18th March 2025

Our Latest News

News Update from the CO Spring 2025

Many visitors to our site may be a tad bemused and frustrated by the distinct lack of fresh stock listings in recent months to view and hopefully buy, so it is time for a long overdue explanation. 2024 in itself was a challenging year for our CO and support team, in that our Married Quarters were extensively flooded in December 2023 and it has effectively taken until now (mid March 2025) to have the ground floor dried out, restored and redecorated. We hope these works will finally be signed off at some stage in the next 10 days and our domestic life can then return to some form of normality. Project managing the associated works and processing a significant insurance claim pretty much wrote of developing the business in 2024, although we are proud to confirm, despite external issues, we have continued to trade throughout, but at significantly reduced levels.

Then just when we thought it was safe to get back in the water the MO was worried bout the health of the CO and suggested he get a PSA blood test last October. To those not familiar with the term 'PSA', it refers to 'Prostate Specific Antigen' and a high reading can indicate Prostate Cancer. Following numerous further tests, scans and a biopsy cancer was confirmed shortly before Christmas 2024, and after consultation the Boss has commenced remedial treatment in recent days. Hopefully, this will be successful, but in the meantime the MO insists he takes it easy, with no heavy lifting or other actions, that may exacerbate his recovery. That being said he is not confined to the sick bay and the office continues to function and we are handling all enquiries and despatching sales, but at a somewhat reduced level. So please feel free to contact us in the normal way, whilst the Boss recovers before returning to front line duty, hopefully in early Summer.

The Old Man also wanted to mention, seeing he was asymptomatic, it was only a supposedly 'routine' PSA test that identified his disease. 1 in 8 chaps in the UK suffer from prostate cancer at some stage in their lives, so if you are of a certain age, or have any concerns, get tested now! It is a simple and quick blood test and it may just save your life! As a retired GP chum told the Boss recently 'It is the cancer you do not know you have got that is the one you have to worry about'!

That aside, we have just heard the news the very last of 'The Few', Battle of Britain pilots, Group Captain John "Paddy" Hemingway DFC, has died at the age of 105. He was shot down four times and survived, but as a modest man to the end, he attributed his survival to pure luck, rather than skill. They do say 'it is the luck of the Irish' and Paddy Hemingway embodied the expression. Likewise, it is surely no coincidence that 'Paddy' received his final posting on 17th March, also know as St Patrick's Day. RIP Sir, you more than deserve it and it would be nice to think of him and his patron Saint sitting together, whilst reminiscing on his long career, and sharing a drop or two of the dark stuff?

7th December 2024

Bag a Christmas Auction Bargain!

Our last news update was back in September, when we advised of our flood 'incidents' experience in December 2023 and again in January 2024. We had hoped by the first anniversary our home would have been restored, but sadly this is not the case and the current estimation for completion is now end January 2025. So our initial prediction of '6 months of disruption' has stretched to more than double our estimate. "C'est la vie" and the way we see it, in our troubled world, many are far worse off than us so we are so we should just be grateful.

Despite these domestic issues we are still trading and have recently updated the website listings with some tempting aviation and nautical stock that are certainly not available on the High Street this Christmas, and as I write we are packing parcels for clients in the UK, Ireland, Switzerland and the USA. But time is short, so if you do need a special gift for your loved one you need to move fast!

Likewise, can we also suggest you check out a current online timed auction that closes on Thursday 12th December. This has a wide selection of nautical stock and a few choice aeronautical pieces. Some of these we have consigned from our own personal collection, to help pay for a replacement central heating boiler, that finally expired after 26 years of faithful service. The online listing can be found at Easyliveauction. com and you can access directly via this link:

https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/55f92aa0d65977b9177a057ff83bf857/0af8d24542e81eb9357e7ef448a6646f/timed-collectors-sale-britomart-2/

By way of a preview can we commend lot 56 which is an incredibly rare BRASS WARDROON PLAQUE, for RNAS Training Establishment Cranwell, Sleaford. In November 1915, the Admiralty requisitioned land from the Marquess of Bristol's estate to form the Royal Navy Training Establishment Cranwell. The formation of the RAF as an Independent service in 1918 led to the change to RAF Cranwell. So RNAS Cranwell was only in existence from April 1916 to October 1919 so this is a very scarce survivor and could even be unique.

Then checkout lot 63 which is a superb US Navy A U. S. NAVY WARDROOM TABLE LAMP, CIRCA 1920, which is heavily constructed in nickel-plated brass with weighted base and fret-cut shade. The lot also includes a USN issue plated tray. These items were used in our kitchen for over 20 years, but sadly no place exists in our new kitchen (being installed this month) so both need as a new home.

Another scare item is lot nos 146 which is a heavy brass underwater DIVERS LAMP, which we believe manufactured by MCGEOCH & CO., circa 1930.

Next on offer, lot no 157 is a near mint set of RNAS FILTER GOGGLES that date from 1917 and come complete with a full set of spare filters, instruction booklet and issue box. These are probably the scarcest of all aviation flying goggles from both World Wars, but we manged to secure a number of pairs from a long-forgotten warehouse in Malta where they had resided, forgotten for over 100 years!

These are followed by lot 161 which is a superb brass TRINITY HOUSE SIGNAL LAMP. This is the scarcer pattern, which has a fitted sprung loaded candle and dates to 1918. These always make serious money (the last one we sold at auction in 2021 made £595) but with a very modest reserve you have the chance of bagging a genuine bargain.

And our final lot no 167 is again from my personal collection and is a classic 1945 AIR MINITRY SCRAMBLE BELL. Cast in brass, it is the type with the more desirable larger 'AM' engraving and comes compete with clapper. Dominic Winter sold a similar example last month for nearly £4,000, yet ours is on offer with an estimate of just £1,500-£2,500.

We commend these and the other 188 items listed to you, but don't dally as the timed auction must end Thursday 12th Dec 2024 from 3pm GMT. Good luck to those who decide to bid and just to repeat in every case the reserve set on our items is way below their actual market value. Forget the fabricated 'black Friday' offers and instead grab yourself a genuine bargain!

It now simply remains for me and the team here at the Oldnautibits HQ to wish all our customers and friends worldwide the complements of the season, a very Happy Christmas and very best wishes for 2025.

10th September 2024

Come Rain or Shine

The time has come to finally update our blog entry with a current news update. Many visitors to the site will have been disappointed by the lack of new stock postings during the year to date, so time for an explanation. Sadly, as reported in our December 2023 blog entry, the severe weather last winter had a direct impact on us. Located on the very edge of the Somerset Levels and we had the misfortune of being badly flooded on 4.12.23, and again exactly one month later thanks to the attention of 'Storm Henk. '

I predicted then that we would face 6 months of total disruption because of the damage caused to our home, but sadly I totally misjudged the situation. Now, more than 8 months in, reinstatement of the property has yet to commence. Our revised estimate was based around the hope we could move back by Christmas, but even that date is now looking problematic. Dealing with a plethora of different agencies and personnel has proved hugely challenging and has effectively become a full-time job. In the meantime, whilst the business is still ticking over, it has effectively been run on autopilot, and is likely to continue without the CO on the bridge for the remainder of the year.

On a more optimistic front, and despite the lack of progress restoring our flood damaged home, we have been proactive in other areas and have invested heavily in a comprehensive flood mitigation programme. Despite zero assistance from outside agencies, we now have a system in place that we hope will prevent any repeat of the incidents we experienced in the winter of 2023/4. These measures will enable us to sleep at night without constantly watching out for the next weather warning and approaching storm.

In conclusion, rest assured we are still in business and hopefully come the New Year normal service will be resumed, when we can continue to service clients old and new. If in the meantime you have any special requirements, please drop us a mail via the enquiry screen and despite the external challenges we face, we are still offering a restricted service. One casualty of our current situation, however, is for the first time in over 20 years trading we have taken the difficult decision to axe our widely anticipated company Christmas card, but hopefully normal service will be resumed for 2025!

21st December 2023

Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2024!

Where did that one go? To quote her late majesty Queen Elizabeth's epic speech describing events of 1992 she stated "This is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis". Here at the Oldnautibits HQ we would not go quite as far in our summary of 2023, but let's say we have had better years.

Sadly, it seems the impact of global warming is making its presence felt here in the UK and across the world, with a succession of climate related catastrophes. In Britain we have faced a succession of named storms (the latest being today as these words are typed) and with our HQ being located on the very edge of the Somerset Levels we are very low lying and what we term locally as 'The Inland Sea' has returned again this December to worry many. Related issues have meant the team here have had to spend significant time 'manning the pumps' (both literally and metaphorically) and as such this has impacted on servicing the website and benefitting from our normal buoyant Christmas trade.

It is hoped, however, 2024 will see a new dawn for us all and the year will not present the challenges many of us have faced in 2023 and the team here are adopting the late Captain Sir Tom Moore's mantra "The sun will shine again the birds will sing and we'll all have a lovely day tomorrow. "

With very best wishes to our friends and customers here and across the world and in the hope that 2024 will finally see the 'Peace on Earth' that we all crave but is currently so sadly missing as we say goodbye to the year now ending.

2nd December 2022

Christmas Greetings and forward into 2023!

They say everything speeds up as the years go by and that certainly seems to be the case in the Oldnautibits HQ. This week we invested in our Christmas tree and a purchased a new set if lights, but with postal and rail strikes here in the UK and with Asian Flu decimating the turkey population it hardly feels like the season to be jolly. 2022 has proven to be a year to remember for all the wrong reasons including the sad loss of Her Majesty the Queen in September.

Amongst all the gloom and doom we do have one bit of local news that has put a smile on our faces here. Some of you will know I have personally been leading a fight to prevent a totally inappropriate open cast stone quarry directly on our 'flight path' here. This has been going on since 2018 and despite being turned down twice the applicant went to appeal. Fortunately we mounted a robust campaign and the appeal judge took note of the many local concerns and the application was finally (and we hope definitively) rejected in the autumn. We and our rural neighbours are delighted this sword of Damocles is no longer hanging over us. This 4 year campaign has taken a significant amount of time (and quite a bit of money)but it is hoped in 2023 we can again devote ourselves to operating the business which has been forced to take back seat in the recent weeks, months and years.

We conclude this piece by wishing our friends, customers and colleagues in our niche profession the compliments of the season and in the hope that early in 2023 we sees Putin's warmongering defeated in the Ukraine. And that once again we all see Peace on Earth.