About
Thank you for visiting www.dartherald.co.uk. The aim of this website is to celebrate and provide information on the Handley Page HPR.7 Dart Herald.
As a self confessed Herald enthusiast and officionado, the idea of launching and running a website for the Herald has been something of a long term goal for me. Why the Herald? Well having grown up in Winchester, Hampshire, just a few miles from from Southampton Airport, during the 1970's and 1980's I would listen to, and watch, first British Island Airways (BIA) and then Air UK Heralds passing overhead as they went about their trade of ferrying happy holiday makers to and from the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey. When the weather was good, there was also an opportunity of spotting the Brymon Airways Herald as it made its way over Winchester en-route from Newquay to London Heathrow Airport. The sound of Darts was for many years part of my life and so this wonderful little airliner got into my blood!
I've had a life-long interest in aviation which was inherited from my father who grew up watching aircraft battling in the skies over Kent during World War 2. I also have a keen interest in aviation photography which was also passed on to me by my father who took his first aviation photo with a Voigtlander camera in 1948. Following in my father's footsteps, I took my first aircraft photo at the Bassingbourne Air Show when I was just 10 years old. A few years later as my photography improved, I got to understand the requirements for what constitutes a good aviation photograph and while I was too young to capture good images of the Herald in its heyday, I've spent over 25 years amassing a large collection of Herald photos from contacts all over the world, many of which are displayed on the website as part of my collection. While there are still a huge amount of images that complete the Herald story and which I don't have within my collection, I'm extremely lucky to know some other 'Heraldites' which I count as friends and who share the same passion for both the aircraft and photographic excellence. They all have images that are more than worthy of this website and so for allowing their use here I'd like to thank them. They are Barry Friend, Ian Haskell, Richard Hunt and Richard Vandervord. Thanks guys!
Besides the gentlemen detailed above, there are a number of other people that I'm indebted to for passing on information or allowing use of their images. They include: Adrian M Balch, Alan Dowsett, Brian G Nichols, Christian Volpati, Dave Thaxtor, David Kerfoot, David Reeves, Den Hamerton, Derek Squires, Duncan Swift, Graham Cowell, Lloyd P Robinson, Mark Hollingsworth, Mike Pitman, Nicky Scherrer, Paul Tomlin, Peter J Cooper, Phil Brooks, Ron Roberts, Steve Ozel, Terry Villars, Tom Singfield, Tony Merton-Jones and Werner Fischdick.
So, I hope you enjoy navigating the site and find something of interest. The site is a work in progress but I aim to add information and photos to the site on a regular basis so please do come back to check out what has been added by clicking the 'What's New' tab above. I'm always on the look out for 35mm slides or original Handley Page issued photographs of the Herald so please send me a message via the Contact button above if you think you have something that may be of interest to me. Additionally, if you spot something on the site that is inaccurate or needs correcting please let me know.
I'm also always looking for interesting stories related to the Herald and would love to add yours if you think you have one.
Happy viewing!
Martin Fenner
Berkshire, June 2020
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