London Airport in the 1950s

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16 years 1 month

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Saved it in an office clear-out.

Here's a view looking north-west showing the Nissen huts (used for equipment storage) between the Bath Rd and the perimeter road between the Northside and Harlington Cross....BOAC 747 flaring for 28R ca. June 1970....and on the left you can just see a BKS Britannia parked on the Northside apron

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/zz20/A30yoyo/BOAC747rearview-900.jpg

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15 years 7 months

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Brilliant. I wish LHR was still like that and offerred such easy areas to get pics from!
I can see the Bristol Britannia! Great photo. You should make a book about Heathrow with all your photos in it.
I have Heathrow ATC - the first 50yrs, and some of your pics would have been a great addition to that book, so maybe you should make a book with them all in.

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Ah! Those early shots bring back some memories....:)

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Inside Heathrow Control Tower - 1970

I visited the Heathrow Control Tower in 1970. A few pics...

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb167/Jur_photo/Heathrow_0001.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb167/Jur_photo/Heathrow_0003.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb167/Jur_photo/Heathrow_0004.jpg

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http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/zz20/A30yoyo/LAPnorth1952ish.jpg

looking at this photo was that enclosure for passengers? I can remember at some stage in the early 50s having to cross a taxiway to get to the spectators enclosure
sadly the memory clouds

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I seem to remember the spectators' enclosure like that, being almost able to touch the passing aircraft on the taxiway. Compare the photo I already published, and here it is again:

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11 years 11 months

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looking at this photo was that enclosure for passengers? I can remember at some stage in the early 50s having to cross a taxiway to get to the spectators enclosure
sadly the memory clouds

The bigger enclosure packed with people is the public enclosure and presumably one had to pay (I'm too young to remember). The ajoing smaller one was free and for passenger's friends. That smaller one lasted until the end of passenger operations on the north side. The public one became a car park for staff.

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I think the one I'm thinking of must be earlier, maybe late 40s early 50's,I remember the Dragon Rapide flights were based in part of it,

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Do you have any pictures of the Rapides which Monique Azagarian flew joy-rides from Northside in the early fifties?

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Another picture request also, any pictures of what was on the Heathrow fire dumps through time?

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I know in the 90's there was a Trident on the fire dump, I think which lead to the area being called 'Trident turn' ?

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[QUOTE=longshot;1944351]Saved it in an office clear-out.

Here's a view looking north-west showing the Nissen huts (used for equipment storage) between the Bath Rd and the perimeter road between the Northside and Harlington Cross....BOAC 747 flaring for 28R ca. June 1970....and on the left you can just see a BKS Britannia parked on the Northside apron

[QUOTE]

Thanks again Longshot. All the pics on here are great. I've cropped down the 747 rear view to see the nissens more clearly. If I decide to extend my model of the north dise eastwards this will be a great asset. Many, many thanks. The extra freight sheds built on the end of the ramp (disected by a lampost in your photo) were pretty late additions, I'd guess about 1963. A stop gap measure whilst awaiting South side development. See aeriel shot of the Northside. I also note that the new customs admin building is now finished just beyong the concrete terminal

I seem to remember the spectators' enclosure like that, being almost able to touch the passing aircraft on the taxiway. Compare the photo I already published, and here it is again:

I love it when the photos all come together and start to complete the puzzle

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11 years 11 months

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Do you have any pictures of the Rapides which Monique Azagarian flew joy-rides from Northside in the early fifties?

Don't know if this is one, but for some reason I downloaded in to my LAP North folder, so must be from a LAP source.

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16 years 1 month

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A rough timeline of the LAP ground enclosures
1947? ground enclosure between tower and north taxiway opened.....separate passengers friends enclosure as noted in the photo

1953 (Coronation year) 'overspill' enclosure open between the north taxiway and runway 28R(closed for tunnelling) and reached by marshalled walking across the live taxiway!

1954?-1958? Public ground enclosure moved to Central area reached by tunnel, passengers friends enclosure moved slightly westwards opposite the Green Dragon canteen (Queens Building roof gardens opened 1955?)

Post 1959....Spotters were cleared out of the passengers friends enclosure regularly (and retreated to the Green Dragon which I think was also occasionally purged of spotters?) but plenty of photos were taken from there like Laurence's PIA L1049H

19

The bigger enclosure packed with people is the public enclosure and presumably one had to pay (I'm too young to remember). The ajoing smaller one was free and for passenger's friends. That smaller one lasted until the end of passenger operations on the north side. The public one became a car park for staff.

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11 years 11 months

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Don't know if this is one, but for some reason I downloaded in to my LAP North folder, so must be from a LAP source.

Thanks, connie....

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certainly looks like it,
my memory says it was dark blue and silver,

I used to rely on a friend David Chainey for early LAP details, sadly he passed away earlier this year, some of you may remember him

Member for

18 years

Posts: 346

A rough timeline of the LAP ground enclosures
1947? ground enclosure between tower and north taxiway opened.....separate passengers friends enclosure as noted in the photo

1953 (Coronation year) 'overspill' enclosure open between the north taxiway and runway 28R(closed for tunnelling) and reached by marshalled walking across the live taxiway!

1954?-1958? Public ground enclosure moved to Central area reached by tunnel, passengers friends enclosure moved slightly westwards opposite the Green Dragon cafe (Queens Building roof gardens opened 1955?)

Post 1959....Spotters were cleared out of the passengers friends enclosure regularly (and retreated to the Green Dragon which I think was also occasionally purged of spotters?) but plenty of photos were taken from there like Laurence's PIA L1049H

19

thanks, that is roughly how I remember it, in the end I took to lurking by the PanAm hanger on the A30, there used to be quite a group of people there,

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11 years 11 months

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Ooh! Thanks for those. Is either still flying or static anywhere?

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18 years

Posts: 346

thanks Longshot, great photos