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Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Warbirds, Replicas and Nostalgic photos in here please.
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F3
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Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by F3 » Mon Jan 17, 2022 9:42 pm

Seeing the recent Five a Day post featuring the Varsity recently reminded me of the set of images I took of WJ897 @ Leicester in '82. This a/c which was operated by the Leicester Preservation Group crashed in '84 with the loss of everyone on board, incl. the Group's leader Mike Twite who was a much respected pioneer of the Aircraft Preservation movement in the UK and edited the forerunner of FlyPast. In his memory a trophy was acquired which was awarded annually to the best aircraft preservation project altho' this seems to have fallen by the wayside as it is many years since I last read of it which I think is a shame. Maybe it is time for it to be relaunched if anyone knows of its whereabouts.

ImageLeicester - Varsity taxi - ing '82 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

ImageLeicester - Varsity MJ897 flypast '82 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

ImageLeicester - Varsity MJ897 '82 (1) by Michael Britton, on Flickr
Last edited by F3 on Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

Vulcanone
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Re: Varsity MJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by Vulcanone » Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:10 pm

Michael

check photo captions, not MJ897

Mustang531
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Re: Varsity MJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by Mustang531 » Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:13 pm

WJ897 is the correct serial. It was attempting an emergency landing at a gliding strip, whilst the loss of life was sad, there were three survivors.

Tangopapa
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Re: Varsity MJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by Tangopapa » Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:16 pm

Registered as G-BDFT If I recall correctly.

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eLaReF
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Re: Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by eLaReF » Mon Jan 17, 2022 10:23 pm

Leicester East 1977 although nominally G-BDFT by then

ImageWJ897 Vickers Varsity T.1 c/n 620 to G-BDFT by eLaReF, on Flickr
Last edited by eLaReF on Mon Jul 18, 2022 9:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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F3
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Re: Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by F3 » Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:31 am

Apologies for the serial mistake. Must have been having a 'senior moment'.

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paddyboy
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Re: Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by paddyboy » Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:47 am

Hi Mick :P

Lovely to see shots of the old girl :thumbs:

Didn’t know about her sad demise :'(

Thanks for posting :thumb:

Paddyboy :clap:
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Re: Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by Stratocruiser » Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:52 pm

Very nice shots of an almost forgotten airframe.
Thanks for sharing them :thumbs:
Be the reason someone smiles today👍

Michaela Twite
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Re: Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by Michaela Twite » Mon Jul 18, 2022 7:08 pm

Hi to the group.

My name is Michaela, I'm Mike Twite's daughter. I'm so happy to hear someone wants to bring back the Mike Twite Memorial Award. Sadly the propeller that was the prize went to my brother, who sadly took his own life in 2017. It was given to his daughter in Canada, and I don't know where it is now.

If we could find a new trophy, I'd personally love to be involved in awarding it to a crew. My mum loved awarding it. And I'd be thrilled to continue her legacy. And my dad's.

Thank you for being such a dedicated bunch!

Michaela Twite
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Re: Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by Michaela Twite » Mon Jul 18, 2022 7:16 pm

We had an anniversary celebration on the 25th year, organised by a daughter who lost her dad and uncle in the crash. The 2 remaining survivors were there (one since died), and the RAF sent a representative. We planted daffodil bulbs and had a plaque made, which still stands today. It was lovely 😍

F3
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Re: Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by F3 » Tue Jul 19, 2022 9:10 am

Well done. Mike Twite was a true pioneer of aircraft preservation in the UK who will always be remembered by his contemporaries. Fly Past named a trophy after him that was awarded annually to the best preservation project which sadly fell by the wayside. After my initial post I e-mailed the editor asking what had happened to it and suggesting that it be resurrected. He said he'd look into it but I never heard any more. I would suggest that you send a report of the event to the new editor James Peene (james.peene@keypublishing.com) as it maybe of interest.

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Re: Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by NAM Updater » Tue Jul 19, 2022 9:28 am

In 1990 Newark Air Museum was awarded the Twite Trophy, by FlyPast magazine for fund raising and building Hangar 1 - the award recognised "Excellence, Innovation and Determination in the field of Aircraft Preservation". The presentation ceremony took place around the same time as the Oxford and Harvard loans were instigated from the RAF Museum.

The Award Certificate is still displayed in the Museum Shop, however the trophy itself, which was a cut down propeller boss was returned to Key Publishing after the museum's year as the trophy holder.

Ken Ellis might be able to provide some clues as to what happened to the trophy itself.
Howard Heeley - Newark Air Museum Trustee
Every museum visit counts!
http://newarkairmuseum.org

raptor9
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Re: Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by raptor9 » Tue Jul 19, 2022 7:34 pm

A sad loss. He was a very good writer, and I was aware of him as Editor of 'Motoring News' It's funny how Motor Racing and Aviation so often go hand in hand. I was on an airliner with him from Gatwick to Houston in 1983, and if I remember rightly we were both going to the same Airshow in Harlingen Texas. A nice man to talk to,

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Re: Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by roughcutter » Mon Jul 25, 2022 7:08 pm

Remember it well, I was at the Liverpool Airshow that Sunday, where the Varsity was enroute when it fatally crashed in Leicestershire. A wonderful day marred/overshadowed by this tragedy, such a sad loss of life.

WJ897
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Re: Varsity WJ897 - Mike Twite tribute

Post by WJ897 » Sat Apr 08, 2023 8:19 pm

We've only just found this thread, so apologies for the tardy response, there are some very nice pictures of WJ897 / G-BDFT on here.
Michaela, we're really sorry to hear about your brother, we met you both together with your mum at the 25th anniversary event. Let me pass on one piece of good news though, I can tell you that both the crash survivors who attended the event are still with us. Our original website about the event was lost when the provider went under, but we have another (not quite as good) here: https://varsitywj897.wixsite.com/varsity-wj897
It will be 40 years next year, and whilst we don't intend planning anything to the same level as 2009's event, one of the survivors has suggested we acknowledge this significant anniversary appropriately; we're open to suggestions.
Jon & Deb Lowe (daughter and niece of two of the victims)

WJ897
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Re: Varsity WJ897 - 40th Anniversary

Post by WJ897 » Thu Mar 07, 2024 1:22 pm

This year is the 40th anniversary of the accident which befell Varsity WJ897 / G-BDFT. A small group of relatives and survivors will be gathering at the site to mark the occasion. Unfortunately in the 15 years which have elapsed since the last such gathering, some of the contact details we have are no longer working.
If you're a relative or if you know of someone who would like to attend, please message us here or via our website's contact page: https://varsitywj897.wixsite.com/varsity-wj897.
Thanks

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