The Holmes brothers of East Hanney

Frederick James Vernon Holmes and John Duncan Vernon Holmes (usually known as Jack) were born at East Hanney in a house called 'The Mulberries' in 1896 and 1898 respectively. Although only being established in 1910, during 1912 A.V. Roe & Company in Manchester created three gentlemen apprenticeships and Fred Holmes was indentured to them on 20th December 1912 with his father, John Robin Holmes, paying £25 for the privilege. He qualified as a mechanic in time to join the Royal Naval Air Service at the outbreak of the 1914-18 war. Both brothers were to gain flying experience as pilots during the First World War. John Holmes made a forced landing behind enemy lines on 18th May 1917 following engine trouble in his almost new SPAD S.VII and was captured, ending up as a prisoner-of-war in Silesia. After a number of unsuccessful escape attempts he was repatriated to England in January 1919.

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From 'Aeroplane', 10th February 1926
Courtesy of Aviation Ancestry, ref 6020

East Hanney 1919-1926

in April 1919 the Holmes brothers teamed up with Alan (later Sir Alan) Cobham to buy a war surplus Avro 504K biplane following its conversion to a three-seater, believed to have been by Avro at Hamble, for £600. This aircraft, G-EACL, was registered on 20th May to J.D.V.Holmes trading as the Berkshire Aviation Co.East Hanney, Wantage. They started giving local pleasure flights on 27th May. According to Alan Cobham in his book 'Skyways' published in 1926, the firm possessed the one aircraft, an old Ford car, £50 worth of petrol and £200 in cash. That aircraft was damaged beyond repair when, whilst being piloted by Cobham, it overturned on landing in a field near Northampton just a few months later on 19th July. A replacement aircraft was quickly obtained however, enabling the company to carry on flying. This was G-EAIB, being registered to J.D.V.Holmes trading as the Berkshire Aviation Co.East Hanney, Wantage on 8th August 1919. These two aircraft were the only ones to be registered in his name and G-EAIB was sold on in June 1920.

What is thought to have been the third aircraft to be registered at East Hanney was G-EASF, which looked to have arrived at a time of change. It was at first registered in March 1920 to Cobham & Holmes Aviation Co. but operated by Berkshire Aviation Co., East Hanney, then in the July to Capt. Oscar Philip Jones and still operated by Berkshire Aviation Co., East Hanney, then finally in March 1922 to F.J.V.Holmes t/a Berkshire Aviation Co..

The business soon ran into temporary financial difficulties however, by some accounts brought on by a long spell of particularly wet weather. Alan Cobham left them in May 1920 later becoming a very famous pilot and pioneer aviator, setting up Flight Refuelling Ltd. in 1936. O.P.Jones left in March 1922 to become a pilot for Instone Airlines which was one of several to join forces in 1924 to form Imperial Airways. He had a long and distinguished career with Imperial Airways and BOAC, before, during and after the Second World War.

The business recovered and rapidly expanded their fleet of aircraftAircraft believed registered at East Hanney

Avro504K (converted to carry 1+1 passengers)
G-EACL G-EAHZ G-EAIB G-EAKX G-EASF G-EBCK G-EBFV G-EBIN G-EBKB G-EBKR G-EBKX

Avro 536 (Avro 504K conversion to carry 2+2 passengers)
G-EAKN

DH.53 (single seat prototype)
G-EBHX ‘Humming Bird’ becoming firmly established on the pleasure-flight and stunt circuit. With just three known exceptions all their aircraft were Avro 504Ks, each having been converted from two seat trainers to accommodate an extra passenger behind the pilot. Shown here are just two of the aircraft which would have flown from East Hanney.

G-EBFV in the early 1920s
Unknown photographer, author's collection

The first photograph was taken by an unknown photographer at an unknown location in the early 1920s and shows two eager passengers sitting in G-EBFV waiting for their flight to start. The pilot can just be seen in the front seat whilst his mechanic poses with a hand on the propeller. Written below the passenger cockpit is F.J.V.Holmes E. Hanney Wantage which suggests that the photograph must date from a time before the business added Berkshire Aviation Tours to the side of their aircraft in late 1923 or early 1924.

G-EBKB in the mid 1920s
Unknown photographer, author's collection

The second photograph, again taken by an unknown photographer at an unknown location, captures two passengers sitting in G-EBKB ready for their flight. In this image the pilot can be clearly seen and his mechanic looks ready to swing the propellor with both hands to start the engine. Written on the side of the aircraft in large lettering Berkshire Aviation Tours Sole Proprietor F.J.V.Holmes East Hanney and so this image must date from the mid 1920s. This aircraft was painted, fuselage and wings, in a rich dark blue with a white tail fin.

Flying was done all over the country from farmer's fields rented by the day so Fred and John were away from home for long periods, but they visited 'The Mulberries' whenever they could and on numerous occasions flew over the house to drop a bundle of dirty laundry on the lawn. During the winter the company's machines were overhauled in a barn at Yew Tree Farm, which was located on the south side of the Steventon road just outside East Hanney, and flown from the adjacent field. Spares were readily obtained from the RAF surplus store in nearby Milton. It is believed that some flying also took place from 'The Common' at Lyford which was close by. Whilst the base of operations was at East Hanney, judging by the advert from 1921, they look to have branched out with an office or an agent at least at Castle Bromwich Aerodrome.

There were a number of pilotsKnown pilots

Geoffrey R.Beck, Eric Watt 'Jock' Bonar, B.Ferrand, Albert Victor Heaton, Fred & John Holmes, Oscar Philip Jones, Clifford Stanley Kent, A.N.Kingwell, Lionel L.Leleu, Francis George Monkhouse Sparks, L.J.Rimmer, A.L.Robinson, Robert Millar Stirling, J.C.Taylor

Parachutist Pat O’Hara and even a parachutist with the company at one time or another. The pilots became celebrities through their aerobatic displays and autographed postcards of them were much in demand. In addition to aerobatics and 'crazy flying' another spectacle to draw the crowds was 'wing walking'. This involved two passengers climbing out of the cockpit whilst in flight and, using the struts and rigging wires for support, literally walking along the lower wing, one on either side for balance. Great care was needed, not only to hold on, but also to avoid putting a foot through the canvas covering. Various dates have been suggested as to when this daring feat was first performed, but Fred Holmes wrote in his 1942 booklet how it was first demonstrated at a show in Burton-on-Trent during 1921, believed to have been by himself and R. Graham-Woolland. See 'Footnote' below for more information on the booklet and read how the idea came about.

John Holmes gave up flying in 1923 and took up a job with British Petroleum and the company reformed as Berkshire Aviation Tours with Fred (F.J.V.Holmes) being the sole proprietor.

A very unusual aeroplane owned by the business was the prototype DH.53 'Humming Bird' G-EBHX which was first flown at the beginning of October 1923 and along with its sister aircraft 'Sylvia II' G-EBHZ was entered into the first Daily Mail Light Aeroplane Competition, held at Lympne in 1923 to find the most economical British aeroplane. The DH.53 was a strut-braced, low wing monoplane and was fitted with a low power 750 cc Douglas motorcycle engine. Berkshire Aviation purchased 'Humming Bird' from deHavilland after the competition. Alan Cobham then flew it to Brussels for the 1923 Aero and Automobile Show despite it being winter-time. He faced strong headwinds on the return flight, and after finding himself in exceptionally low cloud, he realised that in fact he was in steam having been overtaken by a slow-moving freight train on the rail track he was following. He abandoned the little aircraft and caught the next train and ferry home! The plane was sold on but went into storage after being damaged in a crash. Having been discovered in a back garden in 1955 it was returned to flying condition by de Havilland apprentices at Hatfield and, in August 1960, was passed on to the Shuttleworth Trust to maintain in flying condition at Old Warden. The aircraft was repaired after a crash in 1967 but was badly damaged in a sadly fatal accident at Old Warden in 2012. At the time of writing it is the subject of a slow rebuild.

Another aircraft to vary from the standard fleet of Avro 504Ks was an Avro 536 G-EAKN. This was the tenth of 12 conversions from war surplus Avro 504Ks by A.V.Roe & Co.Ltd. in Manchester, to whom it was originally registered. Principally intended for joyriding, these aircraft had greater wing area, a more powerful engine to lift four passengers and a fuselage which was widened by 9" so that the passengers could be carried seated in two rows of side-by-side seats behind the pilot. This aircraft did not last long however as it was first registered to F.J.V.Holmes in East Hanney during September 1923 and was written off in a crash near Brill in August 1924.

In August 1926 the businesss was incorporated as Berkshire Aviation Tours Ltd. and moved their maintenance operations from the barn at Yew Tree Farm into the large hangar at Witney Aerodrome. The move may well have started earlier in the year as records indicate that 'the Aerodrome Witney' was the registered location for an Avro 504K, G-EBOB in the May. Not all the fleet transferred to Witney as G-EBCK was sold in early 1923 and G-EBKR was sold in June 1927 to their pilot C.S.Kent who went on to operate Kent Flying Tours in Surrey. Several more were less fortunate as G-EAHZ crashed in March 1922, G-EBFV crashed in Lincolnshire during September 1923 (although it was repaired and sold on), and G-EBIN crashed at Plymouth in July 1924.

Witney Aerodrome 1926-1929

Berkshire Aviation Tours staff at Witney in 1928
Courtesy of The Bampton Archive

We are grateful to The Bampton Archive for their kind permission to use this photograph from their collection. It was taken at Witney prior to setting off for the 1928 season. We are thinking that the pilots will be amongst those wearing a jacket and tie as two can be identified from the postcards in our collection. They are, Clifford Stanley Kent who is standing third from the right, and fourth from the right is the unmistakable Lionel Louis Leleu. The aircraft which forms the background to the group has the name 'THE WASP' painted around the top of the engine cowling.

Whilst their fleet of aircraftAircraft believed maintained at Witney

Avro504K (converted to carry 1+1 passengers)
G-EACL G-EAHZ G-EAIB G-EAKX G-EASF G-EBCK G-EBFV G-EBIN G-EBKB G-EBKR G-EBKX G-EBOB G-EBSL G-EBSM

DH.6 (converted to carry 1+1 passengers)
G-EBPN

remained largely the same, there appears to have been three additional Avro 504Ks purchased whilst based at Witney. G-EBOB first registered to F.G.V.Holmes , the Aerodrome Witney on 10th May 1926, and G-EBSL and G-EBSM were registered to F.J.V.Holmes (trading as Berkshire Aviation Tours) East Hanney. It is believed that, whilst based at Witney, the fleet of Avro 504K aircraft began to be repainted with a standard livery of red and silver as seen in the photograph from 1928 below.

G-EBPN in November 1926
Unknown photographer, author's collection

This undated photograph shows DH.6 G-EBPN which was first registered to F.J.V.Holmes (trading as Berkshire Aviation Tours) East Hanney in November 1926. This is after the maintenance operation was relocated to Witney and so this photograph could have been taken there. It shows the aircraft which is securely staked to the ground (see the big mallet!) being eagerly inspected by a group of people so it may well have just been received. It is unusual as it looks to have two different wheels. Both this, and the unidentified aircraft seen in 1928 below carry the name The Berkshire Aviation Tours Ltd.. We have seen a photograph taken at the same time of the other side of the aircraft and it carries the fuller description of The Berkshire Aviation Tours Ltd. F.J.V.Holmes Aerodrome Witney.

The DH.6 was designed as a two seat training aircraft and first flew in 1916. Proving to be under powered and slow in service they were superceeded by the Avro 504K towards the end of 1917. After the war a number were converted to carry two passengers, one behind the other, in one large open cockpit behind the pilot.

Postcard dated May 1927 signed Yours Sincerely R.M.Stirling
Author's collection

This publicity photograph shows G-EBOB and its pilot, Robert Millar Stirling. A passenger recorded details of his exciting 15 minute flight in 1927 on the back of the postcard. Judging by the description R.M.Stirling certainly enjoyed demonstrating his aerobatic skills!

Photograph dated 8th April 1928
Unknown photographer, author's collection

This photograph shows two ladies posing by an aeroplane either before or after taking a pleasure flight The location and aircraft registration are unknown, but the photograph is hand dated on the back as being taken on 8th April 1928.

In May 1929 Berkshire Aviation Tours Ltd. became part of Northern Air Transport Ltd. and moved from Witney to be based at Rackhouse Aerodrome near Manchester.

Monkmoor Aerodrome 1927-1929

Monkmoor Aerodrome, also known as Monk Moor or Monksmoor, was a venue for flying exhibitions, served as a military airfield, and as a civil aerodrome. It was located alongside the A49 next to Shrewsbury Racecourse, just over a mile north east of the town centre. It was a Training and Aircraft Repair Depot of the Royal Flying Corps with its hangars being built in 1917. Aircraft were delivered in sections from the railway station for assembly in the workshops, ready to fly to their operational bases. It was unusual in that the workshops and flying field were on opposite sides of a road which had to be closed whenever an aircraft wished to go from one to the other. After the war Walter Vaughan, a successful Shrewsbury hatter, bought the buildings and airfield for development and it was used to host visiting air displays including those by the Berkshire Aviation Co. amongst others.

Fred Holmes occupied the site from 1927, possibly renting it as a Northern base alongside Witney. He apparently ran an air service to Manchester and other destinations in addition to giving pleasure flights. Bert Farminier has been mentioned as being a Ground Engineer (there may have been others) and there may also have been a number of pilots, but one was certainly Capt. E.E.Fresson who described going to the aerodrome at Monkmoor in 1928 to take a job as a 'joy ride' pilot. A number of aircraft in the Berkshire Aviation Tours Ltd. fleet originally registered to F.J.V.Holmes at East Hanney or Witney Aerodrome had their registration changed with effect from December 1927 to reflect their relocation to Monksmoor. One new Avro504K joined the fleet at MonkmoorAircraft believed registered at Monkmoor

Avro504K (converted to carry 1+1 passengers)
G-EAKX G-EBKB G-EBKX G-EBOB G-EBSL G-EBSM G-EBVW

DH.6 (converted to carry 1+1 passengers)
G-EBPN

, G-EBVW was registered to F.J.V.Holmes (trading as Berkshire Aviation Tours) Monkmoor in January 1928 with two aircraft being sold, DH.6 G-EBPN to British Flying & Motor Services Ltd of Romford in April 1928 and G-EBSM was sold in May 1928 to James Bunning Ltd. of Pontypool but based in Prestatyn. The Certificate of Airworthyness for G-EBOB lapsed in March 1929 and it was later noted as being withdrawn from use.

Fred Holmes lived nearby for a time as confirmed in a 1928 Street Directory which contains an entry recording 'F.J.Holmes, aeronautical engineer' as occupying one of the cottages on Monkmoor Road.

It is possible that Fred Holmes vacated the site in 1929 and moved from Rackhouse Aerodrome to Barton Aerodrome when Berkshire Aviation Tours Ltd. became part of Northern Air Transport Ltd.. The site was later used as an RAF Maintenance Unit during the 1940s before closing. When flying ceased the landing ground was redeveloped for housing, but the large hangar building survived and was converted for business use, the historic value of its Belfast Trussed roof saving it from planned demolition.

Rackhouse Aerodrome 1929-1930

Northern Air Lines, founded by by John Leeming, took over Berkshire Aviation Tours Ltd. in May 1929 to form Northern Air Transport Ltd., with F. J. V. Holmes and J. F. Leeming as directors. All Berkshire Aviation Tours Ltd. aircraft and operations moved from Witney and Monkmoor to be absorbed into one large fleet at Rackhouse Aerodrome Wythenshawe near Manchester. Although little more than three or four fields at Rack House Farm, the landing ground was licensed by the Air Ministry on 19th April 1929. The Air Ministry granted it an 'all-purpose' licence, so Manchester became the first municipality in Great Britain to have its own commercial airport. A barn was converted to serve as the hangar, a farmhouse acted as the administration building and temporary fuel pumps were installed.

This proved to be a very temporary home as they moved to what was then the newly opened Barton (Manchester) Airport in June 1930 and Rackhouse Aerodrome closed. The site has since been redeveloped for housing and a primary school.

Barton (Manchester) Airport 1930-1932

Construction of the new municipal aerodrome at Barton near Eccles started in the autumn of 1928. With the grass airfield and one large hanger being completed Barton officially opened on 29th January 1930 becoming Manchester's municipal airport. Imperial Airways began running scheduled services to London via Birmingham in the summer.

Berkshire Aviation Tours and Northern Air Transport Ltd. moved to Barton in June 1930 and were to manage the airport on behalf of Manchester Corporation. Their fleet of Avro 504Ks were all painted red and silver and, although owned by Northern Air Transport Ltd., still carried the wording Berkshire Aviation Tours Ltd. with some, if not all, now having Air Port Manchester added below. It appears the company went bankrupt however, ceasing operations in late 1932, and in February 1933 Airwork Ltd. was appointed to take over management of the airport.

By spring 1933 a control tower was completed which, together with the original hangar, is still in use today, both having Grade ll listed status. In early 1934 a test visit by KLM deemed the airfield unsuitable for them to operate from due to the soft ground, obstacles and poor visibility from fog. Barton Aerodrome was therefore considered unsuitable for larger aircraft and the necessary improvements would be prohibitively expensive. This led Manchester Corporation to decide in the December of that year to proceed with a new airport at Ringway to the south of the city. Ringway Airport was officially opened on 25th June 1938 but Barton Aerodrome remains active and busy, being home to multiple fixed-wing and rotary operators, as well as a thriving General Aviation community.

Some losses

Even without the added dangers involved with stunt flying, early aviation could be a risky business. The Times carried a report titled 'AIR PILOT'S COURAGE' which told about the ditching of a Berkshire Aviation Tours aircraft on 13th September 1931. The aircraft, registration G-EBKB, developed engine trouble shortly after taking off from Scarborough racecourse. The pilot, Albert Victor Heaton, had intended to put down on the sand at North Bay but the sands were crowded and instead he ditched into the sea with a dead engine about 300 yards from shore. Pilot and passenger were quickly rescued by boat and the plane was later recovered. The passenger, James Exley, might have suffered some acute embarrassment as he was the plane's mechanic. The aircraft was recovered but deemed to be damaged beyond economical repair. Believe it or not, this aircraft had made a forced landing in the sea at Scarborough in September 1929 but on the occasion was salvaged and repaired.

A number of other Avro 504s are known to have been lost from the Berkshire Air Tours/Northern Air Transport fleet including G-ABAV which crashed into the sea off Holyhead on 30th September 1930 (both pilot and passenger were rescued), G-EBSL which crashed on take-off at Barton in May 1932 injuring the pilot and two passengers and, also in May 1932, G-ABUK which struck telegraph wires when coming in to land near Hull.

Penshurst 1932-1936 A new start

A military airfield was established at Penshurst in Kent in late 1916. Facilities included two hangars, two grass runways, and a large house, Knotley Hall, was requisitioned for use as the officer's accommodation. In September 1919, it was announced that Penshurst had been disposed of by the Royal Air Force, and that it could be considered as an emergency landing ground for civil aircraft diverting from Croydon. Apparently pilots could telephone to arrange for transport to take their passengers to Penshurst station for onward travel. Civil lying and air displays continued on the airfield but it closed on 28th July 1936 when the lease for the land expired. It did re-open during the Second World War as an Emergency Landing Ground, RAF Penshurst, but finally closed in May 1946. The control tower was demolished in the 1970s, the crewroom was demolished in 1990, and a hangar survived until 1991, when it blew down in a storm.

In late 1932 Fred Holmes set up a new company called Air Travel Ltd. at Penshurst airfield. Unsurprisingly this company operated a fleet including Avro 504 aircraft Some aircraft known to have belonged to the Air Travel Ltd. fleet at Penshurst

Avro504K (converted to carry 1+1 passengers)
G-AACA G-ABSN G-ACCX

Avro504K/N (504K with 504N wings
G-ABVH G-ABVY G-ACOD ADBM

Avro504N (504K converted to carry 2+2 passengers
G-ACLV G-ACOM G-ADBD

. In addition to offering pleasure flights and displays the company expaned into aircraft sales, maintenance and overhaul, which meant a greater diversity of airaft passed through their hands. During 1935 they were employing 25 staff with as many as 15 aircraft and 26 engines being worked on. Click or tap hereClick or tap to scroll through a gallery of adverts to see a small gallery of Air Travel Ltd. adverts from Penshurst courtesy of Aviation Ancestry. A number of the fleet participated in the National Aviation Day tour during 1932, 1933 and 1934 which led to a lot of crashes, one sadly fatal with the loss of the pilot and both passengers.

Also in the early 1932 Pauline Gower and Dorothy Spicer based their Spartan three-seater G-ABKK here, flying between Wallingford Aerodrome and Penshurst. Read more about them by selecting the 'Local landing grounds' option under the 'BITS & BOBS' menu tab on the 'HOME' page.

Display and pleasure flying became increasingly unprofitable and the Avro504 fleet was gradually disposed of. It is believed all had been sold before Fred Holmes and Air Travel Ltd. left Penshurst for Gatwick in 1936 when Penshurst was closed down.

Gatwick 1936-1937

We follow Fred Holmes one last time when he moved Air Travel Ltd. operations to Gatwick on July 28th 1936 when Penshurst airfield closed. Four new Avro504Ns were registered whilst at Gatwick, G-AEDD and G-AEGW in April 1936, G-AEIJ in June, and G-AEMP in the August, but all four were quickly sold on after gaining their CofA certification, possibly this was always the intention as the business was now firmly focused on aircraft sales, repair and overhaul. The company occupied the new No.1 hangar and went on to employ 70 staff, but was taken over the following year by Airports Ltd. who were the operators and owners of the aerodrome which they had substantially redeveloped. Fred Holmes became the Works Manager for Airports Ltd..

Footnote

Fred Holmes was an Associate Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and Works Manager of Airports Ltd. which made aircraft parts during World War II. He was awarded the MBE in King George IV's Birthday Honours list of 1944 and died in 1967.

During the war John Holmes was a Squadron Leader (R.A.F.V.R.), working in the operations room of Fighter Command and wrote an account of life as a Fighter Controller
Author's collection at Biggin Hill during 1941/2 which was based on true events, but with fictional names and call signs. It was published by Bernards (Publishers) Ltd. and cost 2/-. In one section he describes how the idea of 'wing walking came about, when it was first perfomed at an air show, and includes a photograph of two people performing the feat. Click or tap hereClick or tap to read Fred Holmes' account to read the relevant pages from the booklet. Fred Holmes died at the age of 81 in August 1980.

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