This is a photo of when my father retired from the British Hovercraft Corporation, circa 1981 — he died, aged 90, in 2006.
I lived in Ryde for many years before moving to Kent, and being nearly 80 myself now I’ve decided it’s time I decluttered memorabilia of his working life at BHC (and its forerunners from the 1940s) on the Isle of Wight.
I wondered if this photograph of his send off from his colleagues at BHC might be of interest to readers.
The original photo has its provenance on the reverse, as taken by BHC.
A brief potted biography appears below:- “Gerald Herbert Brunsdon 1916 - 2006.
On leaving school he served his apprenticeship in the Great Western Railway as a boilermaker.
On leaving the Great Western he moved to the Isle of Wight, where he worked for J S White’s shipyard in East Cowes.
For a brief period he worked on the Queen Mary passenger ship in Southampton and in May 1942 he had a narrow escape during a bombing raid when the shipyard was badly damaged during a night-time air attack!
He then worked for Saunders Roe in Cowes helping to build the legendary Princess Flying Boat and latterly the hovercraft, during which time he moved from the shop floor to a desk job as ‘rate fixer’ until he retired circa 1981 (although by then it was British Hovercraft Corporation), in conjunction with his many years at Saunders Roe/BHC up until his retirement.”
Does anyone recognise themselves — or a family member — in this photo?
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