The Aviation Historian — January 2018

90 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN Issue No 22

1948, “one of the great advantages of this new

venture is that Butlin Aviation Charter Services,

to be operated from the aerodrome, will provide

a speedy link between Skegness and important

inland centres and indeed, with the Continent”.

The holiday company’s new air service would

operate charter flights for both passenger and

freight traffic, using the Butlin’s fleet of aircraft,

chiefly the Arguses and Rapides. It was noted

that “these machines will always be available for

private charter to any specified place, no matter

how far distant”. Furthermore, “passengers may

be picked up or set down at any town or country

throughout the world”. Ambitious talk indeed.

The opening ceremony for the new airfield

at Ingoldmells was to be held on June 13, 1948,

the local press announcing the inclusion of a

concours d’élégance and free prize-flights for the

winners of height- and speed-judging contests.

Admission was free to all-comers and, by the

end of the rally weekend, it was estimated that

some 7,000 people had attended.

The official opening on the Sunday was

preceded by a few days of arrivals, early birds

congregating at the airfield on the evening of

the Friday. There was a moment of drama on

the Saturday afternoon, when Major V. Lea,

accompanied by his passenger, Mrs D. Kent,

was forced to land his Auster Autocrat on the

beach at Skegness. Inbound to Ingoldmells

from Elstree, Major Lea had experienced bad

weather and failed to find the aerodrome.

Seeing it was low tide, the Major was able to

make a perfect three-point landing on the hard

sand; an onlooker then provided the pilot with

directions to Ingoldmells by drawing a rough

map in the sand. Also on hand were members

of the Skegness Model Aircraft Club and the

Skegness Young Conservatives, who helped to

turn the Auster back into wind for take-off. After

a few unsuccessful attempts, the Auster became

airborne and the Major and his friend arrived

at Ingoldmells a few minutes later, none the

worse for their unscheduled stop en route. (After

all that, the Auster did not participate in the

following day’s Auster Air Race, for which the

Major had specifically made the trip!)

The airfield was officially opened by Alderman

J. Forrester on the morning of Sunday the 13th,

by which time some 40 aircraft had mustered at

the new aerodrome. After the usual pleasantries,

Forrester read aloud a letter sent by Billy Butlin,

who was travelling in the USA at the time, in

which the holiday camp supremo vowed to

“do everything possible to make this airfield a

valuable contribution to the development of the

County”. Escorted by Col Pearman, members

of the civic party were then treated to a flight

aboard one of the Butlin’s Rapides, which took

the lead during a flypast including an Auster,

two Arguses, a GAL Cygnet II and a Proctor.

With the show declared well and truly open,

displays were undertaken by famous wartime

Pathfinder pilot Wg Cdr Don Bennett in the

Proctor and Auster’s chief test pilot George

Snarey, who flew one of his company’s products.

Butlin’s own Aeronautical Manager, Ian McBean,

then undertook the height- and speed-judging

flight in the company’s Consul, G-AIKU, which

was itself judged to be the winner of the concours

d’élégance. Deemed to have been given “home

advantage” as one of the hosting company’s

own machines, it was decided to give the award

to the cream Rapide of Harold “Tim” Wood, then

chief test pilot for General Aircraft Ltd (and later

Blackburn) instead.

ABOVE In the immediate post-war period, Billy Butlin acquired his own fleet of corporate aircraft, which in 1950

comprised Fairchild Arguses G-AJGW, G-AJNN, G-AJPE and G-AJVI, Percival Proctor G-AGTE, Miles Martlet

G-AAYX and Airspeed Consul G-AIKU, as seen here with the company’s logo, “Butlin’s Camps”, on its rudder.

EDDIE RIDING VIA RICHARD T. RIDING