Angels One-Five

Date: 1952
Director: George More O'Ferrall
Production Company: Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)

Stars: Jack Hawkins, Michael Dennison, John Gregson, Dulcie Gray
Location(s): Surrey

Region(s):

Storyline:

Voluntary Reserve Pilot Officer Baird flies into the height of The Battle Of Britain during World War II with new Hurricane fighter planes.

Additional Information:

Screen captures uploaded by Ray Edwards

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Opening view sets up the scene and time. The Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London.

Setting the scene further, Radio Location Equipment is shown. Without this, World War 2 may have ended differently.

Swingate Radar Towers, Dover, Kent. For many years there were three steel towers with a height of 111 metres (364 ft) and a set of receivers. This station was one of the first 5 Chain Home Radar stations completed in 1936 and was originally designated AMES (Air Ministry Experimental Station) 04 Dover. Copyright Wikipedia.

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A view from the cockpit of a Hurricane. Lesley Abrams identifies this house as Halton House in the Chiltern Hill. Purchased by the RAF in 1918. Today it is still used by the RAF as a military and civilian training base.

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Down on the ground we see 'Pimpernel' Squadron scrambling to their Hurricanes, here we see Flight Lieutenant 'Batchy' Salter (Humphrey Lestocq) running towards his plane.

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Hurricane fighters rev-up along the runway at RAF Station Neethley. The majority of the movie is shot around the ex. R.A.F Station Kenley, now known as Kenley Aerodrome in Surrey. This is where 'Reach For The Sky' was shot in 1956, telling the story of real-life RAF Pilot Douglas Bader who was posted to Kenley in 1930.

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Group Captain 'Tiger' Small (Jack Hawkins) walks towards the Air Operations Room.

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A Hurricane flying above the River Medway between the Isle of Grain (foreground)and Isle of Sheppey. Dave Sadd helped in identifying this location. A lot of the fighting sequence shot in the air are of super-imposed British and German aircraft on real backgrounds.

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At RAF Station Neethley, Pilot Officer 'Septic' Baird marches past ranks of non-commissioned officers and soldiers on his way to the offices.

A scenic view of RAF Station Neethley. Kenley Aerodrome is very similar today with the exception that all of the old buildings have disappeared.

"I worked as an assistant (on a much later documentary) for Alfred Wilson who dubbed the sound for the film. Strangely Kenley Aerodrome is still an RAF station. Keep Out notices everywhere; access is very limited." John Harwood

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Hurricane fighter planes coming into land after a sortie.

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Pilot Officer 'Septic' Baird arrives to inspect his kill.

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Several locals turn up to see the downed enemy.

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Pimpernal Squadron carry 'Septic' back on the tail fin of his kill.

With the enemy bombing the original Air Operation Room, Group Captain 'Tiger' Small walks along the road towards the Emergency Air Operations room . . . .

Peter Heather supplies this perfect capture of the High Street in Caterham-on-the-Hill, Surrey. He says this location is only three-quarters of a mile from RAF Kenley.

. . . . well hidden behind the South Suburban Co-operative Society's shop front. The South Suburban Co-operative Society was a retail group in Surrey which was later taken over by the Co-operative Group.

Well done Peter Heather in tracking down the Emergency Ops Room entrance, now a local takeaway outlet. Peter provides a little bit of history related to the movie and real life. The actual Emergency Ops Room at RAF Kenley was bombed in 1940 so it was moved to a shop but not in the High Street, to another location in the valley nearby.

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A nice still of four Hurricanes heading for the runway. Although the movie was only shot around seven years after the end of World War II, the makers had to hire in Hurricanes from the Portuguese Government.

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More Hurricanes queuing to leave. More airfield buildings are visible in this shot.

Nadine Clinton (Dulcie Gray) talks to a WAAF outside the Emergency Air Operations Room.

Peter Heather has photographed this now capture. The house with the bay window (in the original capture) and the poster on the railings alongside the shop has been converted into a shop. The bay window has been removed and replaced with a shop window and the garden paved over.

Pilot Officer 'Septic' Baird's love interest, Betty Carfax (Veronica Hurst) cycles along the outer perimeter road of RAF Station Neethley. Possibly somewhere along Hayes Lane that runs around the south western edge of Kenley Aerodrome.

Another perfect now capture from Peter Heather who states, that this is confirmed as Hayes Lane, just beside the junction of Waterhouse Lane that can be seen on the left. The airfield fence has been replaced with a hedge and the trees have grown obscuring the house in the distance.