Beardmore WB.24

The Wee Bee was designed by W. S Shackleton at Dalmuir first flown at Renfrew by Alan Kingwill. The Wee Bee won the 1924 Light Aeroplane Competition at Lympne. Then it was taken to Australia. It lasted there to at least 1950 when it was sold. By this time it had been in an accident and broke in two. When it was sold it was owned by Vincent Boyes. You can read all about it in two books, Beardmore Aviation and Clydeside Aviation Volume Two. The latter has a full description of the Wee Bee plus drawings. It was just too expensive to build and the light aeroplane laurels went to de Havilland.

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My late father-in-law, John Simpson was sacked as a apprentice joiner on the day of completing his apprenticeship in the John Brown Shipyard on the Clyde. He was immediately told to report to Beadmore's yard where there was a job awaiting him. The job was to work on the Wee Bee. I wish that I had listened to more of his stories, but one that I remember is that once the two wings were completed, they were both weighed and found to be within 1 GRAM of each-other. So much for accuracy.

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My late father was stationed at Baldonnel, near Dublin and he gave me a photo of WEE BEE1 with Maurice Piercey standing next to it. The image is remarkably clear and signed by him, and dated Signapore 1924. Can anyone throw any light on the above?

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P.S Percy Parker

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This aircraft was purchased by ercy Parker of Warrnambool, Victoria. Australia. As a lad I remember it flying over the town. the motor had a reputation for breaking crank shafts. On one ocasion this actually occured as they - Percy and Ted Palmer- were flying along the coast. They forced landed on the beach. Percy jumped out of the aircraft and ran to the nearest farm house that he knew they had a phone. By the time he phone his wife to tell her they were OK she had alreadt received a call that they had crashed in flames!! such was the dare-devil atitude towards flying in the '30s.

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I believe this aircraft was flown by my uncle A.N. Kingwill. O.B.E. A.F.C. Capt R.F.C. W /C R.A.F. at the 1924 trials. He donated the propeller of the Wee Bee to the Shuttleworth collection, and I gave them his pilots, navigators, and W /op licenses. I don't know what happened to his log-books, but believe the Royal Aero Club or G.A.P.N. may hve them.

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