PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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Flying expeditions in the Plymouth area began with hot-air balloons. One such recorded incident took place on Monday November 14th 1825 when a Mr and Mrs Graham of Poland Street, Pantheon, Oxford Street, London, ascended from the old Stonehouse market in a balloon costing £700. Attempts to talk Mrs Graham out of going had failed. A pilot balloon had gone up at 11am and found the wind to be North West by North. The Grahams set off but their balloon came down only 10 minutes from the start and 14 minutes after departure. They were in the sea for about 20 minutes when the balloon suddenly shot up out of the water and flew off across the channel. They were rescued but the balloon was lost. Lord Morley started a subscription fund to try to raise the cost of the balloon. Interestingly, Mr Graham had made his 29th ascent from the Gas Works in Bristol on July 25th 1825 but apparently without Mrs Graham, so the above may have been her first flight. There is also another recorded flight, this time of a French balloon carrying mails, which came to grief near the Eddystone lighthouse on November 29th 1870. As far as powered flight goes the early years are only sketchy. On March 24th 1910, Spencer Brothers Ltd, aeronauts, asked Plymouth Council for permission to give an aeronautical display but the decision was deferred. On Monday September 11th 1911 Mrs Hilda Hewlett is recorded as flying a Henri and Maurice Farman biplane from Chelson Meadow in an air show organised by Mr Frank Marshall of the Mount Pleasant Hotel, Plymouth. She had qualified as a pilot on August 29th that year. The plane was brought to Plymouth by train, packed in crates that were apparently so large that the train could not pass through a tunnel and had to double-back. A shed was erected at Chelson Meadow to act as a hanger. Flying on the following day had to be cancelled due to bad weather. This caused a riot at the turnstiles. In 1922 Alan Cobham toured the westcountry and made pleasure flights from the racecourse at Chelson Meadow out over the Eddystone lighthouse and over Dartmoor to Princetown. It is said that some 5,000 local people took the flights. He went on to fly the first air-mail and passenger flights from Chelson Meadow to London and Birmingham. Sir Alan died in October 1973. What may have been Plymouth's first flying accident happened on the morning of Friday July 25th 1924. An Avro aeroplane built in January 1924 and owned by a Mr F J Holmes, of East Hannay, Berkshire, had been touring the country giving displays and it arrived at Chelson Meadow on the Thursday evening. On the Friday it was being flown at 2,500 feet over the eastern part of Plymouth Hoe, where rehearsals were underway for the unveiling of the Naval Memorial, when a part of the rudder broke off. The pilot, Captain Sparks, tried to land the plane on an open spot so headed for Staddon Heights, where it struck the hill about half way up. The right wing was stove in and the plane spun completely around before coming to rest. The two passengers, a Mr Bennett and a Mr Mitchie, were both able to jump out and help the pilot to climb out. All three were members of the Berkshire Aviation Company. Captain Sparks was the only one to require medical attention. [1] Sources:
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