Sir Frederick Handley Page by Frank Vann, HB 323 pages, 14 black and white photos, Air World Books, £29.99, ISBN 103613119X
The first local connection with Handley Page was more than 100 years ago, in August 1913, when Ronald Whitehouse was engaged to fly a HP Type E 50 hp monoplane at the Lurgan Agricultural Show. This was followed during the Great War by the manufacture in Belfast of V/1500 heavy bombers, the first of which, E4307, flew from Aldergrove on 20th December 1918. Next came some masterly airmanship by Major Keith Park in April 1919 in the O/400, F3750, bringing off a crosswind landing at Queens Island on a Harland and Wolff wharf which measured only 400 yards by 50 yards. Thereafter, Ulster’s skies were graced by the 12 Hyderabads which served with No 502 (Ulster) Squadron from summer 1928 to the winter of 1931/2. Another HP product, the Heyford, of No 9 and No 102 Squadrons, was based at Aldergrove in 1936. Next, Short and Harland manufactured 150 Herefords in 1939-40. During the war, 502 Squadron would operate the Halifax with great distinction between 1943 and 1945. In 1946, 12 Halifax would be refurbished by Shorts as Haltons for BOAC. More Halifaxes were flown on Met flights by No 518 and 202 Squadrons from Aldergrove between 1945 to 1950, until 202 replaced them with the Hastings, which served until 1964. And finally, Heralds were a common sight at our civil airfields from BEA at Nutts Corner to Channel Express at Aldergrove. Moreover, correspondence with the Handley Page Association has been a very fruitful source of help with research projects on aviation in Northern Ireland for many years. So, it really comes as no surprise that a biography of Sir Frederick Handley Page should be of interest!
The author decided upon writing this book after he had chanced upon a vast archive of Handley Page material stored at RAF Hendon. This included what appears to have been a lifetime’s collection of just about every letter Sir Frederick wrote. This must have been a monumental task, as it would seem that no subject was too offbeat or trivial to engage Sir Frederick’s attention. His style of correspondence could be described as trenchant, quirky, erudite, confident, idiosyncratic and whimsical, just to pluck a few adjectives that spring to mind. I am amazed that he ever found the time to run his business. He had a unique sense of humour, which others may have found an acquired taste.
The book is not a detailed study of Handley Page aircraft, they form the backdrop to an examination of a remarkable personality, giving a fascinating insight into the mind of this aviation pioneer. That said, the description of Handley Page Air Transport and its part in the early days of British civil aviation just after the First World War is particularly interesting.
FHP came from a reasonably well-to-do family of Plymouth Brethren. He studied electrical engineering in the Edwardian era and set up his company in 1909, initially as a manufacturer of components. He was a very determined businessman, never afraid to express his opinion (in which he had the utmost confidence) on any subject. He was very well-read and wrote with great clarity. The various reports and essays on aviation matters included in these pages give evidence of an analytical mind of considerable depth. He could also be headstrong and argumentative and was known to have a somewhat parsimonious attitude to money – though he was exceedingly generous to both individuals and charities on the quiet. He regarded himself as a father figure to his employees and the feeling was, it would seem, mutual. The concluding chapters of the book cover his extensive hinterland thematically.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book; it wasn’t quite what I was expecting but was by no means any the worse for that. The manuscript has lain untouched for 25 years but has been brought to print by the late author’s family, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude. The only disappointment for me was that there were only 14 high-quality photographs. I suppose that including more would have pushed up the selling price too much.
