Inside the secret museum at British Airways headquarters that reveals the airline’s amazing history

It’s a bucket list attraction for aviation nerds.

At the heart of British Airways’ headquarters at Heathrow is a fascinating secret museum, a treasure trove of photographs, model aircraft, uniforms and rare memorabilia that tell the story of the airline and its predecessors.

The Speedbird Heritage Center is run by a small group of retired BA employees, including Mr Jim Davies, an affable aviation guru who was kind enough to give me a tour.

What the center lacks in square footage it more than makes up for in the sheer amount of historic gold nuggets on display, some of which are unique.

Old and new contrast at the entrance with an original wooden engine blade from a Handley Page HP42 and a titanium Rolls-Royce engine blade from an Airbus A380.

Above right is a ‘paper dress’ worn by flight attendants with BA predecessor BOAC in 1967 on routes between New York and the Caribbean

BA has preserved over 130 uniforms from the 1930s to the present day

Introduced by Imperial Airways, the four-engined Handley Page had a cruising speed of 100 mph, a maximum speed of 200 mph, a range of 500 miles and made its first commercial flight from Croydon to Paris in 1931.

The Airbus A380 entered service with British Airways in the summer of 2013 and has a top speed of just over 630 mph, a cruising speed of 560 mph and a range of 9,320 miles (15,000 km).

What a difference a few decades make.

However, De Handley was the starship Enterprise compared to the aircraft that launched the world’s first international scheduled air service – a single-engine de Havilland DH4A. On August 25, 1919, this converted military aircraft, a museum speaker reveals, was carrying a passenger (an Evening Standard journalist, Jim noted) and a shipment of newspapers and luxury foodstuffs to Paris Le Bourget from Hounslow Heath airfield.

The Speedbird Heritage Center is run by a small group of retired BA employees

A BOAC kimono worn by BOAC’s Japanese flight attendants from 1955 to 1974

The museum explains that British Airways traces its ancestry back to this pioneering service.

It continues: ‘The flight lasted two and a half hours… and proved the technical viability and speed advantage of air, rail and sea travel. It led to the development of today’s vast and complex global network of air services that carry millions of passengers and tons of cargo every year.

‘Throughout the rest of 1919 and 1920, other British foreign airlines formed and competed fiercely for the few routes between London and continental Europe. With aircraft that were fragile and often unreliable, a remarkable track record of scheduled air services was built up in these early years of civil aviation.’

The museum also highlights the surprising development of Heathrow Airport.

I stared at a photograph captioned ‘Tent City’ London Airport 1946′ showing several large tents and a row of cars, with a few houses in the background.

This was ‘Heathrow Airport’ – built on the site of the village of Heath Row – just after the war, when tents served as terminals.

Vintage in-flight menus are on display – one could enjoy chilled Iranian caviar and clear turtle soup with sherry between London and Bermuda on the flights of yesteryear

Above are pages from the royal guest book, signed by members of the royal family flying BA. Charles and Diana’s signatures on the left, the Queen Mother’s on the right, who was treated to a Concorde flight around the UK in 1985

Elizabeth II’s signature in BA’s royal guest book

Further on, Jim drew my attention to a model of an Avro Lancastrian aircraft – a modified version of the bomber – which flew a service from London to Sydney in 1946 with a journey time of 63 hours.

You can only imagine the noise and inconvenience. “It must have been horrific,” Jim said.

Vintage in-flight menus are also on display – one could enjoy chilled Iranian caviar and clear turtle soup with sherry between London and Bermuda on the flights of yore, I hear.

BA has preserved over 130 uniforms from the 1930s to the present, a handful of which are on display at the Heritage Center, including a “paper dress” worn by flight attendants with BA predecessor BOAC in 1967 on routes between New York and the Caribbean area, and a BOAC kimono worn by BOAC’s Japanese flight attendants from 1955 to 1974 on services between Japan and the UK.

Ted is pictured here at British Airways headquarters in Waterside, site of the Speedbird Heritage Centre

Jim pointed out a good luck charm from the patron saint of travel, Saint Christopher, which Prince Philip insisted be placed somewhere on every plane he boarded, before directing us to the royal guest book, signed by members of the royal family when they flew with BA.

Jim flipped the pages reverently, emblazoned with the signatures of Diana, Charles, the Queen Mother – who was treated to a Concorde flight around the UK in 1985 – and the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Elizabeth II visited the Heritage Center in person – a moment Jim is understandably proud of.

I highly recommend following in those royal footsteps.

Visits to the Speedbird Heritage Center are by appointment only. Visit www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/about-ba/history-and-heritage/heritage-collection or call 020 8562 5777 or 020 8562 5737. Requests can also be made by post to British Airways Heritage Collection; Waterfront (HDGA); PO Box 365; Harmondsworth, Middelsex; UB7 0GB; United Kingdom.