 X F100D Super Sabre flypast- 20 FBW USAF/Wethersfield (over B at 1530 hrs, T at 1546 hrs, at CF, LH at 1600 hrs, S at 1606 hrs); Jet Provost T1 (flew in from A straight into display)- 2FTS/Hullavington. 1600-1645 hrs: 4 X F84F Thunderstreak flypast- 81 FBW USAF/Bentwaters; Meteor 8 solo aerobatics- SF/MSG; Meteor NF14 solo display- 264/MSG; 2 x Victor B1 flypast- Hanley Page/Radlett; Sycamore helicopter circus act- 275/Thornaby; 3 x B45 Tornado flypast- 47 BW USAF/Sculthorpe; solo Hunter 6 aerobatics again- 92/MSG; 4 x Hunter 6 battle run- 92/MSG. Jet Provost, Pioneer, and 4FTS team took off for display at Acklington during the show.
does anybody remenber the day the hastings ? that went through the boundary fence we all had to diverted around it by the police i was travelling with my uncle in his austin 7.
I believe the pilot in the vampire jet is Bill Goodrum who was one of 608″s most experienced pilots. He flew Halifax bombers with 640 Squadron at RAF Leconfield near Beverley, East Yorkshire , during 1944-45 . He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in April 1945 . Post-war he had a building business and lived in Acklam. Sadly he died in September 1999.
This was the departure of 608 to Malta G.C on a fortnights training in 1954. The aircraft in the background is a “Hastings” of No 47 Squadron which flew ground-staff to Malta G.C, we flew direct, the “Vampires” refuelled in Istre, nr Nice I was fortunate as I travelled in a civil “Britannia “of the Air-works Company, with full cabin service, the poor “bods” who flew in R A F transport got pies, corned beef sandwiches and coffee in a flask, we got salad and ham, trifle and hot coffee or tea. The flight over the Alps was spectacular, while the Med lived up to its reputation as a blue mirror. The first view of Malta is of a small dark leaf in the middle of a vast lake. One abiding memory takes me straight back The taste of “Pepsi-Cola”, we must have drunk gallons of it out on dispersal and the first thing we gave the pilot as they slid back the cockpit hood to the blast of 80-90’s, was an ice-cold bottle of “Pepsi”
Could this have been an “air day” event? There appears to be a civilian plane in the background. I have a memory of going on a short flight with my Dad from here in about 1957 – in a Douglas Dakota.