Lloyd International Airways Ltd – link to Hong Kong
“Lloyd International Airways Ltd was a private, British independent airline formed in 1961 to operate worldwide charter flights It commenced operations with a single Douglas DC-4 piston airliner from Cambridge Marshall Airport. Lloyd International concentrated on passenger and cargo charters with four-engined, long-range aircraft. It also had links in Hong Kong since its inception and flew to the Far East regularly. During the mid-1960s, the airline began re-equipping its fleet with Bristol Britannia and Canadair CL-44 turboprops, all of which featured large cargo doors and palletised freight systems. Long-range Boeing 707 jets joined the Lloyd International fleet during the early 1970s for use on affinity group passenger and freight charters to North America and the Far East.
Lloyd International ceased operations in June 1972.”(1)
Any information about or images of the airline in Hong Kong would be most welcome.
Lloyd International Douglas C54 Skymaster At Kai Tak October 1961 Courtesy: IDJ
Lloyd International Boeing Unknown Location/Date Courtesy: IDJ
Sources:
- Lloyd International Airways – wikipedia
This article was first posted on 30th December 2017.
My mother use be the stewardess on these flights. How do I get copy of the picture of the DC4 as I would love to have one. Thank you
Hi Kirk. What year was your mother with Lloyd.I did a lot of the Hong Kong Flights 1960/61.. Like you I have been looking for Photo’s but without success. My name at that time was Terri Whelan, would be interesting if we knew each other.
My mother was Patricia Derbyshire and it would of been during this period.
Hi Kirk. No, I don’t recall that name. I seem to remember that Anna McCourt was the chief hostess ? However, I had stopped keeping a log book by that time so not quite sure.
My father Artur Stewart flew for Lloyds for many years – maybe you knew him ?
Hi Chris
I flow for Lloyd as a stewardess from 66 to 68 on the Hong Kong run because I spoke Cantonese. My name then was Rosalind Tavares. I am very sure I have flown with your dad. The Lloyd crews were fabulous fun people
with stops in the Middle East.. Thank you for your email! Rosalind
Your dad was/is? a delightful man. Superb operator, Hugely popular within the LLoyd ‘family’. I had the honour of knowing him and working with him. Bless him! Raise a glass! (or two!) X
i knew your dad at LW. charming man and a great operator with time for everyone. my last position with LLoyd was Station Manager TLV. I hope your dad is still with us.
My wife was a stewardess on The Britannia between HK and Stansted during 1967-68 her name at that time was Rosalind Tavares, just wondered if you knew her (now Rosalind Stuart. )
Duncan Stuart
I remember Rossie. A great beauty & a charming person. you are a fortunate man. Bless you both. Ted Jowett
My dad Capt Keith Groves flew many times into Kai Tak firstly in DC6s for Swissair and later in Britannias for Lloyd International. I landed in the cockpit with him at Kai Tak in 1971. Great times and memories. He later returned to Australia and passed away in 2014 aged 94. Any crew connections and stories would be very welcome.
I was proud to call your dad a friend.. my last post with LIA was Station Manager Tel Aviv running the cargo & passenger contract for ElAl. Your dad was a fine operator & captain. He had lots of close friends in the firm, Vic Cloake was a particular chum of his. God bless him.
My father Arthur Stewart flew Brit’s for Lloyd International – I am sure he did fly with your Dad – I will ask.
Thank-you Chris
I look forward to hearing.
My Dad Keith flew for Lloyds from 1964 to the end in 1971, and later went on to IAS and Geminair on Brits.
Kind regards, Paul
Hi Paul,
I flew as your fathers co-pilot on Britannia’s with Lloyd International Airways. The last flights I logged with him were on the Dutch Bulb field runs from 22nd April to 6th May 1972 … sadly only a month before the airline folded!
I remember it well, the crews all stayed in B&B’s in Cheddar Gorge whilst flying out of Bristol airport to and from Rotterdam / Amsterdam etc.
I never flew with him into Kai Tak, but latterly spent most of my flying career with Cathay Pacific so knew the infamous Runway 13 approach exceedingly well!
Keith was a lovely man and a delight to fly with.
Best wishes,
Roger Wetherell
Hi Roger
I’ve just come across your reply and kind comments about my dad, Keith Groves, thank-you. Firstly one small correction, he passed away in Sydney in 2012, not 2014 as I said, aged 94 nearly 95.
He also previously flew DC6s for Lloyd International including the Swiss Equestrian team (i.e. horses) to the ’64 Tokyo Olympics. We have some great memories of Lloyds and other flying. For example the trip with him to Hongkong in 1971 when we also went on to Bangkok.
Also as Lloyds often did, they called and asked him to take a trip and he said “sorry I’ve booked the time off because I need to take my wife on a holiday”. They said “take her with you” and it was a 3 week charter around the world for a German tour group with 2 days in each of many places you can imagine. My mum and crew which Included stewardess Pam (who married Alec Wickes) lived on the memories for a while, and also a trip with Dad and the company to Ortiz Patino’s house by Lake Geneva shortly before Lloyds ceased trading.
If you flew for Cathay, maybe you knew Alan Jackwitz? He was son of Freddy Jackwitz who flew with my dad in Indonesia for KLM/Garuda and later Swissair. In around 1973 Alan was trained but had difficulty getting his first flying job. Dad helped to introduce him to Danair where he got started on HS748s out of Newcastle and a few years later moved to Cathay on 747s for the rest of his career.
Maybe also you know that Dad grew up on a farm in the Oz country and came to England during the war to be a Lancaster pilot and after his 32 operations and a spell with Transport Command flying to support the war in the Far East, he returned to Australia to fly for Australian National Airways, before leaving to Indonesia and Switzerland as mentioned. He didn’t much mention his wartime activities, and never mentioned his DFC, so maybe you didn’t know.
As said, it was really nice to receive your reply and comments, thank-you.
If you’d like to email directly, mine is paulgroves@btinternet.com.
Where are you now?
Best wishes
Paul
Paul, Alec Wickes is no longer with us but Pam is. The round the world flights were for Nekermann. The trip to Geneva was a gas! I’ve got a photo of us all at Stansted boarding a 707, people were coming home in dribs & drabs for about three days! Robbie Robinson, the deputy chief pilot, got chucked in jail overnight as matters got a little out of hand! Happy days!
Hello Ted
Thank-you too (as well as Roger) for your very kind words about my dad.
To pick up on your postings here and above:
1. Thanks for reminding that the round the world trips were for Neckermann Reisen. In fact a little later I lived in Germany for a year and took a separate European trip with them.
2. We were aware that sadly Alec Wickes had passed on. I think he was either not well or had passed on at around the time Dad moved back to Australia in February 2005. Very pleased to hear that Pam is still with us.
3. Re being friends with Vic Cloake, in the late 40s until the mid 50s they both flew for Australian National Airlines, but I think may have been based in different locations.
Although growing up in Queensland, Dad was based for ANA in Melbourne, whilst I think that Vic may have remained a Queenslander. They then later along with others from ANA both flew for KLM who ran Garuda in Indonesia and then together in a group of around a dozen Australian pilots mostly again from ANA flew for Swissair living (with families) in Zurich, with frequent 27 day trips to the Far East. Then Dad and Vic both worked for Trans Arabia Airways in Beirut along with one or two others of the Australians from Swissair. When the war started in Beirut in 1963/4 TAA was subsumed into Kuwait Airways and rather than move to Kuwait, Vic and Dad joined Lloyds in the UK. Another from TAA in Beirut who joined Lloyds was Brit fight engineer Mark Blandford and living nearby, Dad and Mark frequently drove together to Gatwick.
Most of this was flying DC6s, before later converting for Lloyds to Britannias.
You may or may not know that Vic was a good mechanic and I recall his car in Zurich being a split rear window VW beetle which with rear engines were good in the snow! Later I recall his couple of Vauxhalls. You may know that Vic and family lived at Littlehampton near Brighton. I recall a nice day we (Dad, my sister and I) had with Vic and his daughter on his boat.
After Lloyds you may know that Vic joined Singapore Airways, I believe flying DC8s?
I also recall Vic (and others) being cheesed off when Lloyds snags were regularly not fixed, so on one occasion he took off, dumped the fuel over the Channel and returned, saying that he wouldn’t take it.
On retirement Vic returned to Australia and after Dad returned there, Dad and I visited Vic’s widow just north of Brisbane in 2009. I think Vic would have passed away in around 2005?
4. You may also recall Alan Morris. When a Britannia nosewheel collapsed on a check flight with a number of Lloyds crew onboard, Dad was very lucky to have moved from sitting by the wing (where parts of propeller came through) just before this occured. The following week and aged around 17, I visited Stansted with Dad and we spoke with Alan Morris who incidentally had flown up from Gatwick in a light aircraft for the day. He asked me if I intended to be a pilot and said “it’s much better than working!” Before Dad moved back to Australia, we visited Alan and wife at their home near Gatwick. I think shortly after then and aged around 70, Alan flew an ex-wartime German JU52 tri-motor across the Atlantic via Greenland!
So many happy times and friendships. I think it was helpful being a relatively small company of friends, doing their best to keep it all going.
In my recent searching the internet, I’ve been surprised and pleased to come across 4 wartime photos of Dad with Lancaster crew and plane, and amazed to find an Australian newspaper article of 1943 with a photo of dad with 6 other Australian newly trained pilots “at the races”, I presume horse-racing, at New York on their way to join the war in the UK.
I was also really pleased to find this Lloyds
blog. I don’t want to make this just about Dad, and I hope that others and families might find the blog to help them to re-make connections and renew happy memories. It would be nice to hear of others.
As a last point Ted, you mention a photo of the Lloyd’s 707 trip to Ortiz Patino in Geneva. Is there any way that I could get a copy, either printed or in soft copy? Happy to pay of course. It would be really nice hopefully to see my Mum and Dad, and others on the trip.
Thank-you again and kind regards
Paul
Hello Paul
Lovely memories eh? I last saw Alan at Alec’s funeral. A few others were there, Leon Swanepoel, Joe Standen, some of the girls, Polly Kirkman Elaine Harley & a few others. We had a proper piss up. The Britt that was damaged was GAOVP. Carried the scars thereafter. Pm me yr email & I’ll send the pic. of the Geneva group. Kind regards. Ted
Edwardjowett@icloud.com
Hello again Ted
Yes nice memories.
Of all the great times we had in Australia, Indonesia briefly, Switzerland which was really good with skiing, driving around the Alps etc, I think Lloyds was most memorable as I said in terms of being a smallish company of friends, with varied flying, including flight attendants and keeping it all going.
You may know that wondering what he would do after finishing flying at age 55, Dad set up a launderette which he and my mum ran whilst flying for Lloyd’s. Ken Riley at the same time also had one or more launderettes and surprisingly he passed away quite a lot earlier.
When Lloyds ceased trading, thinking that would be the end of his flying Dad bought another launderette. Then a little later he flew for IAS. When they later ceased, thinking that would be it, he bought a 3rd launderette.
Then a little later he flew for Geminair who I think only had one Brit. So Dad and Leon Swanepoel shared that Brit, flying it on alternate weeks to and from Africa and in the off weeks attending to the 3 launderettes. When he was found to be 61 years old, they said “I think it’s time for you to finish flying”.
After moving to Sydney, he re-visited the UK with 100 Australian ‘vets’ for the unveiling of the Bomber Command memorial at Green Park in 2012. We also went together with my son to RAF Scampton, one of his 2 WWII bases, Duxford by their Lancaster and onboard their Monarch Brit, and had pleasure to visit and stay with Leon and Barbara Swanepoel.
I also recall Joe Standen, the Kirkmans, Bill Alexander (if I have the right person) whom I believe also flew for Kuwait Airways and told a particular story Ken Lockyer another Aussi friend pilot from Indonesia, Swissair and TAA (taken over by Kuwait Airways) had told him of a boating adventure in Beirut …. which he didn’t know was actually about us with Ken and his wife, Anne!
Also if you recall Mark Blandford, he went on as flight engineer in C130s in (South) Africa before retiring back to Windsor and passing away. We attended his funeral.
I’ll email you for the photo from my address which is paulgroves@btinternet.com.
Many thanks again, and kind regards, Paul
I worked with Alec Wickes as he went on to be chief Pilot for Intercontinental airlines of Nigeria. . I knew Pam too as she used to meet Alec at our offices at Stanstead.
I flew with LIA on Britannia’s during 64 – 66 our Chief Stewardess was Pamela Wynn (I think that was the spelling) and wonder if anyone remembers her ?
I’m half Chinese and Portuguese my name was Rosalind Tavares originally from HongKong and I joined Lloyd in Stansted UK, and flew mainly on the Far East route with fond memories of the lovely Britannia. I now live in the Vancouver area of Canada having been married for some 53 years.
Hello Rosalind
Lovely to see your entry on this blog about Lloyd International Airways, thank-you.
You mention Pamela Wynn. She later married Alec Wickes and they lived in Horsham to the south of and not far from Gatwick Airport.
You’ll see them mentioned above if you can wade through my rather long blog entries, and the kind reply from Ted Jowett.
You’ll see also above that Pam was stewardess on the 3 week round-the-world trip that included my mum as passenger and my dad as captain. As mentioned they lived on those memories for some time, and happy memories for us as a family from the sidelines.
Maybe if you were at Lloyds in 1966, you might recall or took part in inclusive tour (IT) flying in Europe. We as a family went on one then from Glasgow to Rimini for a 2 week summer holiday.
And we as a family went to Hongkong and Bangkok on holiday in ’71 and stayed in the Park hotel in Hongkong, which I believe would have been the crew hotel there?
As I’ve said, happy memories and thank-you for yours.
It would be nice to hear any other memories and connections from anyone else.
Paul
Your dad was/is? a delightful man. Superb operator, Hugely popular within the LLoyd ‘family’. I had the honour of knowing him and working with him. Bless him! Raise a glass! (or two!) X
Hello Ted
Thanks very much for your kind comments about my Dad, Keith Groves. Lloyds was a nice ‘family’ with many happy stories and memories of travelling together.
I think you asked about Dad. After Lloyds, he and my Mum, Claire Groves continued living in England until my mum’s passing in 2004. Then in 2005 he, my sister Jane and her family moved back to Australia, living in Sydney. I visited a few times and he visited London again for the unveiling of the RAF Bomber Command memorial in Green Park, London in 2013. Then in 2014 he passed away in Sydney aged 94.
As said we were part of a tight-knit group of pilot families who had worked and lived together in Australia, Indonesia, Switzerland, Beirut and then the UK much of that working for Lloyd International and then IAS. They mostly kept in touch including when others retired back to various parts of Australia and used to go on trips driving around 3000 miles visiting them. One of these Stan Patch who retired from Switzerland back to Australia had trained at the same time as Dad in Tiger Moths in Queensland in 1942! to join the war effort.
Dad outlived all or most of these colleagues.
Once again, thanks for your thoughts and I hope that things are well with you.
Paul