Map of Courage

By Mitch Stirling

I am drawn to old maps... like a moth to a light bulb. They are wonderful visual records of change - sometimes for good, sometimes not-so-good - but always fascinating, like this 1: 250 000 aeronautical from 1943.  

If you trace the railway line from Salisbury to Sinoia... you can see that it branches off the Umtali line on the outskirts of Salisbury near what used to be the Municipal market. Then it snakes along, where the Enterprise road is today, and alongside the prison and through where the University now stands. Then it runs parallel to the Lomagundi road where a little side-road called Halt Way exists today. Presumably this was a railway station in the old days?

A wider scan shows Pendennis airfield and today's Pendennis road must have been named after the farm.

The four airfields marked with roundels were: No 20 SFTS Cranborne, started in 1940 and No 25 EFTS Belvedere, in the same year. No 28 EFTS Mt Hampden was opened in 1941 and the same with No 33 CFS Norton. 

Sebastopol, north of the Umtali road, was a relief airfield for Cranborne. Heinzani was somewhere nearby, but I can't find it, nor Park Ridge. Inkomo, Oldbury and Rainham were relief fields for Mt Hampden, but only Rainham Farm is familiar these days - on the extended centre-line of runway 06 at Charles Prince airfield. There's no sign of Stamford airfield today.

'Pana mazinana ano bururuka', the motto of EFTS Mt Hampden where 'fledglings take wing', could have applied equally to all the flight training schools, except Norton, perhaps, where advanced training took place. The Elementary Flight Training Schools gave their recruits 50 hours of basic instruction on simple trainers, but pilots with signs of good aptitude were introduced to more advanced types at Service Flight Training Schools and finally Central Flying School where all types were in use at the Flight Instructor's School under Group Captain Craig. These included Cornells, Oxfords and Ansons.  

The history of flight training in Mashonaland is dotted with incidents and accidents, with the thin air of the high plateau often cited as one of the main causes. The underpowered Tiger Moths had to be nursed along very carefully and the Cornells were a welcome replacement as time went by. Old Harvard 1's and variants 2, 2a and 3 were scattered around the country, sometimes crashing in remote areas of bush. The 'Ox Box' and 'Flying Glass House' were used as twin-engined trainers for pilots, navigators and gunners.

Harvards 

Harvard 'prang'

     

Canadian-built Fairchild Cornell

     

Avro Anson

     

Airspeed Oxford

     

Tiger crash at Belvedere 

Later Belvedere derelict buildings

     

Belvedere Opened 24 May 1940

   

Belvedere Camp Cinema

     

Roll of Honour 1940 - 1944

Roll of honour

TRIBUTE paid to the memory of the under mentioned Flying Instructors, Cadets and members of the Ground Staff of this Station who were killed or died during the course of their service at Belvedere during the period 1940-1944.

Cadet Sgt. I C, Smith: 20th June, 1940.
Cadet L/A/Q A. B, Birrell: 20th May, 1941
F/Lt. L. S. T. Tindall: 28th August, 1941
P/O. R.F. Murphy: 16th December. 1941
Cadet L/A/C. C. E. Graham: 22nd August, 1942
F/Lt. A, E, Stringer: 14th November, 1942
Cadet L/A/C. C. P. Fotheringham: 23rd November, 1942
F/O. M.G.F Nockolds.: 24th November, 1942
Cadet Cpl S. Collins: 21st October, 1943
Sgt. W. H. Southgate: 26th October, 1943
Cadet Cpl. J. H. Tait: 26th October, 1943
P/O. A. J. N. Berry: 4th November, 1943
Cadet A/C/2. N. R, Bell: 29th December 1943
L/A/C/W. M. A. Hughes: 17th September, 1944

But it was not 'all work and no play' for the boys (and girls) at RATG!

R.A.F. Belvedere
Belvedere Concert Party
presents
A NON STOP REVUE
" Full Revs"
11th, 12th & 13th September 1944

By kind permission of I be Commanding Officer
Wing Commander P. C. Fletcher, D.F.C.

Stage Manager: Eddie Kilfoy
Electricians: F. Sgt. Jenkins, Reg Whitclock

Electrical Installation  by: Reg Whitclock

Costumes Created by: "Yorky" Downsborough

Stage and Setting: J. Groves, K. Sanson, E. Hodgson

House Manager: Ted Plews

Production: Val Manning, J. Groves

Words and Music of Opening Chorus and Finale by: Eddie Harter

Words of 'Thanks for the Memory' by: Colin Winsor

Our thanks to:-
W/Cdr. Fletcher for his permission (kind)
S/Ldr. Hall who we pestered every day.
S/Ldr. Pennant Rae for the loan of his staff.
F/Lt. Miller who arbitrated all our fight.
Sg. Harper and staff of the Canteen who gave us food.
The W.A.A.S. who ushered you in and sold programmes.
The Personnel of the Station who suffered through our continual rehersals and to Val Manning without who this show would never have gone on.

Menu

  

Christmas dinner - RAF Norton

After the war the core buildings at Norton were used briefly as an internment camp for POW's and thereafter as a Junior school which opened in 1948. Kids who went there - Chris Dixon (RIP) was one - will remember the names of Cornell, Oxford and Anson, the names of their school hostels. The concrete runway, with tall thatching grass growing through the fissures, and the old tower and concrete plinths were extant even in the 1970's. By this time the school had been renamed Dudley Hall in recognition of the past headmaster, an exceptional man.

Ask any ex-pupils from Norton school about the folklore that lingers in their memories and they will tell you spooky stories about the Porta farm atrocities during the Mashona rebellion in 1896 when Joseph Norton and his wife and child were brutally murdered. And ask them about the eerie spectre of airmen who never returned from war lurking in the school cellars and underground bunkers. Like the ghosts of Biggin Hill, the 'ghosts of Norton past' were very real to some and provided good ammunition for seniors to scare young boys and girls!

Norton Camp - 20 March 1944

But, imprinted clearly on all of their young minds was the wonderfully unique school motto - the single word  'COURAGE' - which epitomizes the bravery of past members of 33 CFS Norton and all other war-time airmen throughout the land.

'Strength will come through our fledglings'  

Photo credits with thanks to: Stan Rogers, Mark Dorkin, Brian Spurr, John Reid-Rowland, Tony Hawes memoirs, 'Souvenir Brochure of Belvedere' from Nicky (Elphinstone) Pearce and the interesting map and 'walk' down the old railway track by John Reid-Rowland.      

End

Thanks to Mitch for sharing his article with ORAFs, thanks also to all those that made photographs and memories available to ORAFs.

Comments are always welcome, please mail them to Eddy Norris at orafs11@gmail.com

To view the Blog Home Page - Please Click Here  or on the link below

http://rhodesianheritage.blogspot.com/ 

(Please visit our previous posts and archives)

The Late Bob Carmody

By Deb Addison

Belvedere Airport has recently been mentioned a bit, so here is a photograph of my father, the late Bob Carmody, who was an Air Traffic Controller with the Department of Civil Aviation.

This photo was taken on 01 July 1953, in the Control Tower at Belvedere Airport.

The late Bob Carmody

There are still a few people out there who will remember him.

My husband Allan has been involved with Mashonaland Flying Club since 1958, and I have been since about 1965, when I was working for Dept of Civil Aviation as an Air Traffic Control Assistant, at Mt Hampden Airport, now Charles Prince Airport.

We used to work at Mt Hampden for about 6 weeks and then Salisbury for 6 weeks etc etc. I worked for Dept Civil Aviation from 1964-1984. I loved my job, and worked with so many wonderful people, but eventually took early retirement. 

My Dad worked as an Air Traffic Controller starting at Belvedere Airport in 1951 and ending up in the Air Traffic Control Training School , until he took early retirement due to medical reasons in 1973. 

I have been working as Manager of Mashonaland Flying Club since 1999.

We still have most of the Committee Meeting minutes since the 1950s and quite a few magazines which used to be produced. I will have to try to do something for you regarding them.

End

Thanks to Deb for sharing her photograph and memories with ORAFs.

ORAFs looks forward to receiving further information on the treasures (old magazines) you have.

Comments are always welcome, please send them to Eddy Norris at orafs11@gmail.com

To view the Blog Home Page - Please Click Here  or on the link below

http://rhodesianheritage.blogspot.com/ 

(Please visit our previous posts and archives)

Ref. Civil Aviation 

R.A.N.A. And Belvedere Airport

Extracted from the book 'Know your Rhodesia and Know Nyasaland - 300 selections from the Rhodesia Herald', published in 1956.

Warning: This article contains the phrase 'Kaffir Mail', which is not be accepted in todays politically correct world, but was a reflection of the time in which that particular air service operated.

Nearly 25 years ago what was to become the pioneer of the Federal air services established its base of operations in Salisbury.

Rhodesia and Nyasaland Airways—or R.A.N.A. as it was more popularly known brought to the three provinces of Central Africa the first taste of long-distance air travel.

Nowadays there are only a few who can recall those early flights to the north.

But R.A.N.A. has left a reminder of its existence and of the days when Salisbury throbbed to the beat of the engines of a Hercules aircraft.

At Belvedere Airport, which has now reached a well-earned retirement, can be seen an airline epitaph in worn and faded letters. " R.A.N.A." still emblazons the roof of the building shown in this picture, used as a maintenance hangar.

Inside the huge shed—where once were Hercules and Puss Moths—Vikings and Dakotas have received the same meticulous care that was given to the pioneer craft.

Providing a link for the first South Africa-London flight, R.A.N.A. also operated regular services in Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

Early residents can probably recall the famous " Kaffir Mail" and will bear testimony to the skill of pilots who flew these routes.

A similar service was the regular Puss Moth flight between Salisbury and Bulawayo.

R.A.N.A. changed its name on the outbreak of the Second World War and did service as a communications squadron under the title, Southern Rhodesia Air Services.

After the war R.A.N.A. gave way to Central African Airways — its present successor.

End

Material made available by Nick Baalbergen, recompiled by Eddy Norris for use on "Our Rhodesian Heritage" blog only. Thanks Nick.

Comments are welcome, please send them to Eddy Norris on orafs11@gmail.com