British Airways celebrates Her Majesty The Queen becoming Britain’s longest reigning Monarch on 9 September 2015.
30 of the airline’s past and present pilots, cabin crew and ground staff who have had the honour of flying the Queen came together at Heathrow Airport wearing the uniforms they would have worn when flying with the Queen gathered at Terminal 5 on 2 September 2015 to raise a flag in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.
Retired chief steward, 79 year old Bob Godfrey had served the Queen in 1972 and 1990 while Patricia Pearce MBE joined BOAC (British Airways’ long-haul predecessor) in 1952, the year before Elizabeth II was crowned, served the Queen on her scheduled two-week Royal visit to New Zealand in 1974. 47 year old Jane Ainley served the Queen on her flight home from Perth following her state visit to Australia in 2011, while her father had the honour of carrying the Queen on a flight from Heathrow to Vancouver in 1963.
British Airways has released photographs from its Speedbird Heritage Centre, including the first telegram sent to Her Royal Highness as Queen.
On January 31, 1952, British Airways’ predecessor, BOAC, flew Her Royal Highness, the Princess Elizabeth to East Africa on the first stage of a Commonwealth tour. A week later, following the death of her father His Majesty King George VI, she was flown back on a BOAC Argonaut as Queen Elizabeth II.
The British Airways museum has the original telegram received on the flight home from the Queen Mother to her daughter, which read:
To: Her Majesty The Queen
All my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Mummie
Buckingham Palace
The message was received over the radio, written directly into the Captain’s log-book and then copied out by hand onto a BOAC signal form, before being presented to Her Majesty.
The airline also has a copy of the original flight path plan, which is topped with the image of a crown to depict the flight The Queen returned to the UK on.
The Captain’s original log-book remains in the British Airways Speedbird Heritage Centre which notes that Her Royal Highness, Princess Elizabeth was on board on January 31 and yet the aircraft that returned was carrying the new Queen.
Photo credits: British Airways.
