Many years ago , about '73 I think, a bloke living in Vyner Road South built a jet fighter in his back garden . I think it was a Vampire. A friend and me went up to see it and to be fair to him he didn't mind a couple of teenage scallies from the Nocky snooping round his garden . There's an article in this week's Wirral News that brought this back to me .Anyone else remember
it?
Theres a guy in Ellesmere Port with a Submarine in his back garden.....YES a real full size ex MOD!!!
His own gate guardian I remember that,if I go along Vyner rd Ikeep expecting to see that,I remember when I used to go up by Lancaster someone had his own working destroyer parked up at one of the quays,the MOD were selling one of the aircraft carriers on one of the MOD sites a month or so back,less engines mainly for the steel hull.
Theres loads up now mate with the cuts. They will be disposed of for scrap as you say. I work on the demolition machines where they cut them up in the Canada dry dock, Liverpool!
When they get towed in, they are COMPLETE, as if the crew just jumped overboard!!! Everything is still in place, workshops, spares, quarters, galleys etc. The only things removed for obvious reasons are the arnaments!
Used to go to Belfast on a weekly trip via ferry from Stranraer to Northern Ireland and watched the old Cammell Laird built HMS Ark Royal getting cut up at Cairnryan and waiting it's turn was HMS Kent along with a number of American boats,sad to see, I keep wondering when the old Birkenhead ferry boats now renamed with old Wallasey boat names will be going to the knackers yard as I think they were built in 1965ish,which is a long time for a working boat to last.
My brother's hobby (licenced aircraft engineer) was building his own plane in his garage. Beautiful - and took him years and years. He finished it early last year and then passed away in October. Anyone interested in the end product could check "Ron's taxi" on youtube. So sad, he only flew it a couple of times. There were many prospective buyers tho' so it must have been a bit of all right.
I think that the Mersey ferries should last a while yet, from what I understand when they were refurbed and renamed with the "flower" names about 80% of the metal in them was replaced
I was talking to a friend this morning and he was saying there used to be what was left of a spitfire at a garage in the West Kirby area at one time anyone got any info on this ?.
It was in Hoylake,in the garage at the top of Alderley road,where Sainsburys in now about the mid 70,s. I am pretty sure it was a Hurricane.
It was Spitfire. Full story
HERE
That garage was later owned by my family Pumfords before they moved onto Hoylake industrial estate.
Interesting topic!
I love this site; this is my first post!
I found out about the spitfire here- Bunny didn't fully restore it to fly; someone else done that after it was used in the battle of Britain film.
http://www.hoylakejunction.com/friday-photo-110715Re: the Jet; Here's some further info:
http://derbosoft.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=nonavia&action=print&thread=6563
It was owned by a gentleman called Ian Morrisan who owned a Solicitors in Woodchurch Road by Sainsburys I think it is now a music workshop just on the lights he then moved to Irby hall but a few years later he died due to a fall from his balcony whilst on holiday, we have some great parties at Vyner Road South, I think his wife is still married to Ian Davidson who owns a dry cleaners
Anyone remember the Spitfire Gate Guardian at Sealand?? That one NOW FLIES and was restored at Duxford and still flies from there!!
Cripes.....I used to work there and heard about the plan to get it airborne. I was also told it was a hollow shell - no engine etc - so the fact its' airbourne is great!
I do believe there is some one in Heswall who has a normal garage on side of house, but when you drive in it gones down like a lift and there are loads of old cars there.