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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 1973.PDF
JULY II, 1940 29- A view British air travellers (except the R.A.F.) will not see again until the war is over. Flamingo en route to Heston. " Flight " photograph The Jiersey coastline with a DH pany is very grateful for all the Air Fore2 help it had, as various service aeroplanes which landed on the Islands in the course of their work aided by carrying items of com- pany property to England. As far as property is concerned, the company has suffered the minimum of loss. It has got out all its movable equip- ment and lost no aircraft. But the staff have, of course, suffered heavily by the abandonment of their homes. Mr. Waters praised the staff highly for their behaviour during •the evacuation. It had been planned previously and, with their efficient support, he was able to direct it so that it proceeded smoothly. In peak holiday time the total staff amounted to about 180, of which 100 were engaged on -maintenance. The flying staff consisted of 12 crews (captain and radio operator) for the operation of the six DH86s and one Flamingo which the company then had. Mr. Waters, the chief engineer and the traffic raana^.r left Jersey on Sunday, June 16. . On the following Tuesday and Wednesday (June 18 and 19) the fleet of DH86s flew from dawn till dusk evacuating people to a West Country town. Five of the fleet of six were in use, and a total of 320 people were transported. During this time demolition parties of the Royal Air Force had been at work, and property which would have been of use to the enemy, such as motor cars, was destroyed. The Air Force then left. Evacuation of civilians by ship was then proceeding, and it was no longer necessary to use aircraft. In fact, it was found that the aircraft tended to cause confusion as some .of the refugees who were trooping southward across Jersey to the harbour at St. Helier started to retrace their steps and go towards. the aerodrome when they saw an aeroplane •overhead. The control building at Jersey Aerodrome is a businesslike structure well adapted to its duties. Radio communication had ceased some time before this by order of the Air Ministry, but communication by tele- phone was possible right up until the day of the occu- pation. On Thursday, June 20, two aircraft were sent across from England to bring out the skeleton maintenance staff and the airport staff, but Mr. Roche, the controller, and a few others still remained. Previous to this, ships had taken everybody off Alderney and, with its aerodrome mined and suitably " obstructed," it was left, a deserted island. From the Islands, the black smoke of bombing could be seen rising drearily from the coast of Normandy, south of Cherbourg, as the Germans threatened and finally took that town. And as the aero- plane carrying the last of the Jersey Airways staff flew northward to England and safety, numbers of small boats could be seen pushing out from the coast of France, vainly seeking to escape from Nazism. Perhaps Alderney is no longer a deserted island. •
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