Time Frame: British Petroleum's 'wild duck'

Two BP helicopters, called Westland Widgeons, brought here by offshore oil exploration teams in the 1960s turned out to be so reliable in the extreme climate that they became a ferry service to the mainland.

Two Widgeons – named after a wild duck – were stationed on Das Island, the centre for offshore oil exploration in Abu Dhabi.

Its engines shattering the ancient tranquillity of the desert, a helicopter thunders over the coast of Abu Dhabi. It is the early 1960s, and the oil rush that will make the emirate one of the richest countries in the world is in full swing.

Taken from the archives of British Petroleum, the machine in the photograph is almost certainly a Westland Widgeon, based on a design licensed from the US company Sikorsky, which could carry a pilot and up to four passengers.

It was operated for BP by Bristow Helicopters, a British company that would become one of the world's largest suppliers of aviation services to the oil industry. The company was founded by Alan Bristow, a picaresque figure whose exploits included helicopter spotting for a pirate whaling fleet in the Antarctic, winning the Croix de Guerre for evacuating wounded French soldiers in Indochina, and riding with the Duke of Edinburgh while representing Great Britain at four-in-hand carriage driving.

Bristow brought two Widgeons - named after a wild duck - to the Gulf in the late 1950s, and stationed them on Das Island, the centre for offshore oil exploration in Abu Dhabi.

The helicopters were originally intended to be used to fly out essential spare parts and key staff, but proved so reliable that they provided what was effectively a ferry service between the island and the mainland.

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