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121-477: The study recognized that the British Empire and Commonwealth as both a political and economic entity would have a vital need for aviation systems (principally aircraft) to facilitate its continued existence and self-reliance in the post-war world. For military and commercial reasons, the empire simply could not continue to exist if did not understand the needs, and develop the industrial infrastructure to provide,

242-574: A Scottish Aviation DC-3 conversion featuring British instrumentation and an increased seating capacity of 32. In addition to having 38 DC-3s converted to Pionair passenger carriers, BEA had a further 10 DC-3s modified as "Leopard" class freighters. The same year, BEA introduced its first tourist class on Viking services. This entailed re-configuring a total of 49 aircraft in a 36-seat, single class layout. BEA referred to its re-configured, all-tourist class Vikings as "Admiral" class [aircraft]. In 1952, BEA carried its one-millionth passenger and introduced

363-493: A legal monopoly as the sole short-haul scheduled British airline. Due to BEA's inability to take over the UK domestic flights of independent scheduled operators such as Railway Air Services , Allied Airways (Gandar Dower) and British Channel Islands Airways on 1 August, these independents continued to ply their scheduled routes under contract to BEA until they were absorbed into the corporation in 1947. The first flight operated by

484-574: A 33⅓% minority shareholding in Welsh independent regional airline Cambrian Airways. In March 1958, BEA ordered six de Havilland DH106 Comet 4B jet aircraft for delivery from 1960. This was BEA's answer to the impending introduction of the Sud-Est Caravelle , Air France 's new short-/medium- range jet , on the French flag carrier's European , North African and Middle Eastern network, including

605-590: A Committee to investigate the issue and make suitable recommendations. Following this the Cabinet authorized a Second Committee to undertake more detailed work and prepare a list of requirements for each type to provide a basis for design and development. On 24 Dec 1942, a two-part article in Flight concluded "The whole British Empire at the present time has an operational fleet of transport aircraft, comprising conversions, makeshifts and cast-offs, totally inadequate to represent

726-526: A combined gross domestic product of over $ 9 trillion, 78% of which is accounted for by the four largest economies: India ($ 3.737 trillion), United Kingdom ($ 3.124 trillion), Canada ($ 1.652 trillion), and Australia ($ 1.379 trillion). In 1997 the Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed that, to become a member of the Commonwealth, an applicant country should, as a rule, have had

847-719: A constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member; that it should comply with Commonwealth values, principles and priorities as set out in the Harare Declaration ; and that it should accept Commonwealth norms and conventions. South Sudanese politicians have expressed interest in joining the Commonwealth. A senior Commonwealth source stated in 2006 that "many people have assumed an interest from Israel, but there has been no formal approach". Israel and Palestine are both potential candidates for membership. British European Airways British European Airways ( BEA ), formally British European Airways Corporation ,

968-622: A former colony of the United Kingdom, but some have links to other countries, either exclusively or more directly (e.g., Bangladesh to Pakistan, Samoa to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea to Australia, and Singapore to Malaysia). Mozambique, in 1995, was the first country to join without such a constitutional connection, leading to the Edinburgh Declaration and the current membership guidelines. In 2009, Rwanda, formerly under Belgian and German rule, joined. Consideration for Rwanda's admission

1089-455: A fundamental founding document of the organisation, laid out that membership required dominionhood. The 1949 London Declaration ended this, allowing republican and indigenous monarchic members on the condition that they recognised King George VI as " Head of the Commonwealth ". In the wake of the wave of decolonisation in the 1960s, these constitutional principles were augmented by political, economic, and social principles. The first of these

1210-579: A larger Viscount which became the Vickers Vanguard but which only sold 43, and then insisted on a smaller Trident than the design proposed by Hawker Siddeley. Consequently, the Trident, like the VC-10, failed to sell in significant numbers. The BAC 1-11 was more successful but suffered from a lack of investment in development as much government funding was directed to Concorde . Subsequently, after production of

1331-401: A launch order from BEA depended on scaling down the original design, in the belief that the Vickers Vanguard high-capacity turboprops it had ordered the year before would remain competitive against jets on trunk routes as a result of lower operating and seat-mile costs. BEA's insistence on building the Trident smaller with less powerful engines and a lower fuel capacity than originally proposed

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1452-719: A network of routes within the Channel Islands and expand services between the islands and the UK mainland . In 1953, BEA began receiving the first 16 Viscount 701 turboprops it had ordered in August 1950. The first of these "Discovery" class aircraft entered service with 47 mixed-class seats in April 1953, and the first production aircraft (G-AMAV) went on to win the transport class of the 1953 London to Christchurch, New Zealand, air race , with BEA MD Peter Masefield as team manager and co-pilot . 1953

1573-668: A profit of £2.09 million. On 1 April 1960, BEA began commercial jet operations with its new Comet 4Bs. On that day, the airline commenced jet operations from Heathrow to Athens, Istanbul , Moscow , Munich , Rome and Warsaw with an initial, five-strong Comet fleet. By June, this fleet grew to seven (out of an eventual 18) aircraft, enabling the launch of additional jet services to Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Düsseldorf , Malta , Zürich and Frankfurt . On 27 September 1960, BEA welcomed its 25-millionth passenger. Also in 1960, BEA took delivery of its final two Viscount 701s bringing its total fleet strength of this sub-type to 50. 1960

1694-451: A report on potential amendments was presented by the Committee on Commonwealth Membership at the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting . New members were not admitted at this meeting, though applications for admission were considered at the 2009 CHOGM . New members must "as a general rule" have a direct constitutional link to an existing member. In most cases, this is due to being

1815-718: A republic in January 1950, it would remain in the Commonwealth and accept the British Sovereign as a "symbol of the free association of its independent member nations and as such the Head of the Commonwealth". Upon hearing this, King George VI told Menon : "So, I've become 'as such'". Some other Commonwealth countries that have since become republics have chosen to leave, whilst others, such as Guyana , Mauritius and Dominica , have remained members. India's inaugural prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru declared on 16 May 1949, shortly following

1936-649: A republic in accordance with the Irish Republic of Ireland Act 1948 ; in doing so, it also formally left the Commonwealth. Whilst Ireland had not actively participated in the Commonwealth since the early 1930s, other dominions wished to become republics without losing Commonwealth ties. The issue came to a head in April 1949 at a Commonwealth prime ministers' meeting in London . Under the London Declaration , as drafted by V. K. Krishna Menon , India agreed, when it became

2057-456: A separate legal entity on 1 April 1974 when the merger with BOAC to form British Airways (BA) took effect. The name was revived by British Airways from 1991 to 2008 when it changed the name of an existing subsidiary, British Airways Tour Operations Limited to British European Airways Limited . British Airways Tour Operations Limited was itself founded in 1935 as an air travel company, named Silver Wing Surface Arrangements Limited . With

2178-409: Is not represented. Commonwealth citizens are eligible to apply for British emergency passports . Australia issues Documents of Identity in exceptional circumstances to resident Commonwealth citizens who are unable to obtain valid travel documents from their countries of origin and must travel urgently. The close association amongst Commonwealth countries is reflected in the diplomatic protocols of

2299-520: Is symbolic, representing the free association of independent members, the majority of which (36) are republics , and five have monarchs of different royal houses ( Brunei , Eswatini , Lesotho , Malaysia and Tonga ). The main decision-making forum of the organisation is the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), where Commonwealth Heads of Government , including (amongst others) prime ministers and presidents, assemble for several days to discuss matters of mutual interest. CHOGM

2420-665: Is the supreme court of 14 Commonwealth countries, including the Cook Islands and Niue which are under the Realm of New Zealand (though New Zealand itself does not make appeals to the Privy Council). Commonwealth nationals are eligible for appointment to the High Court of Fiji , with the Court relying on judges from other Commonwealth nations. Commonwealth citizens are eligible to serve in

2541-558: Is the successor to the Commonwealth Prime Ministers Meetings and, earlier, the Imperial Conferences and Colonial Conferences, dating back to 1887. There are also regular meetings of finance ministers, law ministers, health ministers and others. Members in arrears, as special members before them, are not invited to send representatives to either ministerial meetings or CHOGMs. The head of government hosting

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2662-692: The Associated Airways Joint Committee (AAJC), which had been formed of several pre-war charter companies on 27 June 1940. BOAC formed a British European Airways division on 1 January 1946 in anticipation of that year's Civil Aviation Act. Following its formation, BOAC's new division began taking over Transport Command's operations from 4 March 1946. On that day, it inaugurated a weekly Dakota service from Northolt to Madrid and Gibraltar , followed by additional Dakota services to Stavanger and Oslo , Copenhagen , as well as Athens via Marseille and Rome . On each of these flights, half of

2783-645: The Attlee government lifted wartime restrictions on civil flying in the United Kingdom. Within Europe, this resulted in BOAC resuming Imperial Airways ' pre- war routes to continental Europe augmented by Royal Air Force Transport Command non-military flights from Croydon Airport , using Douglas Dakotas in RAF livery flown by crews in RAF uniforms, and UK domestic air services operated by

2904-619: The British Armed Forces . According to the British Army , "Commonwealth soldiers are, and always will be, an important and valued part of the fabric of the British Army." Thousands of potential Commonwealth recruits have been turned away due to a lack of eligible vacancies. Gurkha soldiers from Nepal , though it is not a Commonwealth country, have long fought alongside British and Commonwealth troops. They continue to be recruited by

3025-1029: The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man . BEA also operated a network of internal German routes between West Berlin and West Germany as part of the Cold War agreements regulating air travel within Germany. The company slogan was Number One in Europe. Formed as the British European Airways division of British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) on 1 January 1946, BEA became a crown corporation in its own right on 1 August 1946. Operations commenced from Croydon and Northolt airports, with DH89A Dragon Rapides and Douglas DC-3s . Having established its main operating base at Northolt, BEA operated its first service from Heathrow in April 1950; by late 1954, all Northolt operations had moved to Heathrow, which remained

3146-553: The HS146 ended in 2002, no more complete airliners have been designed or made in the UK, and the industry makes only components. Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations , often simply referred to as the Commonwealth , is an international association of 56 member states , the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire from which it developed. They are connected through their use of

3267-670: The Harare Declaration was issued, dedicating the leaders to applying the Singapore principles to the completion of decolonisation, the end of the Cold War , and the end of apartheid in South Africa. The mechanisms by which these principles would be applied were created, and the manner clarified, by the 1995 Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme , which created the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which has

3388-521: The High Court case of Sue v Hill , the United Kingdom was held to be a "foreign power". Similarly, in Nolan v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs , the nationals of other Commonwealth realms were held to be "aliens". Commonwealth citizens may receive consular assistance from other Commonwealth countries. In particular, British embassies and consulates may provide assistance to Commonwealth nationals in non-Commonwealth countries if their own country

3509-536: The London Declaration in 1949, which modernised the community and established the member states as "free and equal". It continues to be known colloquially as the British Commonwealth . The Head of the Commonwealth is Charles III . He is king of 15 member states, known as the Commonwealth realms , whilst 36 other members are republics , and five others have different monarchs. Although he became head upon

3630-536: The Permanent Under-Secretary in the Ministry of Supply, was that "Only I can order civil airliners!" This attitude was a source of considerable difficulties in this process. Other aircraft were built as interim Brabazon types, plus some which were strictly not Brabazon types, but are often referred to as such. In some cases the Ministry would adopt a design by writing a specification for it. Some were built to

3751-711: The Second World War . The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was established for pilots from across the Empire and Dominions, created by the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Troops from Australia, Britain, the British Raj and New Zealand made up the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in post-war Japan. After the Second World War ended, the British Empire

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3872-534: The United Nations General Assembly by the secretariat as an observer . The secretariat organises Commonwealth summits, meetings of ministers, consultative meetings and technical discussions; it assists policy development and provides policy advice, and facilitates multilateral communication amongst the member governments. It also provides technical assistance to help governments in the social and economic development of their countries and in support of

3993-505: The jet age in 1960 with de Havilland 's DH106 Comet 4B . On 1 April 1964, it became the first to operate the DH121 Trident ; on 10 June 1965, a BEA Trident 1C performed the world's first automatic landing during a scheduled commercial air service. For most of its existence, BEA was headquartered at BEAline House in Ruislip , London Borough of Hillingdon . BEA ceased to exist as

4114-463: The rule of law , as promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games . A majority of Commonwealth countries are small states , with small island developing states constituting almost half its membership. Queen Elizabeth II , in her address to Canada on Dominion Day in 1959, pointed out that the Confederation of Canada on 1 July 1867 had been the birth of the "first independent country within

4235-525: The 1960s, licences to operate rival international scheduled services on several trunk routes from London Heathrow and Gatwick respectively, these airlines were unable to use them without actual traffic rights. For example, lack of traffic rights prevented BUA from running direct London (Gatwick) – Paris (Le Bourget) scheduled flights although it held a licence for that route, which the ATLB had awarded it in late 1961. In that case, BUA's failure to obtain traffic rights

4356-512: The 20th century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was originally created as the British Commonwealth of Nations through the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference , and formalised by the United Kingdom through the Statute of Westminster in 1931. The current Commonwealth of Nations was formally constituted by

4477-411: The ATLB that there were sufficient passengers to justify the proposed scheduled services, that these stood a reasonable chance of becoming profitable and that they opened up new markets rather than divert traffic from the corporations to overcome the latter's objections. Although the ATLB granted British Eagle and British United Airways (BUA), BEA's and BOAC's two biggest independent competitors during

4598-541: The Air Ministry and a specification was written for the design. This process did not allow for companies to propose solutions which were, in their view, better, neither did it necessarily reflect the requirements of the planned operator who may have wanted something different. Additionally, other government bodies such as the Royal Aircraft Establishment had input to the process and these often conflicted with

4719-577: The Brabazon Report: The others were all ill-fated in some way: The Brabazon Committee was essentially a failure. All the major designs proposed suffered from protracted development periods at a time when airliners were needed quickly to compete with the American products; this was largely due to the time required to develop the new jet engines but was also due to failures of the Brabazon specifications,

4840-562: The Brabazon specification in the hope of getting Ministry approval and finance, some were built totally as private ventures and others were contracted by the Ministry without reference to the Committee. The principal aircraft of note were: Of the seven Brabazon Report-derived designs that were produced, only two were outright successes, namely the Dove and the Viscount, although neither owed its success to

4961-587: The British Army ( Brigade of Gurkhas ), Indian Army ( Gorkha regiments ) and Royal Brunei Armed Forces ( Gurkha Reserve Unit ), as well the Gurkha Contingent of the Singapore Police Force . Most members of Brunei's Gurkha Reserve Unit are veterans from the British Army and Singaporean police. The criteria for membership of the Commonwealth of Nations have developed over time from a series of separate documents. The Statute of Westminster 1931 , as

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5082-468: The British Empire". She declared: "So, it also marks the beginning of that free association of independent states which is now known as the Commonwealth of Nations." As long ago as 18 January 1884 Lord Rosebery , while visiting Adelaide , South Australia , had described the changing British Empire, as some of its colonies became more independent , as a "Commonwealth of Nations". Conferences of British and colonial prime ministers occurred periodically from

5203-447: The CHOGM is called the chair-in-office (CIO) and retains the position until the following CHOGM. The Commonwealth Secretariat , established in 1965, is the main intergovernmental agency of the Commonwealth, facilitating consultation and co-operation amongst member governments and countries. It is responsible to member governments collectively. The Commonwealth of Nations is represented in

5324-601: The Chinese CAAC Airlines ), only the "Big Four" US airlines – American Airlines, United Airlines, Pan Am and TWA – carried more. By that time, BEA served most major European cities, with the network stretching as far east as Moscow, Kuwait and Doha as well as North Africa to the south, and it was furthermore a founder/minority shareholder of Alitalia , Aer Lingus , Cyprus Airways, Gibraltar Airways and Jersey Airlines. In 1961, BEA placed an order for three Armstrong Whitworth Argosy all-cargo aircraft. These were

5445-464: The Commonwealth countries. For example, when engaging bilaterally with one another, Commonwealth governments exchange high commissioners instead of ambassadors . Further institutional connections exist between Commonwealth countries. These include, between some, connections to other parts of the Commonwealth in their judicial and military institutions. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

5566-413: The Commonwealth had a population of 2.5 billion. The Commonwealth is the largest association of ' Third World ' or ' Global South ' countries. With a population of 1.4 billion, India is the most populous Commonwealth country. Tuvalu is the smallest member, with about 12,000 people. The status of "member in arrears" is used to denote those that are in arrears in paying subscription dues. The status

5687-432: The Commonwealth to reflect its changing nature. Burma (Myanmar since 1989) and Aden (now part of Yemen) are the only states that were British colonies at the time of the war not to have joined the Commonwealth upon independence. Former British protectorates and mandates that did not become members of the Commonwealth are Egypt (independent in 1922), Iraq (1932), Transjordan (1946), Palestine (part of which became

5808-575: The Commonwealth's fundamental political values. The secretariat is headed by the Commonwealth secretary-general , who is elected by the Commonwealth heads of government for no more than two four-year terms. The secretary-general and two deputy secretaries-general direct the divisions of the Secretariat. The present secretary-general is Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal , from Dominica, who took office on 1 April 2016, succeeding Kamalesh Sharma of India (2008–2016). The first secretary-general

5929-574: The Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". The term ' Commonwealth ' was officially adopted to describe the community. These aspects to the relationship were formalised by the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which applied to Canada without the need for ratification, but Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland had to ratify the statute for it to take effect. Newfoundland never did as due to economic hardship and

6050-598: The Dakota's 16 seats were reserved for UK government officials. Initially, crews continued to wear BOAC uniforms. Although some services still used Croydon for some time, the main operating base moved to RAF Northolt . On 1 August 1946, the Civil Aviation Act 1946 was given Royal Assent and passed into law. This established BEA as a crown corporation in its own right (British European Airways Corporation ) and transferred primary responsibility for scheduled air services from

6171-551: The Declaration, during the Constituent Assembly Debates that: We join the Commonwealth obviously because we think it is beneficial to us and to certain causes in the world that we wish to advance. The other countries of the Commonwealth want us to remain there because they think it is beneficial to them. It is mutually understood that it is to the advantage of the nations in the Commonwealth and therefore they join. At

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6292-745: The Dominions as well as the United Kingdom. The term first received imperial statutory recognition in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, when the term British Commonwealth of Nations was substituted for British Empire in the wording of the oath taken by members of parliament of the Irish Free State . In the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference , the United Kingdom and its dominions agreed they were "equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to

6413-436: The Empire in serving the air routes of the world in the peace to come. Have we to rely upon other nations to do it for us? The British aircraft industry is equal to the task. The Government should decide this vital question at once." The first Committee under the leadership of Lord Brabazon first met on 23 December 1942 and met a further nine times between then and 9 February 1943, when it submitted its outline recommendations to

6534-595: The English language and historical-cultural ties. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat , which focuses on intergovernmental relations, and the Commonwealth Foundation , which focuses on non-governmental relations between member nations. Numerous organisations are associated with and operate within the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth dates back to the first half of

6655-483: The London terminal for all international flights. Although it continued to use Northolt as a London terminal for domestic flights serving Manchester, Edinburgh, Renfrew (Glasgow) , Aberdeen , Belfast and the Channel Islands which by that time were mainly operated by 36-seater "Admiral" class Vikings, these were wound down in favour of concentrating all of BEA's London flights at Heathrow. A Jersey-bound Pionair in October 1954

6776-614: The State of Israel in 1948), Sudan (1956), British Somaliland (which united with the former Italian Somaliland in 1960 to form the Somali Republic ), Kuwait (1961), Bahrain (1971), Oman (1971), Qatar (1971) and the United Arab Emirates (1971). The post-war Commonwealth was given a fresh mission by Queen Elizabeth II in her Christmas Day 1953 broadcast, in which she envisioned the Commonwealth as "an entirely new conception – built on

6897-417: The Statute of Westminster for it to take effect, two laws — the Status of the Union Act, 1934 , and the Royal Executive Functions and Seals Act, 1934 — were passed by the Parliament of South Africa to confirm South Africa's status as a sovereign state, and to incorporate the Statute of Westminster into the law of South Africa . Commonwealth countries and the Empire were involved in every major theatre of

7018-498: The UK Cabinet in its Interim Report. This recommended the adaptation for civil use of four military types of aircraft which were then in, or near, production, and the design of five new types specifically for civil use. The four adaptations were: The five new types proposed were: Some weeks after the report from the First Committee, it was decided to form a Second Committee with more comprehensive and detailed terms of reference. The Second Committee began meeting on 25 May 1943 under

7139-466: The UK (especially in the 1960s and 1970s) to refer to recently decolonised countries, predominantly non- white and developing countries. It was often used in debates regarding immigration from these countries. The United Kingdom and the pre-1945 dominions became informally known as the Old Commonwealth, or more pointedly as the 'white Commonwealth', in reference to what had been known as the 'White Dominions'. On 18 April 1949, Ireland formally became

7260-501: The UK to Europe (including the British Isles) to BEA. To fulfill its role as the new short- and medium-haul British flag carrier , BEA was organised into two divisions based at Northolt and Liverpool Speke respectively, with the former responsible for all scheduled services to the Continent and the latter for all scheduled services within the British Isles. The Civil Aviation Act 1946 furthermore provided for nationalisation of private, independent British scheduled airlines and gave BEA

7381-436: The US and the UK. It has been suggested that there was then some agreement with the United States that the US would concentrate on transport aircraft while the UK would concentrate on their heavy bombers . However, Peter Masefield was certain that such a policy was never even suggested, far less implemented. On the contrary, the action was simply to do nothing - no orders were ever placed for new British transport aircraft. It

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7502-577: The United Kingdom's cosmopolitan role in world affairs became increasingly limited, especially with the losses of India and Singapore. Whilst British politicians at first hoped that the Commonwealth would preserve and project British influence, they gradually lost their enthusiasm, argues Krishnan Srinivasan . Early enthusiasm waned as British policies came under fire at Commonwealth meetings. Public opinion became troubled as immigration from non-white member states became large-scale (see also: Commonwealth diaspora ). The term New Commonwealth gained usage in

7623-423: The United Kingdom, have preferential citizenship acquisition or residency policies for Commonwealth citizens. Initially, Commonwealth countries were not considered to be "foreign" to each other as their citizens were British subjects . Citizenship laws have evolved independently in each Commonwealth country. For example, in Australia, for the purpose of considering certain constitutional and legal provisions in

7744-478: The Viscount 630 prototype on the London–Paris and London–Edinburgh routes, BEA ordered 20 Viscount 701s in August 1950 for delivery from 1953. Also in 1950, BEA informed Vickers of its requirement for an aircraft with 10% lower costs per seat-mile than the 800 series Viscount . This provided the impetus for Vickers to begin developing the four-engined Vanguard high-capacity turboprop in 1953. Peter Masefield's arrival as managing director (MD) in 1950 marked

7865-443: The airline's main operating base until the merger with BOAC in 1974. During 1952, BEA carried its millionth passenger, and by the early 1960s it had become the Western world's fifth-biggest passenger-carrying airline and the biggest outside the United States . In 1950, BEA operated the world's first turbine-powered commercial air service with Vickers ' Viscount 630 prototype , from London to Paris . The airline entered

7986-492: The aviation systems and sub-systems necessary to supply and maintain a global air transport service. Soon after the start of World War II, with no recorded discussion in government, a decision was taken to concentrate all efforts of the British aircraft industry on combat aircraft, and two embryo airliner projects, the Fairey FC1 and the Short S.32 , were both cancelled. Subsequently, Britain had to purchase three Boeing 314 flying boats for BOAC to operate an air service between

8107-433: The beginning of BEA's commercialisation. This entailed introduction of new cost control measures and innovative methods to boost revenue and passenger loads , including off-peak fares on late-evening flights and high-frequency services on the London–Paris route. BEA's new commercially aggressive approach soon resulted in monthly earnings of £ 1 million. In early 1951, BEA introduced its first "Pionair" class Douglas DC-3,

8228-418: The beginning of the modern Commonwealth. Following India's precedent, other nations became republics, or constitutional monarchies with their own monarchs. Whilst some countries retained the same monarch as the United Kingdom, their monarchies developed differently and soon became essentially independent of the British monarchy. The monarch is regarded as a separate legal personality in each realm, even though

8349-441: The construction of seven new designs which would be required after the war: The normal method for government aircraft production was that an Air Ministry Specification was issued and aircraft companies tendered designs to meet the specification. It was customary then to order prototypes of one or two designs for evaluation (though at times aircraft were ordered "off the drawing board"). In some cases manufacturers brought designs to

8470-427: The corporations would object to applications by independent airlines seeking to be licensed as competitors to the state airlines. Each application by an independent airline for a scheduled route licence was heard by the newly established Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB), the new UK government body in charge of air transport economic regulation that succeeded ATAC. At these hearings, the independents needed to convince

8591-462: The country sought closer ties with the Anglophone world . Under the formula of the London Declaration , Charles III is the Head of the Commonwealth . However, when the monarch dies, the successor to the crown does not automatically become the new head of the Commonwealth. Despite this, at their meeting in April 2018, Commonwealth leaders agreed that Prince Charles should succeed his mother Elizabeth II as head after her death . The position

8712-419: The country to hold new elections before a full suspension of Commonwealth membership would be considered. Prior to Togo's admission at the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting , Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said that he expected Commonwealth membership to provide opportunities for Togolese citizens to learn English and access new educational and cultural resources. He also remarked that

8833-581: The death of his mother, Elizabeth II , the position is not technically hereditary. Member states have no legal obligations to one another, though some have institutional links to other Commonwealth nations. Citizenship of a Commonwealth country affords benefits in some member countries, particularly in the United Kingdom , and Commonwealth countries are represented to one another by high commissions rather than embassies. The Commonwealth Charter defines their shared values of democracy , human rights and

8954-509: The design, manufacture and final assembly of transport aircraft, and no infrastructure or trained personnel for the doing of same. Yet, the massive infrastructure created in the US would allow them to produce civilian aircraft based upon military transport designs; and crucially these would have to be purchased by the UK, Empire and Commonwealth to meet their post-war civilian transport aviation needs. In consequence, Churchill asked Lord Brabazon to form

9075-500: The designers being given contradictory instructions. One example of this is the trouble that Miles Aircraft had with the Ministry of Aircraft Production in relation to the design of the Miles Marathon . In 1944, the Ministry of Aircraft Production started the process for contracts for all of these planes with individual companies; this role was taken over by the newly created Ministry of Supply in 1945. The view of Sir Cyril Musgrave,

9196-570: The end of the Suez Crisis. The first member to be admitted without having any constitutional link to the British Empire was Mozambique in 1995 following its first democratic elections. Mozambique was a former Portuguese colony . Its entry preceded the Edinburgh Declaration and the current membership guidelines. In 2009, Rwanda became the second country to be admitted to the Commonwealth not to have any constitutional links to Britain. It

9317-830: The first 11 of an eventual 83 Vickers Viking piston-engined airliners. These were BEA's first new aircraft, which it leased from the UK government. The first Viking revenue service departed Northolt for Copenhagen on 1 September 1946. Compared with the Dakota, the Viking took 35 minutes less to reach Copenhagen from London. Following their introduction on the London–Copenhagen route, Vikings began replacing Dakotas on BEA's services to Amsterdam, Oslo, Stockholm , Gibraltar and Prague . In November 1946, BEA's first service to Northern Ireland departed Croydon for Belfast ( Sydenham ) via Liverpool , using an ex- Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 52/3m operated by independent airline Railway Air Services on

9438-516: The first independents merged into the new corporation. 1947 was also the year BEA operated its first scheduled all-cargo flight from Northolt to Brussels with a DC-3 freighter. The same year, it inaugurated a scheduled service between Land's End Airport in southwest Cornwall , England , and St Mary's Airport on the largest island of the Isles of Scilly archipelago off the southwest coast of Cornwall, using "Islander" class Dragon Rapides. Despite

9559-545: The first of 20 Airspeed Ambassadors . These cost £3 million and featured a 49-seat mixed-class layout. BEA's first commercial Ambassador service left London for Paris on 13 March 1952. Flights to Milan and Vienna began the following month. These aircraft introduced the airline's passengers to new standards of comfort and speed. Compared with BEA's older piston types, the Ambassador's flight time from London to Milan, for example, reduced by two hours. In June 1952 BEA re-launched

9680-482: The first one in 1887 , leading to the creation of the Imperial Conferences in 1911. The Commonwealth developed from the imperial conferences. A specific proposal was presented by Jan Smuts in 1917 when he coined the term "the British Commonwealth of Nations" and envisioned the "future constitutional relations and readjustments in essence" at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 , attended by delegates from

9801-484: The first two airlines to be given associate status by BEA in May 1948. These arrangements enabled the latter to contract the operation of a new feeder route between Cardiff and Weston-super-Mare to both of the former, which respectively used Dragon Rapides and Avro Ansons to provide a daily service. East Anglian Flying Services (EAFS) was another early BEA associate. The association agreement between BEA and EAFS resulted in

9922-554: The fledgling corporation's behalf. The following month, BEA's Belfast operations transferred to Nutts Corner while Dakotas replaced the "Jupiter" class Ju 52s from 1947. On 1 February 1947, the process of merging the wholly private, independent airlines operating in the UK under the AAJC umbrella into BEA began. Railway Air Services, Isle of Man Air Services , and Scottish Airways (which had been formed in 1937 by merging Northern & Scottish Airways and Highland Airways ) were among

10043-540: The former rules were consolidated into a single document. These requirements are that members must accept and comply with the Harare principles , be fully sovereign states , recognise King Charles III as head of the Commonwealth, accept the English language as the means of Commonwealth communication, and respect the wishes of the general population with regard to Commonwealth membership. These requirements had undergone review, and

10164-517: The former. In its 1955–56 financial year, BEA carried more than two million passengers for the first time at an all-time high average load factor of 69.4%. During that period, it recorded a profit of £603,614, mainly as a result of revenue growth accounted for by the Viscount fleet. In 1956, BEA acquired a 25% minority shareholding in Jersey Airlines and the corporation's Southampton – Guernsey and Southampton– Alderney routes transferred to

10285-481: The freezing bomb bay of a Consolidated Liberator bomber, it brought home to him the absence of modern British airliners and the need for action with regard to transport aircraft. After discussion with Sir Stafford Cripps , the Minister of Aircraft Production , and his predecessor Lord Brabazon, he recognized that as a result of that neglect the United Kingdom was to be left at the close of the war with little experience in

10406-581: The highest qualities of the Spirit of Man: friendship, loyalty, and the desire for freedom and peace". However, the British treasury was so weak that it could not operate independently of the United States. Furthermore, the loss of defence and financial roles undermined Joseph Chamberlain's early 20th-century vision of a world empire that could combine Imperial preference, mutual defence and social growth. In addition,

10527-413: The independent. 1956 was also the year BEA began using Viscounts for nightfreight operations to increase cargo capacity as well as the aircraft's utilisation. While BEA continued taking delivery of Viscount 701s, it placed its first order for 12 larger 66- to 68-seat Viscount 802/806s . These were delivered from February 1957. By 1958, BEA had 77 Viscounts in service. On 7 February 1958, BEA acquired

10648-533: The latter operating a Southend – Rochester feeder service on behalf of the former. 1948 was also the year BEA's reservations department moved to new premises at Dorland Hall, Lower Regent Street in London's West End . BEA made aviation history in 1950 with the world's first turbine-powered commercial air service from London to Paris, using the UK Ministry of Supply -owned Vickers Viscount 630 prototype G-AHRF. By that time, BEA's main operating base at Northolt

10769-516: The launch customer for the Vanguard, Vickers' new high-capacity turboprop powered by four Rolls-Royce RB109 "Tyne" engines. The airline's launch order was for 20 aircraft, including six Vanguard V.951s and 14 heavier V.953s . In mid-1955, BEA entered into a 10-year operating agreement with its associate Cambrian Airways . This resulted in the latter launching new services from Liverpool and Manchester to Jersey (via Bristol and Cardiff) on behalf of

10890-548: The leadership of Lord Brabazon in order to investigate the future needs of the British civilian airliner market. The committee included members of the state-owned airlines British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and later British European Airways (BEA), and the Secretary was Peter Masefield who later became the Chief Executive of BEA. They studied a number of designs and technical considerations, meeting frequently over

11011-464: The need for financial assistance from London, Newfoundland voluntarily accepted the suspension of self-government in 1934 and governance reverted to direct control from London. Newfoundland later joined Canada as its tenth province in 1949. Australia and New Zealand ratified the statute in 1942 and 1947 respectively. Although the Union of South Africa was not amongst the Dominions that needed to adopt

11132-401: The newly constituted British European Airways Corporation departed Northolt for Marseille, Rome and Athens on the day of its formation at 8:40 am. This was followed by further route launches to Amsterdam , Brussels and Lisbon . Initially, BEA supplemented its ex-RAF Transport Command Dakotas with Dragon Rapides and Avro Nineteens . Between August and October 1946, BEA took delivery of

11253-494: The next two years to further clarify the needs of different market segments, and producing 151 papers. The government contact for this committee was Sir Stafford Cripps , the Minister of Aircraft Production until May 1945 when he was succeeded by Ernest Brown . The views of the Committee changed considerably in that period and the list of Brabazon Types continued to vary, as did the specifications of each. One early recommendation

11374-460: The original design also reduced seating capacity from 111–130 to 79–90, in mixed- and single-class configuration respectively. ) On 7 November 1959, BEA took delivery of its first Comet 4B (G-APMB), nearly two months ahead of the contracted delivery on 1 January 1960. This was followed by the official handover ceremony of the airline's first jet airliner on 16 November. In its 1959–60 financial year, BEA carried 3.29 million passengers and recorded

11495-524: The outbreak of war in September 1939 all commercial and private flying within the UK had been severely restricted by the government due to the possibility of civil flights encountering enemy aircraft. To offset this halting of civilian air traffic limited aerial services were instead carried out from 1940 onwards by the state-owned and operated British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) to a number of destinations, both European, and worldwide. On 1 January 1946,

11616-563: The poor decision making of the manufacturers and various UK government Ministries involved, and an amount of prejudice on the part of BOAC, the major customer whose input was not often requested. This prejudice by BOAC was seen subsequently in decisions such as cancelling the Vickers V.1000 airliner, failing to support the Vickers VC10 which had been designed to BOAC's specification, and a continued desire to buy American products. BEA later requested

11737-594: The power to rule on whether members meet the requirements for membership under the Harare Declaration. Also in 1995, an Inter-Governmental Group was created to finalise and codify the full requirements for membership. Upon reporting in 1997, as adopted under the Edinburgh Declaration , the Inter-Governmental Group ruled that any future members would "as a rule" have to have a direct constitutional link with an existing member. In addition to this new rule,

11858-464: The pre-war mid-day Silverwing service pioneered by Imperial Airways on the London–Paris route with 40-seat all- first class Ambassadors. The Ambassador was BEA's last major piston-engined type. It referred to the aircraft as "Elizabethan" class to commemorate the accession of Elizabeth II that year. Also in 1952, BEA made Jersey -based independent airline Jersey Airlines an associate to develop

11979-550: The previous year's nationalisation of several private airlines and their absorption into BEA, the government-owned carrier continued to contract its private sector counterparts to operate a limited number of regional feeder services on its behalf via "associate" agreements. These needed to be approved by the Air Transport Advisory Council (ATAC), the contemporary UK government department in charge of air transport economic regulation. Cambrian and Western Airways were

12100-560: The prime Heathrow – Le Bourget route from July 1959. The arrival at Heathrow on 30 July 1958 of a BEA Elizabethan from Cologne marked the type's last service with the airline. Although its operating costs on short routes such as London–Paris were lower than the Viscount's, the piston type could not match the turboprop's passenger appeal. Unlike the Pionairs and Leopards, which continued serving regional feeder and freight routes, Elizabethans were deployed on trunk routes where passenger appeal

12221-494: The reputation of the Commonwealth and confirm the opinion of many people and civic organisations that the leaders of its governments do not really care for democracy and human rights, and that its periodic, solemn declarations are merely hot air." In 2022, the former French territories of Togo and Gabon joined the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth comprises 56 countries, across all inhabited continents. 33 members are small states, including 25 small island developing states. In 2023,

12342-513: The same person is monarch of each realm. At a time when Germany and France, together with Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, were planning what later became the European Union , and newly independent African countries were joining the Commonwealth, new ideas were floated to prevent the United Kingdom from becoming isolated in economic affairs. British trade with the Commonwealth

12463-410: The same time, it is made perfectly clear that each country is completely free to go its own way; it may be that they may go, sometimes go so far as to break away from the Commonwealth...Otherwise, apart from breaking the evil parts of the association, it is better to keep a co-operative association going which may do good in this world rather than break it. The London Declaration is often seen as marking

12584-525: The time of the Suez Crisis in 1956, and in the face of colonial unrest and international tensions, French prime minister Guy Mollet proposed to British prime minister Anthony Eden that their two countries be joined in a "union" . When that proposal was turned down, Mollet suggested that France join the Commonwealth, possibly with "a common citizenship arrangement on the Irish basis ". These ideas faded away with

12705-469: Was Arnold Smith of Canada (1965–1975), followed by Sir Shridath Ramphal of Guyana (1975–1990), Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria (1990–1999), and Don McKinnon of New Zealand (2000–2008). Some member states grant particular rights to Commonwealth citizens. The United Kingdom and several others, mostly in the Caribbean , grant the right to vote to resident Commonwealth citizens. Some countries, including

12826-435: Was BEA's final flight from Northolt. The Viscount's commercial success had made it the leading short-haul aircraft in Europe in the mid-1950s. This led Lord Douglas to believe that turboprops would continue to be the mainstay of BEA's fleet into the 1960s. On 31 March 1955, BEA completed its first profitable financial year, recording an operating profit of £552,314 and a net profit of £63,039. In July 1955, BEA became

12947-514: Was a Belgian trust territory that had been a district of German East Africa until World War I . In 2022, Togo , a former French mandate territory, and Gabon , a former French colony, joined the Commonwealth, despite never having been under British rule. Gabon was partially suspended from the Commonwealth in September 2023 following a military coup , with two years given by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group for

13068-571: Was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe , North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The airline was also the largest UK domestic operator, serving major British cities, including London , Manchester , Glasgow , Edinburgh and Belfast , as well as areas of the British Isles such as the Highlands and Islands of Scotland,

13189-483: Was also a manifestation of the cautious attitude of the airline's senior management against a backdrop of a [temporary] reduction in its profit margin and slowdown in its growth rate. Meeting BEA's specifications for the Trident involved reducing the length of the aircraft's fuselage , its wingspan and weight and replacing the Rolls-Royce RB141/3 "Medway" engines with Rolls-Royce RB163 "Speys" . Shrinking

13310-434: Was also the year Flightmaster , BEA's first mechanical reservations system , was installed. This enabled the simultaneous display of seat availability on 32,000 flights. Between February and April 1954, BEA's expanding Viscount fleet replaced Elizabethans between London, Nice and Rome, and on regional routes from Manchester and Birmingham . By that time, BEA had shifted its main operating base to Heathrow, which became

13431-593: Was considered an "exceptional circumstance" by the Commonwealth Secretariat . Rwanda was permitted to join despite the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) finding that "the state of governance and human rights in Rwanda does not satisfy Commonwealth standards", and that it "does not therefore qualify for admission". CHRI commented that: "It does not make sense to admit a state that already does not satisfy Commonwealth standards. This would tarnish

13552-427: Was four times larger than its trade with Europe. In 1956 and 1957, the British government, under Prime Minister Anthony Eden , considered a "Plan G" to create a European free trade zone whilst also protecting the favoured status of the Commonwealth. The United Kingdom also considered inviting Scandinavian and other European countries to join the Commonwealth, so that it would become a major economic common market. At

13673-531: Was furthermore the year the UK Parliament enacted the Civil Aviation (Licensing) Act 1960 ( 8 & 9 Eliz. 2 . c. 38), which abolished the statutory monopoly BEA and BOAC had enjoyed on principal domestic and international scheduled routes since the beginning of the post-war era. In theory, this gave independent airlines equal opportunities to develop scheduled routes in their own right; however, in reality,

13794-399: Was gradually dismantled. Most of its components have become independent countries, whether Commonwealth realms or republics, and members of the Commonwealth. There remain the 14 mainly self-governing British overseas territories which retain some political association with the United Kingdom. In April 1949, following the London Declaration , the word "British" was dropped from the title of

13915-559: Was mainly the result of the French authorities' refusal to grant these without a corresponding reduction in BEA's share of London–Paris flights. In its 1960–61 financial year, BEA carried 3.99 million passengers at an average load factor of 65% and recorded a loss of £1.75 million. By the early 1960s, BEA carried just under four million passengers per year, more than any other airline in Europe (excluding Aeroflot ); worldwide (excluding Aeroflot and

14036-567: Was more important; this further hastened their demise in BEA service. On 12 August 1959, BEA signed a £28 million contract for 24 de Havilland DH121 Trident Mark 1(C) "second-generation" jets plus 12 options, making it the launch customer for the world's first commercial T-tailed rear-engined trijet due to enter service in spring 1964. (This version of the Trident was smaller and lighter than de Havilland's original DH121 of 1956. At that time BEA's chairman, Anthony Milward, had insisted that

14157-471: Was originally known as " special membership ", but was renamed on the Committee on Commonwealth Membership 's recommendation. There are currently no members in arrears. The most recent member in arrears, Nauru, returned to full membership in June 2011. Nauru had alternated between special and full membership since joining the Commonwealth, depending on its financial situation. In 2019, the Commonwealth members had

14278-584: Was set out in 1961, when it was decided that respect for racial equality would be a requirement for membership, leading directly to the withdrawal of South Africa's re-application (which they were required to make under the formula of the London Declaration upon becoming a republic). The 14 points of the 1971 Singapore Declaration dedicated all members to the principles of world peace , liberty , human rights , equality , and free trade . These criteria were unenforceable for two decades, until, in 1991,

14399-504: Was stated in Parliament in December 1942 that "the work of aircraft designers must, at the present stage of the war, be devoted wholly to war requirements". The UK was simply too busy producing military aircraft to find the capacity to build transports, and the materials required were in any case in very short supply. When Winston Churchill attended the 1942 Moscow Conference , travelling in

14520-407: Was the busiest airport in the UK; however, the airline was losing money, which resulted in replacing former BOAC director, Gerard d'Erlanger, who was BEA's first chairman , with Lord Douglas of Kirtleside , as well as appointing Peter Masefield as its new managing director . In April 1950, BEA operated its first service from London Heathrow Airport . Following the provisional introduction of

14641-569: Was to pursue the "Interim Types" which were conversions and/or developments of wartime aircraft. The original four adaptations became: These were all produced in some numbers in due course, although the Tudor I and Tudor II never entered service. They were all too late to compete (for example) with the earlier and much more capable Douglas DC-4 which had been in service since 1942 and could carry more passengers further and faster. The final report in December 1945 ignored all these interim types and called for

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