Last days of RAE Bedford - Aircraft Departures

The last days at RAE Bedford - March 1994.
The very last flight was made by a Seaking on the 27th March 1994.

[@davejohns2472]

Wow....7.8K views of my dad’s (Bill Johns) video. I’m really pleased so many people have enjoyed the video. I remember him making dozens and dozens of copies onto video and later on DVD. Kind regards Dave.

[@stevekillick6150]

Hi Dave i have this video too It was my mums

[@spitfire451]

Cracking video of our aviation history.... Reminds me of my days at RAE Aberporth..... Then joining the RAF, one of my instructors was at Bedford on Close Down.... Now, just shadows and dust... Thanks for a brilliant video Bill.....

[@markedwards6561]

Thanks for uploading, brought back many memories, I was an avionics technician at Bedford from 1980 - 1988

[@geoffcrisp7225]

I used to maintain the computer system at BLUE with a cracking view of the airfield from the computer room. The wind tunnel site system were mine as well. Remember watching the Ansons ferrying staff between Bedford and Farnborough. Years later returned to the site when Jonathan Palmer had turned the airfield into a racing circuit. Very nostalgic.

[@robin101962]

Ive just been given the link to this vid. Thank you for uploading it, my Uncle Rex is at 00:21 - its wonderful to see him!

[@michaelalexander2306]

I visited RAE Bedford many times and I well remember a similar day at RAE Farnborough when all the aircraft departed for Boscombe Down. Now I am retired and living in the Canary Idlands.

[@MrRawMonkey]

Great content. I was sent to the airfield years after it closed as it became a car storage facility. In the abandoned offices old calendars still hung from the walls. I wonder how many of the staff are still alive?

[@cageordie]

Bloody hell! Sam Kidd @16:46! I wondered if he lived long enough to see this, he was working towards his retirement when I was there in 1983 and he died of a heart attack in the early 90s. I was in lab 13 in 115 building. I worked for Richard Holly, though John Spenser thought I worked for him. I was in FSB(3). I wonder if Pete Clark and Robin Worly made it this far. Pete was planning to retire at 55 so probably not. Connie at 16:06 was our stores lady, she only made you sign for good stuff, so you signed for spray cans of oil (Contec duck oil?) and batteries, but not for 2,000 rubber sleeves that we used to insulate wires on connectors. Ah well, this has been both wonderful and very sad. These people just look ordinary, but they brought us marvels like blind autoland, and the modern electronic cockpit. I loved seeing XX105 beating up the airfield at the start, I had three flights on her. She's been scrapped now. Thank you for posting this. I think Richard Berger (Beef to his friends) was there at least this long, but when I knew him he was 18. Our section boss was Ralph Prictoe. He was very tall and well built, so nobody had anything to say about the name.

[@gaviscon79]

Thanks. These videos were given to me by a former work colleague, his name is Steve Dickens, you may well know him? He worked at Bedford in the 80-90’s.

[@cageordie]

@@gaviscon79 I was only there for about five months in 1983. I was in a lab with a couple of apprentices and a lab manager. So I never got to know a lot of people, and it was a long time ago.

[@stevekillick6150]

Does anyone watching this remember my Mum Jan Killick

[@wasabimanic]

Does anyone remember Jim Quilty , he was a friend of my Mom and Dad , I believe he was an A,T,C,