VH-URJ   Beardmore WB.XXIV Wee Bee

                        
               
                            Formerly G-EBJJ, VH-URJ was imported into Australia in 1933.      The Wee Bee was designed
                            by W. S. Shackleton and built in Scotland at the Dalmuir works of William Beardmore & Co.Ltd.

                            It was the company's winning entrant in the 1924 Lympne light aeroplane trials. The diminutive craft
                            was powered by a Bristol Cherub 32 hp engine.    Only one was built and it was exported to Aust-
                            ralia in April 1933 and registered to P.T. Parkeer of Warrnambool      The photo above is from my
                            own collection,  while immediately below is an image from the  Len Dobbin collection, courtesy of
                            the Civil Aviation Historical0 Society.   In 2011 I was contacted by Aaron Betts whose grandfather,
                            Fred Betts, acquired the Wee Bee in October 1938.    Fred hit a rock upon landing at Pomberneit,
                            Victoria (where he was the proprietor of the local service station) and broke the Wee Bee in half.
                            At the foot of the page are three shots from Aaron's collection, the latter two showing the wreckage. 
                            The tail of the machine had the inscription:      
                                                                   "Wee Bee  I"
                                                                 Out-Right Winner
                                                                       £ 4000
                                                                  British Light Plane
                                                                     Competition
                                                                 Built by
                                                                 Beardmore Aviation
                                                                 England
                        
                            Correspondent Charles Mac Kay indicates that it appears to have existed after the war up until about
                            1950, and was owned by Vincent Boyes.  It appears not to have had a current CofA at that time, since
                            DCA records reflect that it was stricken from the register in August 1940.