LOUGHTON AND DISTRICT HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 176 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 Price 40p, free to members www.loughtonhistoricalsociety.org.uk Happy new year! seven volumes have now been digitised and can be found at www.british-history.ac.uk . There is also a We sincerely hope L&DHS members and all our new website: www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/Essex readers have a pleasant and peaceful New Year. which will allow the publication of draft texts from Although we have now entered the second half of our Volumes XI and XII as they are edited. 2007/8 season, there is still much to look forward to The Victoria History of the Counties of England was until we wind up for the summer on 8 May. Once launched in 1899 and, with royal consent, named after again Richard Morris has put together a varied the Queen. Never before had county history been programme of excellent talks to suit all tastes, researched in such depth or inspired such high sometimes providing much food for thought, as well standards of scholarship. It would be a tragedy if this as evoking nostalgic memories of our local area. There work was brought to a halt in Essex by a lack of the has been a healthy flow of material for the Newsletter , relatively small funding cost required. some from regular and reliable contributors, plus a heartening amount from fresh sources, and we hope that members will maintain this encouraging On a wing and a prayer: momentum for future issues. The St John Ambulance Air Wing and Margaret (Betty) Bowman, MBE Victoria County History in Essex TERRY CARTER RICHARD MORRIS We are sometimes surprised to learn of the achievements of people that, out of modesty, they rarely mention themselves. In Newsletter 171 (November/December 2006) we One such example is that of Betty Bowman, a close friend reported on the severe financial cut-back facing the and neighbour. Almost the longest serving duty controller VCH in Essex. Two years ago, Essex County Council in St John Ambulance Air Wing, Betty certainly handled announced that it was halving the salaries grant given by far the most missions in its 21-year life. She kindly gave by the Council. In April 2007 the University of Essex me her permission to write this article gave 12 months’ notice of termination of its agreement to house and support the Essex VCH on the The Air Wing commenced its life as a special function University campus at Wivenhoe. of the Epping Division of the St John Ambulance The VCH Board has spent the last nine months Brigade. It started almost by accident when, in the seeking a way out of the wreckage. The latest summer of 1967, Martin Meyer, a 16-year-old German Newsletter of the VCH in Essex reports that it is student on holiday in England, was badly injured in a probable that the editorial staff will return to being on motorcycle crash in Abridge. He was taken to St the establishment of the Institute of Historical Margaret’s, Epping, but as he was not expected to Research (as they were several years ago) but being survive, his parents were urgently summoned to housed and funded, in part, by the County Council. England. However, against all odds, Martin survived The funding available is, however, likely to reduce for three months in Epping, his mother constantly at the two half-time historians to 0.8 of a post. The his bedside. Then, when no further improvement was proposal is that the VCH staff will work from the anticipated, it was decided to transfer him home to a County Record Office, but very limited space has neurosurgical unit in Germany. The problem was, initially been offered. The Essex VCH Appeal Fund, to how? The NHS had no provision for such a transfer, which the LDHS makes an annual donation, will and the RAF, even the USAF, when approached, were continue to support the core funding but this will be unable to help. at the expense of using resources to make up for Fortunately the Hospital Secretary, Pat Bowen, earlier lost funding and for the progress of new President of the Epping Division of St John’s initiatives. The recent events have also disrupted Ambulance, remembered his friend Eric Thurston, a current research on Volume XI which, it is now resident of Theydon Bois, who owned a charter flying accepted, will be delayed by many months. company based at the Stapleford Tawney airfield. Eric We are very fortunate that the earlier volumes of immediately agreed to undertake the mercy flight in the Essex VCH cover most of south-west Essex, and his new Britten-Norman Islander, which he flew to Hanover for only the cost of the fuel, there, because of 1 foul weather, transferring Martin to a Luftwaffe and Scandinavia. There was a separate room with a helicopter. bed for the night duty controller. Sadly, there was no miracle ending for Martin, Betty Bowman was recruited in September 1973, who died a year later, never regaining consciousness. when she was President of the Chingford Combined But his death was not in vain, as it was a case of ‘great Division of the St John Ambulance Brigade. Her oaks from little acorns’. daughter, Heather, was Divisional Officer and had Pat Bowen’s interest in the possible use of light arranged for Pat Bowen to give a talk about the new aircraft for ambulance work was stimulated by Air Wing. Betty and her newly retired husband, Cliff, Martin’s tragedy, at the same time that surgeons at ex-RAF, listened, later met a very senior officer, and the London Hospital bemoaned the lack of good heard more. Betty then undertook simulated transport facilities for kidneys which became available operational tests, before moving on to real-life for transplant. After removal, kidneys had only about missions. Cliff helped Betty with call monitoring and an eight-hour window of opportunity, after which planning and Heather, too, began work as a transplant success became unlikely and, as distances controller. Later, Betty’s grandson also became a from donor to recipient could sometimes be hundreds volunteer. of miles, maximum speed, day or night, was vital. Out of the vision of Pat Bowen and the needs of John Blandy (Professor of Urology at London Hospital, who was a resident of Traps Hill) discussions took place early in 1972 between the DHSS, the London Hospital, Scotland Yard, St John Ambulance and a few volunteer pilots, leading to the establishment of a flying service under the aegis of the The Air Wing Control Centre at St Margaret’s, Epping, Brigade. The Harlow Group Hospitals Committee opened in 1974. generously provided accommodation at St Margaret’s to be used as a Flight Control Centre. Betty recalls: ‘We worked from Pooley’s Flight So the Air Wing came into being on 2 February Guides for the UK and overseas. It contains all the 1972 and by 1974 full transport of organs and necessary flight information, airport operating times, complete surgical transplant teams, plus in-flight etc. Quite often the controller needed to ask the intensive care, became feasible when the St John smaller airfields if they would stay open, or even Aeromedical Service began. It would take many more reopen in order for one of our aircraft to land. It’s very times the space available in this Newsletter to list even seldom they couldn’t if asked.’ She, and the other a fraction of the achievements of the volunteer pilots controllers, would be responsible for arranging the across the UK. All they received for their time and transfer of the body part from its donor location to the physical endeavours were flying expenses. most suitable plane available, its storage on the Amazingly, the youngest of these flew an emergency aircraft, maintaining liaison with the hospital from mission at 17! Some were well-known heroes from the contact to final delivery, then staying in touch with Second World War, some worked for civil airlines, the aircraft until it was safely home. some, including Eric Thurston, operated their own One of Betty’s worst missions was trying to charter companies. In 1986 Eric was awarded the arrange a kidney delivery to Orly, France, in the Sword of Honour for his outstanding contribution to middle of a wild-cat strike. There was no English- General Aviation by Major-General P R Leuchars, speaking controller at the French end, Betty’s French CBE, Chief Commander, St John Ambulance. Eric’s was scant, so it is still a mystery how she made herself flights included ferrying a Harefield heart team from understood. Orly opened for a special landing, the Stansted to Berlin and a heart team to Stuttgart. kidney was delivered safely, and the airfield Eric would be the first to admit that, while the immediately closed again. pilots were ‘at the sharp end’, delivering kidneys, Betty, fully equipped, eventually operated from hearts, livers, lungs, corneas, within the UK and to her home in Hillcrest Road, Loughton, rather than the Europe, enabling many surgeons, some of them Control Centre. Her duty day was normally a world-famous, to undertake their life-saving work, Tuesday. they could not function without the controllers. ‘It was in some ways sad’, she reflects, ‘that I was invariably Together, they made a wonderful team. busy on Tuesdays because of the high accident rates of One such controller was Betty Bowman, who to Saturdays and Sundays. By late Monday/early Tuesday this day remains his very close friend. The controllers, victims’ kidneys have become available.