Spitfire/Hornchurch footage

[danllama]

Saw this video linked somewhere else and thought it was brilliant enough to share here.

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-64-squad...

[TR4man]

Thanks for sharing, i enjoyed watching that.

If only there was sound - all those Spitfires must have sounded glorious.

[Tony1963]

Thanks for sharing that. Makes a change to see so much footage of the ground crew!

After the war, my mum and her family lived in a lean-to on Hornchurch aerodrome after the 'man' of the house left. They had nothing, nothing at all.

[mcdjl]

So little of that survives! I must have spent a fair amount of time cycling round there making spitfire noises in the past though...
Theres an old time team episode where they're looking at old sentry point with rotating tops, i was thinking 'i know where they can find them' when they proved me right.

[danllama]

Tony1963 said:

Thanks for sharing that. Makes a change to see so much footage of the ground crew!

After the war, my mum and her family lived in a lean-to on Hornchurch aerodrome after the 'man' of the house left. They had nothing, nothing at all.

No probs. Bloody hell that's sobering.

I lived and grew up around Romford/Hornchurch/Elm Park so was very glad to find the footage too. It's such a shame more couldn't be preserved as some other airfields have.

The ground crew footage I always find extra interesting too! At least these days we can get a loose idea of the noise when all the Spits are gathering for a flyby at Dux!

[Tony1963]

Yeah, tough years. My nan, four daughters, a son, and no possessions at all. My mum went to eleven schools, left at 15, and just worked hard. It’s a shame, as she’s very clever but has no formal qualifications at all.

And yes, seeing lots of groundcrew footage is refreshing. I’ve spent most of my life spannering aircraft since joining the RAF in ‘81. Bloody jockeys always grab the glory

Edited by Tony1963 on Friday 11th January 17:04