Thanks to Suzanne and Alan for this background on Saunders Roe. Readers will remember the 60th anniversary celebration that took place on Wednesday. In their own words. Ed
Saunders Roe gave employment on both banks of the River Medina for a number of years. In Cowes there was ship building, while across the river seaplanes and flying boats were produced at Columbine Works.
Around 1830, the Saunders family began building boats on the River Thames. Sam Saunders set up a shipyard in Cowes in 1912. Soon he was producing seaplanes and aeroplanes in East Cowes as well.
In 1929 the pioneering Alliott Verdon-Roe acquired an interest in the Saunders company and Saunders-Roe was born.
Informative talk revealed more
Who was A.V. Roe and how did he affect the history of East Cowes? On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the maiden flight of the Princess Flying Boat, (22nd August 1952) an interesting talk at East Cowes Town Hall enlightened many in the audience.
Eric Verdon-Roe is the grandson of A.V. Roe and gave a personal account of A.V.’s life illustrated by slides and newsreel clips.
A.V. Roe was born in 1877, just outside Manchester. Having left school aged 14 he embarked on a series of experiences. He was a professional cycle racer, spent time in British Columbia and had a short acting career.
Alliott worked on the railways for a while before joining the Merchant Navy. While at sea he studied the flight pattern of the albatross which gave him an idea of gliding.
A.V. built his first plane in 1906 using a motorcycle engine. After a period of time undertaking experiments at Brooklands Race Track he was eventually evicted as his planes got in the way of the cars!
Formation of AVRO
Having relocated to the Lea Valley he was the first British citizen to fly an aircraft of his own design in 1910. That year he formed ‘AVRO’ with his younger brother Humphrey.
Seaplane development began in 1911. AVRO had a design office in Hamble and a production site in Manchester. A.V. Roe left the company in 1926 and soon Saunders-Roe (SARO) was his focus.
When the Princess Flying Boat was launched it was a giant. It had a wing span of 219 feet, and was powered by ten engines.
Knighted in 1928
A.V. Roe was knighted in 1928. His grandson recalled attending his 80th birthday celebrations- when he rode a bicycle backwards!
There was old footage of him undertaking this-wearing a cloth cap for protection!
In the audience for Eric’s talk was Maurice Mabey who was on board the Princess Flying Boat in 1952 for most of the test flights. Now in his 90’s he was very willing to sign memorabilia of the event.
Today the Columbine site, behind that very large Union Flag, houses South Boats. They produce boats mainly built of aluminium, but also use G.R.P. Currently in production is a 24metre service vessel for the offshore Wind Farm industry.
South Boats is also one of only three sites approved to service Severn Class Lifeboats for the RNLI. This entails replacing the engines, updating the electronics and undertaking any necessary repainting. They employ about 200 staff who in the main are Island residents.
Image: © Aerial image: Karl Drage/Global Aviation Resource Jon Butts, Lee Flying Association | Maurice Mabey by Suzanne and Alan Whitewood
