The Bristol 173 was intended as an airliner helicopter but G-AMJI was tested by the military as XH379 from September 1954 until September 1956, just before it crashed. We found that the Big Ben was in scaffolding from early 1955 until the spring of 1957 to repair damage from Luftwaffe bombing. The last BEA helicopter flight from the Waterloo Air Terminal was on 31 May 1956 but we are not sure when the heliport closed. Photo from: Nationaal Archief (Netherlands)

'To be used for experiments in Civil Defence reconnaissance and communications.' The Civil Defence organisation was to take care of affected areas after a nuclear attack.

Scheduled passenger helicopter services between Waterloo and Heathrow began on 25 July 1955. Received from Westland two months earlier, G-ANUK operated the first flight. Pontoons were fitted to the S-55s because of the riverside location of the heliport. Even if all eight trips on a day were sold out, BEA still made a loss of over £300 and the flights were terminated on 31 May 1956. Photo from: Nationaal Archief (Netherlands)

1952 saw the first trials at what became the Waterloo Air Terminal heliport. The Festival of Britain was held here the year before and its Dome of Discovery is being torn down in the background. Photo from: British European Airways

Opened in 1953, BEA's Waterloo Air Terminal was essentially a check-in facility offering bus transport to Northolt or Heathrow, but helicopters had first landed here on the former Festival of Britain grounds in 1952 and BEA Whirlwinds linked Waterloo to Heathrow for ten months from July 1955. Sabena only undertook a single flight from Brussels in July 1954. Flying time from Brussels was no less than two hours and 48 minutes.