Handley Page Hermes planes were removed from the B.O.A.C. fleet when the Argonauts, a Canadair derivative of the DC4, were introduced. I'm not sure why this happened. The Hermes were mainly sold to two independent airlines, Skyways and Airwork, and possibly Silver city, and were largely used in charter work ferrying British Service personnel and their families on the long haul routes. It looks as though Robin was routed down to Singapore, possibly by R.A.F. Transport, and from there back to the U.K. on the Hermes. In my own case the flight was from Kait Tak to Blackbushe in England with one overnight stop in Karachi. Below is a photograph of the last surviving Hermes, on which I returned to England in 1958. It was then owned by Airwork and it is now on display at the Imperial War Museum site at Duxford in Engand. (Andrew S)
