It is with great sadness that we report the death of Project Propeller hangar supervisor and team member, Trevor Wood, on 7 July 2023; he had a sudden heart attack whilst out walking his dog.
Trevor was keen to join Project Propeller as soon as he heard about it, to honour the memory of his father, Herbert Wood, who was a mid-upper gunner in a Lancaster of 103 Squadron at RAF Elsham Wolds in Lincolnshire. On his 13th operation, the Lancaster suffered a direct hit by flak over the Ruhr, he and his turret were thrown free and he spent the rest of the war in a prison camp; the other six members of the crew all perished. After the war, Herbert went to work at the local British Aerospace (formerly Avro) factory at Woodford, the birthplace of the Lancaster, Manchester, Anson, Shackleton, Vulcan, Nimrod, Andover and many others. After spending his teenage years in the Air Cadets, where he learned to fly gliders, Trevor completed a degree in aeronautical engineering and spent his entire career at the same company. In his spare time, Trevor was passionate about Triumph sports cars and rebuilt several, including one from the ground up after it was caught by the tide on Southport beach. He was also a prolific aircraft modeller from an early age, and later became a judge in regional and national competitions. In later years, he switched to large radio-controlled models and often flew them from the local cricket pitch, using his engineering knowledge to fine-tune their flying characteristics. Trevor also had a talent for entertaining children; ours were enthralled when he demonstrated the principles of rocket propulsion in the garden. The PP team all extend their deepest sympathies to his sister Andrea and the rest of the family.
PROJECT PROPELLER was an annual reunion for ex-World War 2 aircrew held at airfield locations throughout the UK. Its unique feature was that the veterans were ferried for free to and from the venue from all over the UK and Ireland in light aircraft flown by volunteer pilots. For many of them, it was the first time they had flown as “crew” since the end of the war and, for the pilots among them, it was a chance to once again handle an aircraft. At the host airfield, the participants were treated to a street-party lunch and entertained by live, 1940's-style musical entertainment.
From its first event at North Weald in 1999 to the final event at Halfpenny Green in 2022 hundreds of veterans and private pilots participated.
1999 North Weald
2000 Duxford
2001 Duxford
2002 Kemble
2003 Elvington
2004 North Weald
2005 Kemble
2006 Halfpenny Green
2007 Bruntingthorpe
2008 Old Warden
2009 Bruntingthorpe
2010 East Kirkby
2011 Wickenby
2012 Coventry
2013 BBMF Coningsby
2014 Gloucester
2015 RAF Museum Cosford
2016 Leeds East
2017 Gloucester
2018 Halfpenny Green
2019 Coventry
2020 No event (Covid)
2021 Halfpenny Green
2022 Halfpenny Green
The full history of Project Propeller can be found HERE
The 2022 Photo Albums and Forces News TV coverage of the last Project Propeller event can be found under the 'Events' tab HERE.
We would like to thank all of our veterans, pilots and their guests who have attended Project Propeller over the years.
We could not have done it without the help of the hundreds of pilots, volunteers, Air Cadets, University Air Squadron students and exhibitors, not to mention all the airfield operators who have given freely of their time and resources. Thank you one and all.
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