Airfix Magazine Photopage.

[Hal LH]

Many, many, years ago, ( early 70's),  I submitted a selection of second WW aircraft photos that I had picked up in a house clearance ( in Chingford I think) to Airfix Photopage and Michael Bowyer.  I also had the chaps Log book, which I may also have sent,( but don't remember) but I never recorded or copied any of it ( not as easy as it is today) and his details ( and sadly the Log book) have all been lost in the mists of time and many house moves over the years, and never having seen the photos published, I have many times wondered what happened to them. ( they had not returned them and I may not have even given them a return address at the time , I can't recall.)

                  Recently, as part of my clearance of magazines from my loft, and looking through an old Airfix Mag. (December 77, page 212) I saw this, "Attention all Photopage contributors"  Which was basically an announcement and a list of names to anyone who had submitted photos over the years to contact them because they were possibly going to include them in a forthcoming book, and yes my name was there!  I don't know exactly what I was doing that December ,but it probably included enjoying myself rather too much and obviously not reading the magazine properly !.

                 So, onto Amazon to order and get copies of Aviation Photo Album Vols 1 and 2 (Easily found and not expensive) a book I had seen many times at shows etc. but never looked through or bought. and yes both Vols had a photo ascribed to me. In Vol 1,Page79 a Hawker Tempest II PR656 at Bhopal in 1946, and in Vol 2, page 48 Spifire Vc's (tropical)  at Abu Sueir No, 73 OTU (nearest being no.33 A1283).  Neither of which I remember, my memory of the photos being of Tempest II's waiting to be scrapped or passed on in India, sometime.

               So a question, does anyone have any further information as to who the pilot involved may have been, to remedy my incompetence , and does anyone know what became of the whole Photopage archive, Did it stay with Michael Bowyer who I believe is still with us, from what I can tell, or was it owned and sold on as part of Patrick Stephens Ltd when they were sold,  Who owns PSL now ? (Haynes ? )

              If anybody has any thoughts or info about all this I would love to hear it.

 

Cheers everyone ,  Happy New Year                 (Please !)