The images
shown here are from the official Saunders-Roe files and were
taken by Mr. K.J. Meekcoms, a member of the Aeronautical Inspection
Department (A.I.D.) during the actual construction of the SRA/1 to form
a permanent record. Upon visiting one of my favorite second-hand
bookshops, Falconwood Books, in Welling, Kent, I was chatting to Andy
Doran the proprietor about the Saro Princess manual pictures that he had
supplied me with earlier which I had up-loaded onto SEAWINGS and
which had attracted so much interest from flying boat enthusiasts around
the world and he broke out into a smile and said "Would you like
the other one which has come into my possession recently for SEAWINGS?".
I was absolutely dumfounded when he showed me what was on the CD he was
holding. Andy kindly copied it for me, and this gallery is the result.
The original photo album has since been sold, however Andy gave his permission
for SEAWINGS to display the images. I would like to think that
the current owner would be happy also to have a permanent record on this
site.
As with
the Princess images, just look at the workmanship on all these parts;
remember that the construction is pre-computer age and the vast majority
are hand-made or hand-finished by skilled craftsmen with a pedigree of
flying boat construction to rival anywhere in the world at that time.
The care and attention to detail beggars belief. Each and every
image repays careful viewing to take in all the intricate details from
an age that has all but disappeared altogether. Now you can add as
much detail you like to your 1/72 scale kit!
------------DEDICATION------------
These
images are priceless, absolutely priceless. Therefore, with that thought
in mind, SEAWINGS is proud to dedicate this gallery to the memory of the
late Mr. K.J. Meekcoms, who originally took these pictures in the course of his
work and to thank him from every
flying boat enthusiast for keeping this photo album record safe and sound for over
half a century. Also, very grateful thanks are due to Andy Doran,
without whose kind generosity none of this would ever have been possible,
and Bob Wealthy who scanned the originals. Grateful thanks to you both.
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