Kent - Canterbury - West Gate Prior to 1961. And a Fatal Aeroplane Crash.

            The Postcard

A Norman Series postcard that was published by Shoesmith and Etheridge Ltd. of Hastings.

The card was posted in Sheerness on Tuesday the 12th. September 1961 to:

Mrs. R. Davis,
2, Fern Road,
Downend,
Bristol.

The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

"Having a very nice time.
Weather just right - not
too hot, plenty of sun.
Went here on Monday, it
is a wonderful sight.
All the Best 
from M. Massey-David".

Canterbury

Canterbury is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.

The city has been occupied since Paleolithic times, and served as the capital of the Celtic Cantiaci and Jute Kingdom of Kent. 

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the Church of England and of the worldwide Anglican Communion owing to the importance of St. Augustine, who served as the apostle to the pagan Kingdom of Kent around the turn of the 7th. century.

The city's cathedral became a major focus of pilgrimage following the 1170 martyrdom of Thomas Becket, although it had already been a well-trodden pilgrim destination since the murder of St. Alphege by the men of King Canute in 1012. 

A journey of pilgrims to Becket's shrine served as the frame for Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th.-century classic The Canterbury Tales.

Canterbury is a popular tourist destination: consistently one of the most-visited cities in the United Kingdom, the city's economy is heavily reliant upon tourism. 

Many historical structures fill the area, including a city wall founded in Roman times and rebuilt in the 14th. century, the ruins of St. Augustine's Abbey, the Norman Canterbury Castle, and the oldest extant school in the world, the King's School. 

Modern additions include the Marlowe Theatre and Kent County Cricket Club's St Lawrence Ground.

Canterbury has a substantial student population, and one of the highest ratios of students to permanent residents in the UK. Nevertheless, the city remains relatively small when compared to other British cities.

Canterbury in WWII

Canterbury was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1942 during the ‘Baedeker raids’ of the Second World War; these were air raids deliberately aimed at some of the most historic British cities, chosen from the Baedeker guide books, and were an attempt by the Germans to lower British morale. 

The cathedral suffered relatively minor damage, but the bombs destroyed a great deal of the city itself. 

However, one result of the damage was that much of Canterbury’s Roman foundations were discovered during reconstruction work, and much more is now known about the city’s earliest years.

The Crash of Air France Flight 2005

So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?

Well, on the 12th. September 1961, there was a fatal aeroplane crash.  Air France Flight 2005 was a scheduled passenger flight from Paris-Orly Airport to Casablanca Airport with a stop at Rabat-Salé Airport. 

The Sud Aviation Caravelle aircraft crashed that day at 21:09 GMT near Douar Doum 8 km from the threshold of runway 04, killing all 77 people on board, including 6 crew members. The aircraft was completely destroyed.

Investigation Into the Crash

The investigation concluded that there was no evidence of technical failure, neither for physical failure of the personnel, nor of air traffic control. 

The foggy weather conditions were very unfavourable for landing at Rabat/Salé, and fast-changing and deteriorating shortly before the accident. The pilot took advice from the Air France operations agent in Casablanca and considered proceeding directly to Casablanca because of the weather.

During the flight the crew reviewed the weather several times with the air traffic control and finally decided to land at Rabat, using the non-directional beacon (NDB). 

Air traffic control warned the pilot that the NDB was not aligned with the runway, but this message received no response. The investigation reported an "Error in instrument reading" as the probable cause.

Taken on: November 22, 2019

Tags:

postcard

old

nostalgia

nostalgic

Canterbury

west

gate

fatal

aeroplane

aircraft

crash

Norman

Series

Shoesmith

Etheridge

Hastings

Sheerness

12/09/1961

1961

Davis

Fern

Road

Downend

Bristol

Air

France

2005

passenger

flight

Paris

Orly

airport

Casablanca

Sud

Aviation

Caravelle

NDB

non

directional

beacon

error

instrument

reading

79CAN45 « less

Sets appears in: • Disasters • UK more » • Vintage Cars and Other Motor Vehicles « less

Camera: HP Scanjet djf4100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	HP Scanjet djf4100
Saturation:	Low
Sharpness:	Soft
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	PaintShop Pro 18.00
Show full info

Stats: 2,948 views / 1 comment