Readers have been sharing their memories of a lost Greater Manchester plane that housed a restaurant.
The Manchester Evening News reported how back in the 1970s, customers would venture to Pomona Docks to board a 21-year-old plane - known as the Comet - to enjoy a delicious meal or have a drink in its 'cockpit' cocktail lounge. The former RAF plane was bought by George 'Jud' Evans and Colin Peers of Compass Catering.
The aircraft was built by De Havilland Aircraft Company Limited at Hatfield and is said to have first flown in 1953. And after being struck off charge 1974, that same year it was acquired by the Compass Catering and flown to Manchester by a crew of six from the Wyton air base in Cambridgeshire.
Read More: Brilliant photos show how Commonwealth Games took over the city 20 years ago
The plane cost £10,000 and had its wings, tail and fin removed to take a 12-mile road journey to Salford. The Comet was situated next to floating nightclub the North Westward Ho! in Salford’s Pomona Docks.
Many still have fond memories of the restaurant and spending time at both unique venues. On the Manchester Evening News website, Teano said: "Had some great nights on there, meal first in the restaurant followed by a boogie."
Sue Taylor commented: "Had a good night out in that plane great memories." John Stubley posted: "Westward ho was a brilliant place with different music played on different levels on the boat, then the plane sat in the carpark outside, great times back then."
Val Leach wrote: "Oh I remember this and westwood Ho Went for my friends hen party. Great time was had by all. Brought some happy memories back", Janet Metcalfe posted: "Great memories."
Wayne Briggs commented: "Omg brings back so many memories going for meals in here and Westwood Ho nightclub." And Anne-Marie Lambert wrote: "Remember this- and Westwood Ho- fab nights out!"
Sven Evans, the eldest of George Evan's children, grew up in Halewood, Merseyside, and said he remembers the Comet as a young boy. Sven, 60, told the MEN: "They wanted to expand and make it a whole attraction.
"They had loads of contacts in the military and navy and things like that because of the clientele they had, so maybe there was some kind of connection there. They bought the Comet from the MOD (Ministry of Defence) and they flew it on its last flight ever."
On May 10, 1974, the Liverpool Echo reported how the two Liverpool businessmen bought themselves a 500mph, 80-plus seater aeroplane but that the ex-RAF Transport Command Comet jet would be "grounded" on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal as a restaurant and bar.
It read: "Colin Peers, aged 38, of South Road, Aigburth, and George Evans, aged 39, of Gerards Lane, Halewood, already have a converted tank landing craft - the Clubship "Landfall" - in Liverpool's Collingwood Dock and a converted Isle of Wight ferryboat in Manchester's Pomona Dock as restaurant and bars. Now, the Comet, which is to be added to the fleet, will fly into Manchester Airport on Monday with Mr Evans and Mr Peers on board.
"The RAF crew will dismantle the wings, tail and fin and it will be carted by road to the Ship Canal two miles from Manchester centre. Then it will be reassembled and converted to seat about 50 diners."
At the time, Mr Peers said: "The idea started about two months ago when we wondered whether to put a small aircraft on the site just as an attraction. We discovered we could buy the Comet which has flown practically all round the world, and thought it would not only be an attraction but useful."
Join our Greater Manchester history, memories and people Facebook group here.
George's daughter, Freja Evans Swogger, 57, said she remembers seeing local TV news coverage on the Comet as a child. She said: "They bought this plane, the Comet, and had to take part or all of the wings off and had to transport it down part of the motorway.
"I didn't understand when I was a kid that to do that you had to put it on the back of a big lorry. I thought they'd driven it down the motorway like a car with no wings."
In 1974, the Daily Mirror reported on the the grounded comet and the success of the business venture. At the time, Colin Peers said: "It attracts the customer in search of a gimmick.
"But the service and food have to be good. We couldn't survive on a gimmick with nothing to back it up."
In images, you can see a sign for the North Westward Ho also on the aircraft and what the plane looked like on arrival. You can also see the Comet completed with its wings and more reattached.
As a young boy, Sven said he spent quite a bit of time on the North Westward Ho and remembers the arrival of the Comet. He said: "Down in Pomona Dock, it was a kids paradise. There was so much stuff to play on and as a boy I was making swings and dens.
"I think I went onto the Comet only once when they were still in the process of converting it and they built a cocktail lounge in there but I confess to never actually seeing it when it was up and running in its intended purpose.
Do you remember the Comet? Let us know in the comments section below.
"I remember sticking my head around the door because I was an eight-year-old boy and they were saying to me its dangerous, we can't let you loose in there. I think they didn't want me going in the cockpit and switching things on and off or playing with stuff.
"They had converted the flight cabin into a cocktail lounge and left most of the pilots and navigators seats in position where drinks were served . "All of the planes equipment, switch panels and navigation equipment were left in situ so it must have been quite some experience."
Looking back on the Comet as an adult, Sven said he thinks his dad and Colin's idea was "amazing and risky." He said: "It was imaginative and bold, quite out of the box.
"It takes guts to do something like that, to have an imagination like that and follow through with it as a business venture, financial and otherwise. I think they were both trying to offer something new and very different."
Love Greater Manchester's past? Sign up to our new nostalgia newsletter and never miss a thing.
Many will remember the Comet, from visiting as diners to seeing the new restaurant at Pomona Docks next to its sister business, the North Westward Ho. But decades on, the business now only lives on in our memories and photographs.
In the early 1980s, the Comet is said to have been broken up, with the cockpit section being sold to a collector. It is believed that by 2000, what remained of the Comet was scrapped.
Read Next:
-
Inside the Manchester factory where Crunchy Nut Cornflakes were invented
- The 15 things you could do in 1980s Manchester that you can't do now
- Manchester's Poll Tax years: Images from the streets of Hulme, Rusholme and Moss Side in the 80s and 90s
- Trams, Kendals, Woolies and Gremlins: The ever changing face of Deansgate
- Urban explorer photos of Manchester's abandoned Jolly Angler pub
