Guide to the Papers of Scotty Allan

Searching...

MS 4911

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Collection Summary

Creator
Scotty (George Urquhart) Allan
Title
Papers of Scotty Allan
Date Range
1905-1993
Collection Number
MS 4911
Extent
0.56 metres (4 boxes, 1 folio package)
Language of Materials
English
Repository
National Library of Australia

Introduction

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, personal documents, notebook, diary, newspaper cuttings, invitations and other papers relating to Allan's career including his work as a pilot for the Royal Air Force and Australian National Airways and as an employee of Qantas. Also includes papers relating to Catalina flying boats and their use by the RAAF in World War II and writings by various authors on aviation in Australia.

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn471204).

Conditions Governing Use

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred Citation

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Scotty Allan, National Library of Australia, MS 4911, [series and/or file number]'.

Biographical Note

George Urquhart Allan was born on 2 February 1900 in Bellshill, Scotland. In 1917 he joined the Royal Flying Corps and served on the Western Front. Allan continued his service with the RAF after the war and served in the Middle East. In 1929 he was recruited by Charles Ulm as a pilot with Australian National Airways where he flew on the first airmail flights from Sydney to Brisbane with Charles Kingsford-Smith and from Sydney to Melbourne with Pat Hall. After ANA was disbanded in 1931, Allan continued to fly, and in 1933 flew with Ulm and P.G. Taylor on the record-breaking flight from England to Australia in Faith in Australia.

In 1934 Allan joined Qantas to fly DH86 aircraft on the Brisbane to Singapore route. In 1938 he went to England to study flying-boat techniques and returned to Sydney in the flying boat Coolangatta. In 1941 Allan was a member of the Qantas crew which brought flying boats from San Diego to Sydney for the RAAF. During 1941 Allan was seconded to the RAAF as Wing-Commander and was C.O. of various stations including Rathmines on Lake Macquarie, where he trained Catalina crews, and No. 1 Flying Boat Repair Depot at Lake Boga.

After the war, Allan rejoined Qantas as London Manager, then as Controller of Technical Developments, where he was chief adviser on aircraft types. Allan retired from Qantas in 1961 as Deputy Chief Executive and Deputy General Manager. After his retirement he held positions on many boards including Fiji Airways, Air Pacific, Polynesian Airlines and Malayan Airways.

Allan married Ailsa Lee Brown in 1935 and Barbara Millbourne in 1944. He was made a Commander of the British Empire for his services to aviation in 1957.

Item Descriptions

Correspondence, 1922-83. Relates to employment with RAF, Australian National Airways and Qantas and his association with Air Pacific, Malayan Airways, Fiji Airways and Polynesian Airlines. Correspondents include Charles Ulm, Dick Smith and Sir Hudson Fysh. Also includes an agreement between Ulm and Allan relating to the 1933 world flight (File 1) - Box 1

Correspondence and papers, 1927-91. Correspondents include Athol Townley, Harold Holt, Harry Kirkhouse and E.A. Crome. Includes a typescript on Jim Mollison by Ern Aldis; cuttings; typescript by Perc Haslam; typescript of speech by Allan; manuscript biographical narrative and photocopies of photographs (File 2) - Box 1

Correspondence, 1931-86. Includes a letter by Ron Yates and postcards by E.A. Crome (File 3) - Box 1

Letters, 1964 and correspondence, 1961-74. Correspondents include John McEwen and Sir William Hudson. Also includes an itinerary, 1964; speech by Sir Hudson Fysh, 1963; and copies of correspondence between Qantas and the Minister for Transport, C.K. Jones, 1974 (File 4) - Box 1

Correspondence, 1961-87. Mainly contains letters, telegrams and a card received by Allan on his retirement from Qantas, 1961. Also includes press release, 1987 and notes (File 5) - Box 1

Correspondence, 1979-87. Correspondents include Cameron Hazelhurst, E.A. Crome, Dick Smith and Shelia Lacey (J.A. Lyons' daughter). Also includes a typescript on Catalinas (File 6) - Box 1

Personal documents, 1905-1967. Includes school certificates, 1905-15; RAF certificates of service and discharge, 1918-29 and Training Transfer Card; marriage certificate, 1935; memorandum on Allan's retirement, 1961; passports and other papers. (See also folio items) (File 7-9) - Box 1

Notebook, 1938 (File 10) - Box 2

Diary, 1973. Includes correspondence by Bert Button, 1974; J. Prothero Thomas, 1973; Adrian Verran, 1973; and Shelia Cohen, 1973 (File 11) - Box 2

Transcripts of three interviews of Allan by Eric Watson, Peter Macgregor, Gordon Wansbrough-White and a fourth recorded in 1971 (File 12) - Box 2

Qantas papers 1935, 1970-85. Includes a news release; a typescript entitled "The Qantas story"; a letter, 1935; a dossier of Qantas historical documents (1970 facsimiles); and printed material (File 13) - Box 2

Papers relating to flying boats, c.1938-92. Includes photocopies of newspaper cuttings; a photograph; material on Catalina aircrews; "Our famed Catalina squadrons"by J.C. Waters; "Anzac Address" by Padre Rundle at Lake Boga, 1944 and printed material (File 14) - Box 2

Papers on aerophilately, 1981-89. Newsletters, media releases and other printed material (File 15) - Box 2

Aviation Historical Society of Australia papers, 1978-83. Includes a summary of address given to NSW Branch, 1978; printed material and certificate, 1980 (File 16) - Box 3

Writings on aviation in Australia, 1964-85. David A. Hall "Wagon trains in the sky : the beginnings of civil aviation in Australia" (script of television documentary), 1985; Meredith Hooper The Kangaroo route, 1985; "Charles Thomas Phillipe Ulm : his work for Australian aviation" (possibly written by Allan's former secretary); Charles Morris Catt The history of aviation in the Hastings Valleyfrom 1910 to 1990; Charles Morris Catt "She is bonney"; E.A. Crome "Chronology of aviation in Australia" (Address to Newtown Rotary Club, 2 Jan. 1964); and "Memo notes made during the flight in The Southern Cloud from Sydney to Melbourne, July 1930" (File 17-19) - Box 3

Invitations, 1972 and 1982 (File 20) - Box 3

Research materials on pioneer aviators including Kingsford-Smith, Ulm and Allan. Includes correspondence by Ian Mackersey, 1992; extracts from My flying life by Kingsford-Smith; typescripts by Ernest Aldis; extracts from Charles Ulm's unpublished memoirs, 1934; extracts from unpublished biography of Rex Boyden and photocopies from The sky beyond and The old bus. (File 21) - Box 3

Miscellaneous papers, 1925-88. Includes Dept. of Defence air route sheet, Cootamundra - Melbourne 1925; a list of aircraft, presumably flown by Allan, 1917-61; a list of competitors in the MacRobertson International Air Races and a copy of the program and menu for the dinner held for Kingsford-Smith and Ulm, at the Hotel Australia, 1929 (File 22) - Box 3

Newspaper cuttings, 1920-93. Subjects include Charles Ulm; Allan's early flying career including the 1933 England-Australia flight with Ulm and Taylor; Lake Boga Flying Boat Repair Depot; Allan's career with, and retirement from, Qantas; Fiji Airways; and aviation in Australia. (See also folio items) (File 23-28) - Box 4

Publications, 1952-93 (File 29) - Box 4

Certificate making Allan Associate Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, 1946 (File 1) - Folio-Box 1

Newspaper cutting relating to Catalinas at Lake Boga, 1944 (File 2) - Folio-Box 1


Top