09-04-2020, 03:21 PM
Good afternoon all I hope all fellow Austieers are well.. Many years ago I was told of a large stash of Austin 7 spares only to find I was the first man too late and they had been tipped into a mine shaft in Cheadle Staffs. At the first opportunity I visited the site which was a scrapyard and found a new Payen cylinder head gasket still in its waxed paper wrapper which I still have. The gasket was on the edge of the unfenced mineshaft ! Also on the edge was an aircraft wheel with TSR 2 cast into the centre. When the TSR2 project was cancelled the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson insisted that all the jigs, tools and parts were destroyed, apparentlly to appease the Americans so they would sell us their F111 (which we didn't buy).
This story came full circle a few months ago when I had a waste skip delivered and noticed that the lorry had the address of the yard on it.
I told the driver the story and he confirmed that he was the son of the owner and that tons of TSR2 parts had been tipped in great secrececy (!) and the shaft filled with concrete.
Regards from the creative county - Staffordshire
Stuart
This story came full circle a few months ago when I had a waste skip delivered and noticed that the lorry had the address of the yard on it.
I told the driver the story and he confirmed that he was the son of the owner and that tons of TSR2 parts had been tipped in great secrececy (!) and the shaft filled with concrete.
Regards from the creative county - Staffordshire
Stuart