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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 1856.PDF
JUNE 15, 1939 /%D@ m 6u for arriving and departing coaches and a covered taxi rank is being arranged at the north end. In planning the main booking hall the governing prin ciple has rather naturally been that of the easy handling of a large number of passengers. Those for Empire destinations have their own section, and the coach departure times for the different European services are clearly shown by indicators above the respective booking sections on the European side. Down below is a restaurant and frankly luxurious retiring rooms for waiting passengers. The building has been laid out so that the necessary business offices are entirely separate from the passengers' section, the staff having their own lift at the south end of the building, though there is a central staircase block with two passenger lifts which are used by members of the public with business to do in the offices above. So far as interior furnishing is concerned, the main hall, which is 20ft. high and has a mezzanine gallery, is panelled throughout with Canadian birch, while the fluted columns, the architraves, door surrounds and central clock are in Burmese teak. In a general way the offices upstairs follow the same "woody" scheme, with extensive panelling, though the Chairman's room differs in being laid out in Georgian style. As a matter of structural interest, there was' considerable difficulty in providing suitable foundations for the build ing, which involved the concentration of a very heavy load over a small area. The extensions to the north and south are carried on normal pile foundations, but the heaviest loads, in the centre of the building, are carried on rein forced concrete foundations. The concrete "raft" has to carry a total load of no less than 5,000 tons. FOUR YEARS' PROGRESS The History of British Airways Before and Since Its Formation from Three Individual Operating Companies. IT is difficult to believe that less than four years ago British Air ways was not in existence as a separate entity. It was formed in October, 1935, by the amal gamation of three unsubsidised British airline companies. Two other companies were associated with the mow that led to the amalgamation, but did not actually take part in it, retaining their independent existence under the controlling interest cf British Airways. These two were High land Airways and Northern and Scottish Airways, and for some time they operated British Air ways' services within Great Britain. In August, 1937, how ever, they were taken over by Scottish Airways when this com pany was formed to co-ordinate the internal transport interests of British Airways, the L.M.S. Rail way, and David MacBrayne, the Scottish shipowners. The three companies which amalgamated to form British Air ways were Hillman's Airways, Spartan Airlines, and United Airways. Of these, Hillman's Airways was the largest at the time of the amalgamation. The formation of British Airways brought together a considerable accumulation of practical operating experi ence and first-hand knowledge of the requirements of the air travelling public which the constituent companies had obtained, and this know ledge and experience was of great value to the new company in its own operations. An account of the history of these pioneer companies may not be inappropriate. In the spring of 1932 Londoners were interested by the announcement that Edward Hillman, with whose coach services they Major J. R. McCrindle, who has been managing director of the company during the past four years. Chairman of British Airways, the Hon. Clive Pearson. were familiar, was starting an air service between London and Clac- ton-on-Sea. Holiday-makers bound for this resort would be able to travel by air. The service was no more than a modest one, but it was so successful as an experiment that Edward Hillman began look ing round for larger machines for the following season's operations. He could find none that suited him, so without more ado this forceful and businesslike man had drawn up for himself a specification to meet his requirements. This he sent to the De Havilland company, and the result, as everyone knows, was the Dragon. This machine, and the types developed from it, have achieved fame the world over both for reliability and economy of operation. These attributes were both of the utmost importance to the Hillman concern, for, when the new Dragons became available in the following year, it began to operate air ser vices to the Continent. The services to Paris were operated entirely without subsidy and in competition with subsidised air lines. Moreover, the Hill man fares were lower than others and were comparable even with first-class rail and boat figures. The bold policy succeeded, and the year 1934 saw the consolidation and the improvement of the services oper ated during the previous year, with the addition of a new service between London and Glasgow via Liverpool and Belfast. For this an unsurcharged mail contract was obtained. On June 1 the company's operational head quarters were shifted from Romford to a new airport which had been leased at Stapleford, Essex. Just before Christ mas Hillman's Airways was floated as a public company. On December 31, at the end of the third successful year of his new venture, Edward Hillman died. Few men have left so deep an impression on an industry in so short a space of time. In 1935 tne company embarked on a bold programme of expansion. The schedules that year included four services a day between London and Paris, others to Ramsgate and Le Zoute, and three services a day between London, Ant werp and Brussels. The internal services included those between Hull and Belfast via Manchester and Liverpool, and the London-Glasgow service, on which mails were carried up to December 1. For the London-Paris service
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