Monkey Tennis Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 On 31/12/2021 at 17:50, HibeeJibee said: Interestingly their club website history pages claim that when they flew to an important tie at QotS in 1954-55 it was their first-ever flight outside of Orkneys! Where did they fly to, I wonder? Would it be Carlisle, or the RAF base on the edge of Dumfries? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 I got this excellent book for Christmas. I am about to spam this thread with some select photos from it, so apologies in advance. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 First up, some squads and players from back in the day. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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DA Baracus Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Some domestic cup stuff now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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HibeeJibee Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 54 minutes ago, Monkey Tennis said: Where did they fly to, I wonder? Would it be Carlisle, or the RAF base on the edge of Dumfries? "Renfrew" ...! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renfrew_Airport Renfrew Airport was the domestic airport serving the city of Glasgow until it was decommissioned in 1966. It was located in the Newmains area of Renfrew, approximately 2 kilometres east of Abbotsinch Airfield which would eventually replace it. It consisted of a main terminal building and ancillary buildings, and a main runway which ran west south-west of the terminal. https://www.afc.co.uk/2019/03/06/reds-on-the-road/ In August 1954 the club announced that they would be flying part of the way to fulfil their League Cup fixture at Dumfries against Queen of the South. This was new ground for Aberdeen who had only once previously taken flight for a friendly game in the Orkney Isles. The usual practice for a trip to either Edinburgh or Glasgow was to travel by train the night before for an overnight stay in a hotel. The club explored the possibility of air travel, which would be less expensive, and the party would be able to leave and arrive home on the same day. To remain in contention in the League Cup Group stage Aberdeen had to win at Dumfries and given that Queens had yet to win a game the signs were encouraging. Despite fielding an unchanged side, which won at Methil a week before, the Dons turned in a poor display and went down 0-3 at Palmerston Park. It may be that the new mode of transport had an effect but the reality was that at no time did Aberdeen look comfortable and the home side fully deserved the win. Although two of the goals came late on with Aberdeen throwing caution aside, it was an off day for the Dons and one, which was instantly forgettable. To complete a miserable day for the Dons the flight home to Aberdeen Airport at Dyce was one, which was fraught with concern. The Aberdeen players had been insured for £10,000 each before the trip and minutes before their plane descended to the runway the port engine of the twin-engine plane caught fire. Aberdeen full back Dave Caldwell takes up the story: “We would always meet for games in the Caledonian Hotel in the city centre and as this was a top hotel quite often some of the pilots from the airport would stay there. There was one in particular that looked like American actor James Robertson Justice all togged up with the sunglasses and everything. George Hamilton was well known for being pretty scared of flying ever since a near accident in a previous flight. We of course knew this and we set up this guy to walk through the plane isle with a white stick as he made his way past poor George to the cockpit. “The look on George’s face was something else! However as we made our way back to Aberdeen there was a real problem. As was the practice in those days the captain announced that a red light had came on the control panel and that we were not to panic! He also said that once we had landed we would evacuate quickly and in an orderly fashion. It was not until later that we discovered that one of the engines had a problem. I think George must have been the first one off and I don’t think he ever set foot in an aeroplane again!” The idea to continue flying to games was then shelved – given the circumstances of the flight and the poor result at Dumfries, this was not surprising. Ally MacLeod during his tenure as Aberdeen manager did organised a flight to an away game at Ayr in 1976 and there is likely to have been other flights during those years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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DA Baracus Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Lastly, European and Anglo Scottish Cup games. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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