'Last Flight Out' - 1963 aviation magazine tells the story of Nutts Corner's closure

A RECENTLY-unearthed volume of the British European Airways magazine has given a fascinating insight into the closure of Nutts Corner airport and the opening of Belfast International Airport at nearby Aldergrove, almost 60 years to the day.

But don’t take our word for it - this week the Antrim Guardian will reproduce in full the piece - and we leave you in the capable hands of the mysteriously-monikered ‘M’, who was there on that day:

“IT didn't seem possible-but there it was. In black and white

“From Thursday, (26 September) all BEA flights serving Belfast will operate from the new civil airport at Aldergrove sixteen miles ` west of the city.

“The newly designed civil airport and terminal will replace that at Nutts Corner which BEA has used since February 1947

“So, Nutts Corner was to become a part of the past? Not that this should have been such startling news, for construction at Aldergrove had been underway for some time. But the announcement of the cessation of operations at Nutts Corner made one realise that a part of BEA was about to become just a name in our history book.

“It was an occasion of a tribute and, to produce that, I crossed to Belfast to be at Nutts Corner for the last twenty four hours of its life.

“It was a sentimental journey in more ways than one, for, almost twenty years earlier I had a far less comfortable crossing for a period of RAF service and it was inevitable that, as Northern Ireland drew near, my thoughts should return to what had been for me a fairly depressing time.

“One of the less depressing features of my previous trip to Ireland had been the countryside, and as the Vanguard crossed the coastline, there once again were the fields, greener even than I'd remembered, the little whitewashed cottages and the hills of County Antrim.

“So much for the past, for the plane was already taxiing across the tarmac and there were the buildings of Nutts Corner.

“Between 1934 and 1946, four different aerodromes were used for Belfast. First of these was an RAF Station - Aldergrove, so it would seem the wheel has turned full circle! In 1936 services were transferred to Newtonwards Aerodrome, which had then undergone considerable develop- ment. The third move came in 1938 with the opening of the Belfast Harbour Airport at Sydenham where the first direct air service between Belfast and London took place on December 3, 1945.

“This airport, a mere six minutes travelling time from the centre of the city, was thought to be ideal, and so it was at that time. With the progress of air transport, however, it soon became obvious that yet another move would be necessary to accommodate larger aircraft and thus came about the move to Nutts Corner.

“This airport, whose tenants during the war had been the RAF. the American Air Force and the Royal Navy, has a main runway 6,000 feet in length with two shorter ones of 4,800 feet and 3,700 feet respectively - all of them 150 feet wide, and on 16 December, 1946, these seemed capable of handling all traffic for some time to come.

“Most of us can recall that winter of '46/47, certainly those involved in the transfer to Nutts Corner will never forget it. Lorries carrying heavy equipment had to be dug out of six foot drifts, pipes were frozen, roads ice-bound and conditions generally severe. Despite all these hardships the move was completed, and with the arrival of the thaw the staff hoped they would never again have to endure such a winter.

“It is another coincidence that the last winter at Nutts Corner should be a repeat, only more so, of the first!

“The temporary wartime buildings were demolished or were adapted to provide reasonable passenger comfort until November 1948 and the opening of the new terminal building.

“This provided what then seemed spacious waiting rooms and traffic hall, together with a restaurant and reasonable office accommodation for the staff. Nutts Corner was soon well and truly established, and though the journey from the city had been increased it had compensations with cinematic views across Lough Neagh to the sweeping hills of Tyrone and Londonderry, or the much sung-about Mountains of Mourne.

“Things have changed little over the years at Nutts Corner except, of course, the amount of traffic. The first year of operation saw 40,000 passengers. Last year the figure was 575,000, from which it is immediately obvious that Nutts Corner was no longer adequate to cope with present day traffic.

“That such a stage was rapidly approaching had been apparent some four or five years earlier to Chief Executive and Manager, Northern Ireland, and after consultations with the Air Ministry and the inspection of various proposed sites for a new airport, Aldergrove was selected.

“Days at Nutts Corner were, from that moment, numbered

“So much for the record. Now, here it was with little over twenty four hours’ operational life ahead for Nutts Corner

“For the staff, the majority of whom have been there from the beginning, the day ahead was obviously to be one tinged with sadness, for one can't work for so many years at one place without developing some affection for it and it was obvious from subsequent conversations with the staff that the following day, hectic though it promised to be, and despite the bright future at Aldergrove, would indeed be something of a sad one.

“Already preparations for the move were in hand. Desks were being emptied, wastepaper baskets were full, numerous documents were produced and the general question was

“Do you remember this...?

“A man with much to remember, and for whom the transfer to Aldergrove signals the end of an era is Robert Carter, BEA's Manager, Northern Ireland, until his retirement at the end of August. Robert Carter, ‘Nick’ to his friends, has been associated with civil aviation all his working life and of which he has a wealth of stories.

“A Lancashire lad he was, at the age of 19, a member of the Royal Flying Corps when, for two years, he piloted the Sopwith Camel and Avro 504 single seater fighters.

“After a period with Imperial Airways and a shorter one with the Aviation Division of the Ford Motor Company Mr. Carter became Commercial Manager for Olley Air Services, negotiating the development of Ronaldsway Aerodrome, Isle of Man, in preparation for the opening of new air services,

“The Isle of Man was to feature further in his life, for at the age of 39 he was appointed General Manager and Secretary of Isle of Man Air Services, then responsible for the operation of a network of air routes across the Irish Sea. These services were absorbed into BEA in January 1947

“Mr. Carter was appointed BEA's Manager on the Island, remaining there until transferring to Belfast in 1951 as BEA’s Manager, Northern Ireland.

“After so long an association with Northern Ireland it now means ‘home’ to Mr. Carter who, although still a Lancastrian at heart plans to enjoy his retirement in Northern Ireland.

“Those who know Robert Carter will also know that to him ‘retirement’ will not mean a period of inactivity, for he is anything but that type of person.

“His long connections with the Belfast Chamber of Trade and the Tourist Board will occupy some of his time, together with his spare time activities of golf and administrative duties with a football club.

“As is always the case when reminiscing with people who have something interesting to tell, time passed very quickly and it was necessary to ask Mr. Carter of his feelings of the move now only a matter of hours away

“‘Well, mixed feelings, really. Of course I’m sorry to see the end of Nutts Corner in a way, but we’ve grown out of it.

“‘I've been connected with Aldergrove since it first became obvious we’d have to move, so for me it’s the realisation come true of what was once only a few notes on a piece of paper. It will seem strange at first, but then so do the first few days anywhere - besides, it’s going to be so much easier for the passengers, staff, in fact everybody’.

“Mr. Carter looked at his watch as he made his way home. The hour was 10.15pm. ‘Tomorrow at this time’, he said.

“‘We’ll be getting ready to see the last flight off.’

“As it turned out-he was wrong.

“The following day dawned a bright one, thankfully, and the transfer began. Van load after van load operating a shuttle service from Nutts Corner to Aldergrove. Desks, chairs, lockers, equipment both light and heavy, all were carefully stacked and dispatched, and by lunch time many of the offices had already acquired a forlorn and deserted look. Business, however, continued as usual and, looking at the number of people in the restaurant and waiting rooms 1 wondered how many, if indeed any, could sense the air of something special which to me seemed so very prevalent.

“I viewed all this activity from a distance, feeling the moment not quite opportune to interrupt the operation, and this continued non-stop throughout the morning.

“At the centre of it all was Station Superintendent Ralph Thurley, of whom someone said to me ‘he IS Nutts Corner’.

“It was mid-afternoon before I was able to talk to him about it.

“His office was, with the exception of a small table, an upright chair and an assortment of stick-on-labels, empty and as he talked to me he stood by the window looking out over the airfield, a view he has seen almost daily since December ‘46.

“Going to Aldergrove will, for him, be a case of ‘this is where I came in’, for it was at Aldergrove that he began his civil aviation career in 1934 with Railway Air Services. He was the first Station Superintendent at Nutts Corner when services were transferred there in December ‘46, and he has the distinction of having been the only Station Superintendent throughout the entire period of operations.

“His feelings on the move were practical.

“‘You can’t regret an improvement’ he said, ‘and that's exactly what this is. Nutts Corner has done it’s job, and done a good job. Tomorrow it’s the turn of Aldergrove’.

“By this time the early morning blue sky had clouded over, the wind had dropped and there was a steady drizzle of rain. Almost within seconds it had developed into a heavy downpour. I ventured to suggest it might not last very long but Mr. Thurley, who obviously knows his Nutts Corner weather, as was indeed proved, thought otherwise, adding: ‘This is all we needed’.

“He left me to see just how much this turn in the weather might affect the rest of the move, for there was still much to go to Aldergrove. Much of the equipment could not be moved until after the departure of the last flight out at 10.45pm, and heavy rain combined with winding country lanes in darkness was, as Mr. Thurley so aptly put it, ‘all we needed’. Raincoats were donned, tarpaulins produced and the work went on.

“One closely connected with the move, and responsible for the organisation of it, is John R. Kennedy, Station Engineer and another Nutts Corner resident since 1946. For the past two years he has played a dual role - for in addition to his routine duties he was co-opted as ‘clerk-of-works’ for Property Branch, which, in connection with the new airport, there has been very close liaison.

“A partner in this liaison was Dennis A. Cook, Senior Assistant Architect, who arrived on the afternoon flight from London and was delighted to learn from Mr Kennedy that apart from the rain, all was going according to plan.

“A further van load was dispatched en route for Aldergrove, and John was able to relax a little and talk about the staff.

“He agreed that Nutts Corner probably had more long-serving staff than any other station. Duty Officers Assistant Foremen, Fitters, Aircraft Cleaner, Storekeeper - all have been there since the early days and all were moving to Aldergrove.

“One interesting point made by John was that in ‘46, there were only two licensed engineers, whereas there were now twenty, all of them fully trained within BEA.

“The one piece of bad planning, so far as John was concerned, was that he would be unable to see his son Jack playing in goal for Northern Ireland that evening against Benfica, Portugal!

“As another empty van returned for a further load, John introduced me to William Cummings, Cargo Officer, and another of the long-distance-runner brigade.

“Bill clearly remembers the days of ‘47 when the average monthly export cargo was 4,000 kilos - compared with today’s monthly 180,000 kilos! Cargo recently had the heaviest item brought into Northern Ireland by air - two generators from Copenhagen, each weighing eight and a half tons. Bill can also recall taking coals to Newcastle! This happened about 1949, and although it’s true there were only coal samples it was too good a line to miss.”