G-APWA was the first production Herald and made its maiden flight from Woodley Aerodrome on October 30, 1959. The aircraft is a series 100 Herald of which only a further 3 were manufactured before Handley Page standardised on the lengthened fuselage of the 200 series. 

 

Whiskey Alpha as she is affectionately known could seat 44 passengers and was used on a number of world wide sales tours during which she was flown by HRH Prince Philip and King Hussein of Jordan. At the end of the 1961 sales tour she began a series of leases by Handley Page to Jersey Airlines, British European Airways (BEA), Autair International, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), Sadia S/A Transportes Aereos and British Midland Airways. Following the completion of the lease with British Midland in 1966, the aircraft was sold to Sadia (later transferred to Transbrazil S/A Linhas Aereas) before returning to the UK in 1976 having been purchased by British Air Ferries (BAF). 

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She made her last flight into Southend sometime in 1982 and languished there until being moved to the Museum of Berkshire Aviation in 1993. The museum estimate that it took their team of dedicated volunteers over 14,000 hours to reassemble and repaint her with completion coming in 1997. She has been on outside display at the museum ever since.

 

 

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