Patrick Davey

THE DAY HISTORY WAS MADE AT BROOKHALL MILL The residents of Lisburn and the surrounding area were very familiar with the sounds of the many military aircraft which frequented the skies above this part of South Antrim during the Second World War. Between the Spitfires flying in and out of Long Kesh, the Coastal Command Catalinas heading across to Lough Erne and the heavy USAAF B17s stopping off at Langford Lodge on their way to Britain, the residents knew them all and could identify the engine sounds with ease. It was this knowledge which alerted them to an unfamiliar sound which was heard in the skies above the Lagan Valley one dark night in October 1943, a lone aircraft with an engine sound very unlike those of the familiar RAF and USAAF types. The intruder seemed to be circling around Ballinderry and it wasn’t long before the telephone rang in RAF Aldergrove, and a Hurricane night fighter was scrambled to investigate. However the suspected enemy aircraft had made good its escape and nothing more was heard of it. Early the next morning, Mr. Weaver at Brookhall Mill pulled back the blackout curtain of his bedroom in the station house, and was immediately greeted by an unexpected sight - a parachute was wrapped around the small chimney of the boiler house beside the railway platform, and dangling precariously below was the parachutist, whom Mr. Weaver assumed was an enemy combatant who had missed his intended landing spot. The man was hanging about 30 feet above the ground so Mr. Weaver immediately rang the local police station for assistance, and before long there was a large crowd on the platform, staring up in amusement at the stranded airman. Eventually the airman was rescued and brought down to the platform, and once free of his harness, he stood perfectly upright, snapped his heels together and identified himself as Unteroffizier Hans Watchimflappen of the 307th German Parachute Corps. Unteroffizier Watchimflappen was then escorted into Mr. Weaver’s office, where two policemen kept him under close guard until the military could attend and bring him into custody. Mr. Weaver felt sorry for the unlucky German and immediately arranged for breakfast to be brought across from the mill kitchen, a full Ulster fry washed down with strong tea. Unteroffizier Watchimflappen was very grateful for this kindness and then noticed that Mr. Weaver’s office grandfather clock was not working. “As a gesture of gratitude for your vundervul kindness Herr Veever, I vish to be permitted to repair ze clock.” Mr. Weaver consented and immediately Unteroffizier Watchimflappen approached the clock and barked “I haf vays of making you tock…” - immediately the ancient timepiece rumbled back to life again. Mr. Weaver and his unexpected guest remained in the office for around an hour before the military arrived, and during that time they chatted extensively, with Unteroffizier Watchimflappen making it clear that he had had enough of the war and had accepted that Germany was not going prevail. He also freely admitted that he had been sent on a clandestine solo mission to gather intelligence on Brookhall Mill and that he had been dropped by the mysterious aircraft which had been heard in the skies the previous evening. Mr. Weaver was certainly more than pleased to hear that his humble operation in this quiet part of County Antrim had come to the attention of the German Intelligence, as this assured him that the work they were doing was making an important contribution to the war effort. Soon a detachment of RAF Military Police arrived from Aldergrove and as they prepared to take Unteroffizier Watchimflappen into custody, the German had one final request to ask of Mr. Weaver: “Herr Veever, I vonder vud you permit me to make a brief telephone call to ze German Embassy in Dublin, zat I may alert zem to my presence as a guest of ze RAF? I vill of course ensure zat appropriate recompense is made to you for ze telephone call”. Mr. Weaver was only too pleased to permit Unteroffizier Watchimflappen to make the call to Dublin, and there was never going to be a requirement for him to pay for the call. And so, history was made that day at Brookhall Mill, when the first telephone call was made, that could truly be described as ‘Hans free’.

Any chance of more photos and videos?

Excellent!!!!

Thanks for the nice feedback on my 1940s video!!! Here are Elvis and Johnny Cash to continue the story into the 1950s: BHM 1950s.mp4

Mr W is a committed to teetotaller until the dreaded lurgy strikes, when he consents to taking a medicinal hot whiskey (he likes to have lots of lurgies). He’d be happy to go to the pub as long as there was a mad session of shlides and shlip jigs?

Here's a video showing typical rail traffic at Brookhall Mill during the 1940s. First a GN T2 442t locomotive is seen working the morning staff shuttle before bringing some covered vans up from Lisburn. Later on, there are appearances by BCDR and NCC trains, both of which were often seen at Brookhall during the war years and after. The soundtrack for the video features the music of Glenn Miller, and I have only recently discovered that Miller and his orchestra gave a concert at Brookhall in July 1943, just over a year before his tragic disappearance. The 'Miller at The Mill' concert was arranged by the US Army in Northern Ireland as a gesture of gratitude to the staff of Brookhall Mill for the contribution they made to the war effort, and by all accounts it was a memorable evening - the musicians had to retreat deep into the mill once blackout time was reached but the music and dancing continued well into the small hours. BHM 1940s.mp4 NOTE: I have just spotted typos in the above video......... yikes

A major inspiration for my own humble GN efforts!

Superb - well done!

This is quite an ambitious project, but you’re obviously doing considerable research, so I wish you every success! And please keep us updated as you progress.

Lovely to welcome you to Brookhall Mill today David @Galteemore and Alan @Tullygrainey! Great to have an excuse to set the railway up in exhibition mode again!

They have found a hopefully nice home Dave!

Recently weathered vans now in service at Clogherhead.

This is my first attempt at weathering vans, using various dilute acrylic washes. I may have gone a bit overboard, but after looking at some prototype material, it’s clear that some of these vehicles were truly filthy in their final years. The recent offerings from Provincial Wagons are solid and great runners, but the black chassis needs repainting to match the wagon body, so I’ve done that before toning it all down with weathering. My problem now is that these will be running behind pristine ex-works locomotives…… not sure I’m brave enough yet to tackle that!!! Two of Leslie McAllister’s excellent recent offerings, both have had their black chassis painted grey, but only the one on the right has been fully weathered. Various vans here from Provincial Wagons and JM Designs.

Enjoy 6 minutes of digital sound bliss, as 125 shunts her new ballast wagons around Clogherhead: 125 & Ballast Wagons.mp4

Unusually heavy goods traffic at Clogherhead this afternoon, including quite a large consignment of chickens. Some smart alec in Amiens Street suggested that the chickens thought it was ‘Cluck-erhead’…….

Damien it was great to meet you and thanks for making the long journey! Until next time!!

Thanks for making the long journey to Bangor John, I hope you got home safely and that you were made to feel welcome! Great to meet you.

Hinting that it is indeed an RPSI one....?

Your presence was reported to me JB! Hope you enjoyed the show. A short video of some of the comings and goings on Brookhall Mill over the past weekend. BCDR locos were scratchbuilt by Alan Nixon @Tullygrainey of this parish. BHM @ Bangor.mp4

There is a shop called McCullough’s in Bangor, County Down, they have one! It was on display all weekend at the Bangor show, and I don’t think it was sold.

Are you in town?

What a great weekend at the Bangor show! Particularly great to chat to the following forum members: @Kirley - thanks Kieran for your help! @Signal Post - super to meet you Damien! @Metrovik - and super to meet you too John! @Dunluce Castle - great to see you again Nelson and to meet your dad! @Dave - thanks again Dave for the BHM baseboards! @leslie10646 - thanks for the two lovely new wagons, Leslie! @WRENNEIRE - good to meet you again Dave! And of course a special word of thanks to @Tullygrainey ~ thanks Alan for your amazing help over the weekend! Here are a few photos of Brookhall Mill from the weekend, more to follow, along with some video clips.

Unlikely, as the lads aren't there this year, feels unusual not seeing the IRM stand!

Jeepers that’s horrible - hope it’s all sorted now and that we’ll see you tomorrow!

Some nice acquisitions this evening, already looking very much at home! Two of Leslie McAlister’s new CIE vans as well as a pack of the original IRM CIE ballast wagons. I didn’t ever think I would want the ballast wagons, but since my current project stretches into the 1970s, they are a must - fabulous wagons!  And it’s amazing to think what followed from IRM……