VH-BJQ  Avro 652A Anson 1  

                                

                                   This Anson illustrates well the method in which registration letters were displayed in the 1940s and
                                   early 1950s.  Large and readily readable on the fuselage, and VH- on the top of the port wing and
                                   -BJQ on the starboard.   Under the mainplanes the reverse would have been true, with the letters
                                   being readable from left to right whilst in flight.  Around the middle of the 1950s this scheme was
                                   changed allowing the rego to be painted on the tail (in some cases so minuscule they could not
                                   be read from 10 meters!) and, in some cases, the total elimination of the wing markings.   Worst
                                   offender of this "new" trend was the US airline TWA.   I have stood virtually under the tail of one
                                   of their Connies and could scarcely discern the registration number by looking up at it!   The name
                                   on the nose was larger than the official number. 
                                  Anyway, back to -BJQ.  The two shots below are from the Geoff Goodall collection.   The upper
                                  one is a ropey old image taken at Essendon (where, I suspect, my shot above was taken) in late
                                  1948, with another Tradair Anson behind.  Note that Tradair Ansons had the pointed nose modi-
                                  fication, replacing the stock military nose.   Underneath that is a shot of a happy bunch of Tradair
                                  fitters/engineers at Essendon, also circa 1948.   The Anson had to have been -BJQ since that was
                                  the only Tradair one which bore the company name above the cabin windows.  These lads all look
                                  to have been in their early twenties and had doubtless been recently demobbed.  That would put
                                  them pushing 80 as of now, (2007) although I'll just bet at least one of them is still alive.  Can anyone
                                  help put names to these faces?    Incidentally VH-BJQ was withdrawn from use in August 1951.

                             

                            
                                 .