Quoted by A Short History of the RSPCA Animal Hostel at London Airport. Pt. 1: Foundation.
Description:

'A growing pile of letters from the latter had begun to accumulate at RSPCA HQ, asking for intervention in what seems to have been quite a chaotic set of circumstances. As Hancock would later recall, 'care of the animal passenger' at London Airport was at that time 'left largely to a pet shop proprietor, and the animals were being held in huts of the Nissen type.' More seriously, he suggested, quarantine at the aerodrome 'was more honoured in the breach.'

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... it was not until the proliferation of larger planes with cargo holds during the 1940s that routine use of this mode of transportation for non-human life became economically viable.

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... By 1949, following an inconclusive set of negotiations between the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the RSPCA concluded that they would need to construct and run their own building to adequately cater for their prospective charges...

The building, completed according to Hancock's design, was opened in January 1953. Hancock himself appears to have been very satisfied as to its suitability. He reported in 1955 that it had 'so far been adequate for the greatest demands.' He saw 'no need for some years to contemplate enlargement.' 'Nor. he commented, had its staff 'requested any major alterations for the greater comfort of their charges or the more expeditious handling of the cargoes that arrive.''

 

From original:

'it was not until the advent of cargo holds that could be maintained at a steady temperature in the passage of the aircraft over continents, and later also at an atmospheric pressure approximating to that at ground level - by pressurization - that the transport of animals by air could reach its present great dimensions, numerically as great, so far as London Airport is concerned, as the human traffic.' (1054)

'I found that on arrival in London Airport the care of the animal passenger was left largely to a pet shop proprietor, and the animals were being held in huts of the Nissen type. Quarantine was more honoured in the breach. One of the earliest requirements arising from our meetings and discussions was this urgent need for an airport hospice, to be made available to all air corporations using the airport where all animals could be housed and fed.' (p. 1055)

'I will not attempt to weary you with the details of the long and dreary struggle that ensued from 1948 to the end of 1952 to get the place built. The architects were prompt, and reproduced my rough sketches with the docility of those who know little of the primary requirements of the strange species to be housed.' (1055)

''By good luck the dimensions of the building have so far been adequate for the greatest demands, and I see no need for some years to contemplate enlargement. Nor have the staff requested any major alterations for the greater comfort of their charges or the more expeditious handling of the cargoes that arrive.' (1057)

 

 

Quoted by A Short History of the RSPCA Animal Hostel at London Airport. Pt. 2: International Activities.
Description:

'An article by Hancock noted his amazement that 'by working day and night, four or five devoted people can feed, clean and tend to the minor accidents of a plane-load of 4,000 monkeys en route to the U.S.A. from India.''

 

From original:

'We opened to traffic in January 1953. Our only trained and knowledgeable staff in regard to wild animals was the resident manager. How many workers, what stores of food, what equipment we needed – time was to teach us. It is astonishing how, by working day and night, four or five devoted people can feed, clean and tend to the minor accidents of a plane-load of 4,000 monkeys en route to the U.S.A. from India. For some time now only minor accidents have occurred, and major surgery is rarely called for. But it took a trip to Singapore and India to get the importers there, growing rich on the kidneys of monkeys, to stop awful losses and suffering they were imposing on their victims. It was common to find pregnant [1055-1056] females, parturient prematurely or part-time, in cages also occupied by males, whose preoccupation during and after the confinement can be summarised in one word – rape.

The dysenteries that early on made so many monkeys ill are no longer seen. The simple insistence that the monkeys are to be fed on what they had in the Far East, during travel and at the hospice, has removed that blot. I can recommend as penance the cleaning out of a cage containing a number of monkeys with diarrhoea. I can commend the courage of our staff who have caught this dysentery in the early days, not to mention other diseases, such as psittacosis, and who yet return undaunted to their labours.' (1055-1056)