ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 203348
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| Date: | Sunday 13 February 1938 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Avro 504N |
| Owner/operator: | Air Publicity Ltd |
| Registration: | G-ACRE |
| MSN: | E9408 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Gamlingay, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Demo/Airshow/Display |
| Departure airport: | Gamlingay, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire |
| Gamlingay, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Ex-RAF Avro 504N E9408 (former RAF serial used by Air Ministry in lieu of any official c/n). First registered (C of R 4988) 30.4.34 as G-ACRE to Air Travel Ltd., Gatwick Airport, Lowfield Heath, Surrey. C of A 4284 issued early in May 1934. According to a published source from the son of Fred Wright (see links #4 & #5):
"On 7th May, 1934, my father" [Fred Wright] "and Mr. Herbert Basil Goldwire Michelmore formed “W and M Flying Services” and purchased an Avro 504 Lynx biplane of first world war vintage, from Air Travel Ltd. of Gatwick, registration letters G-ACRE. The price was £340.
This could carry two passengers in the front cockpit and the intention was to give joyrides from rented fields at towns and seaside resorts in the North east of England. The hangar was in a field at the top of Kenwick Road, Louth, [Lincolnshire] on the right hand side just before the quarry cottages. (After the war the hangar was transferred to Welton top where it still serves as a garage). This partnership did not last very long. There is an entry in the 1934 accounts which reads:
“Bad Debt - Michelmore drawings, less capital paid in £43.0.4.”
£43 would probably be the equivalent of £4000 these days so the loss was significant. Mr Michelmore disappeared, address unknown, and W and M Flying Services ceased to operate on the 20th July, 1934."
However, the business continued under Fred Wright alone: "Apart from the financial accounts there is no official record of the company’s activities in 1934 and 1935. We do know that banner advertising brought in £70 in 1934 and one of the advertisers was Bertie Hallam, who owned the Playhouse cinema in Louth.
Passengers were charged 2/6d, for a quick circuit round the field, 5/-. for a longer trip or 7/6d for aerobatics. If we assume the average charge was 5/-, the number of passengers flown in 1934 was about 1,144 and in 1935, 4,660".
G-ACRE was replaced by another Avro 504, G-ADFW (ex-RAF K1061) from 4.4.35, and G-ACRE was sold on and re-registered (C of R 5834) 25.4.35 to Air Publicity Ltd, Penshurst, Kent. Avro 504N G-ACRE spent the 1936 season with C. W. A. Scott's Flying Displays and was seen at Timperley on 27.6.36.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) 13.2.38 when hit tree and crashed, Gamlingay, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Flight Lt Percival Phillips DFC (RAFO, aged 44) was killed. Registration G-ACRE cancelled by the Air Ministry 13.2.38 after 1938 Air Ministry census
Sources:
1. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/15-aeroplanes/77-register-gb-g-ac
2. https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ACRE.pdf
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A5.html
4. https://ukga.com/airfield/louth
5. http://www.thewrightfamilylincolnshire.com/uploads/6/5/4/0/6540887/avro_story_wd_.pdf
6. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1939.htm
7. A Flying Life: An Enthusiast's Photographic Record of British Aviation By Richard Riding
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Dec-2017 21:02 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 24-Dec-2017 21:03 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 17-Feb-2018 00:34 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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